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Total Amount Donated:
$34,414.00

Frank Giampino

My Event
	The NYC Great Pumpkin Walk
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My Info:

I was very happy to see that Camp Sunshine was having a fund raiser walk this year. I have always wanted to give back for all the wonderful things they have done for me and my Family. Please read our story and help us and Camp Sunshine reach our goals.

Seven years ago at age 7 our youngest son Joseph was diagnosed with a rare illness called dermatomyositis. A parents worst nightmare was becoming a reality for us. We where scared and not sure what to expect. Joseph had to go for cell infusions which required him to be in the Childrens Hospital. He would stay for 3 days and go home and recover for 3 days. This was every month for 4 months and then he would go in every 2 months for the same treatments. Josephs Dr. asked us one day if we would be interseted in going to Camp Sunshine. He explained to us that it is a Camp for children with life threatening illnesses and their Families to go where the focus is on the entire Family, Siblings, Parents and Joseph. We can not say enough about Josephs Dr. with all that he has done through the years including introducing us to Camp Sunshine.

I will admit that at first we where reluctant about going. I was nervous about the whole thing. We decided to go anyway. We arrived at Camp in Maine to a warm greeting. We where shown our rooms. They had everything we needed, beds, sitting area and no TV.  At first I was like what no TV now what. How will I find out how the Jets are doing. The greatest thing missing in the room was the TV. Without one you had to go and get involved whch to me is what its all about. I was amazed at how the kids all formed instant bonds. They went from complete strangers to instant friends. It was like they had known eachother for years. The Parents as well. The kids where put into age appropriate groups and went off with their counslers and did lots of fun things. The Parents also did lots of fun things. Everday we would sit in a group and have a discussion. We would laugh and cry and feel completely comfortable about it. We had other people that finally understood what we where going through as they where experiencing many of the same things. Now I realized why all the kids bonded so quickly. They all got it to. Someone who understood what they had to deal with. From a sibling to another child who might have the same illness. Someone who you could share with. Our time at camp was special in so many ways. I could write for hours about it. Many lifelong memories where made at camp which is something that can never be taken away.

Camp has many volunteers that help it run. Some are counslers some cook, some do dishes some work down by the lake but they are all there to lean on when needed. They are a special group of people that needed to be mentioned.

After camp was over we returned home to our normal routine again. Everbody wanted to go back to camp and stay there. Instead it was back to work, school, Hospitals and Dr visits. About a year after we got back from camp I was diagnosed with CML leukemia. As I layed there on the table during the bone marrow biopsy I thought about all the children I met at camp, some with leukemia that had to go through all these procedures. I thought about Joey and all he has to endure and they gave me the strength to get through it.

Joseph is now 14 and he still goes to the Hospital every 8 weeks for the same procedures. He has not gotten any better but he has not gotten any worse. We hope and pray all the time that one day the Dr. will tell us he is cured.

The one thing that is certain through all of this is Camp Sunshine was there for us when we needed it the most. We did return on 2 other occasions and we had the same wonderful experiences. Even today when we feel helpless we can look back at those memories and remember that we are not in this alone.

Camp sunhine is free to Families and relies on donations to keep going. It is a very worthwhile cause to give to. Please help us help them. I will be walking in honor of and memory of all the Children that have ever attended camp. Those that I have met and those that have come before and after me.

THANK YOU ALL