15 YOUTHS ATTEN?
NORTH VAN FACILITY

NICOLE DENNIS and Lizette Parsons came 2
recent educational arthritis camp in North Vat

new understanding of the disease they both have-

Hosting 15 youths from age nine
to 13, the Camp Capilano retreat
for sufferers of Juvenile
Rheumatoid Arthritis (SRA) aimed
to educate youngsters in how to
handle the condition, afflicting
3,500 of B.C."s 320,000 arthritis
patients.

“Pd never met any other kids
with arthritis,’ explains Parsons,
19, who was one of the camp's
four teenaged counsellors. The
camp, she says, helped her realize
she is not alone with her disease,
which has ‘‘ups and downs."'

At the camp, she started fo come
to grips with her feelings of despair
and apprehension. ‘l used to just
brush them off — talking to other
kids let me know they were feeling
the same things. It made you feel
you weren't alone.”’

For Dennis, 11, the camp helped
her deal with some of the questions
people ask when they learn the
youngster has arthritis. ‘‘They ex-
plained things,’’ the bubbly girl
says. ‘Like how to explain when
people ask about arthritis.’

The camp also sect some of Den-
nis’ apprehensions to rest. “I was
still worried about it (before the
camp), now I'm not worried about
it anymore,"’ she says.

This year’s camp — the fifth —

Pane eee

REE
TRIAL
SESSION

Relax & Reduce

SIX SESSIONS

Guaranteed inch reduction or your

By STEPHEN parseNG FON
‘ News Reports
ch as Par-

pul older teenagers ame younger
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teenagers in a peer 6% West Van-
uation, which, says efeat staff
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member Marguerit€ ,
successful, OUld be very

“We felt that they Maren with ar
empathetic to the cH’ oti. come-
thritis,’ Mahy says ve with who
body they communt&?,.
has bad their provlel™’ rday event

With the entire {o"n, the par-
veared toward educd mae therapy,
ticipants took in gal barbecues
counselling, swimmine..
and many other activit ihe children

Aimed at providiN® iis 19 allow
with tips and other § potmal daily
them to participate "marked the
activities, the retrea! cany of the
first such event fof “and parsons
children, Both Dennis —
plan to attend next yeo were on

Four staff mem participants
hand, but retreat ef concerns
resolved many of (ine sear,
without the help é and very
“They feel very aging” «irs
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making them feel bet!
disease."

INTO SHAPE
WITH

SLIMTONE

For Men & women

$9 5°

money back

Monday-Friday 108 Pm

Saturday 10-4 A
104 W, 13th SY
North Vancouv’

987-7546

aw#y from a
oUver With

33 - Wetinesday, Septenber 9, 1987 - North Shore News

aT
ai

NEWS photo Neil Lucente

CAMP CAPILANO counsellor Lizette Parsons, feft, shows I1-year-old Nicole Dennis how to exercise arthritic
fingers at a four-day camp for children with the disease. Other activities included game therapy, swimming,

barbecues and the chance to meet other kids with (he same experiences.

Pity in the order of “You poor
thing, you're so young to have ar-
thritis’’ is commonly heard by
children with arthritis, leading to
isolation and confusion.

Arthritis is not just an affliction
of the aged, but can strike any
person as early as the age of six
months, and people need to realize

this, Mahy says.

“These children need to be
received as children who are
capable of doing most of the
things other kids do,’’ explains
Mahy. ‘It's better to be em-
pathetic, not sympathetic. They
should be treated like normal
kids.”’

While a large percentage of
children with Juvenile Rheumatoid
Arthritis outgrow the disease,
ongoing support and funding is
necessary to further research.

For more information, call Bar-
bara Crowson at the North Shore
Branch of the Arthritis Society,
985-1794.

up to / % savings

Villeroy & Boch f@ Fitz & Floyd

Thomas

Denby

Portmeirion
CANYON HOUSE

3590 Capilano Road 988-5169

N. Vancouver, B.C.

Pa eee

eh LG de ae

Open seven days a week

Rariee

GALLERIA