Among friends who understand

Middle school was a rough time for Asher, a skinny, frail teenager who didn’t play sports. He was constantly teased, tormented and, sometimes, beaten up on the field.

It didn’t help that he was going to the bathroom up to 15 times a day.

What Asher’s peers didn’t know was that he had Crohn’s disease, an inflammatory bowel disorder that made him prone to abdominal pain and intestinal problems. He experienced fatigue, weight loss and decreased energy, forcing him to sit out strenuous activities.

His mother, Sharon Farkas, a volunteer worker from Northridge, tried everything to make life as normal as possible for Asher, and in 2005 she discovered the only place he’s ever felt accepted: the Painted Turtle.

Located in Lake Hughes in the Angeles National Forest, the Painted Turtle is a medical facility that supports the needs of children with chronic or life-threatening conditions, while at the same time serving as a traditional camp with swimming, campfire songs and horseback riding. Each summer, it offers eight disease-specific sessions, serving about 110 kids, ages 7 to 16, a week.

“I love the camp. . . . It’s kind of like my second home,” said Asher, now 15. “We all fit in and are all great friends. I don’t really get that anywhere else in this place.”

He will be returning for the fifth time to the Crohn’s and colitis camp session this summer.

The camp experience “made everything seem as if I wasn’t alone, and I got through my disease a lot easier,” he said. “We all learn from each other and cope with it.”

That’s the goal, said Blake Maher, executive camp director.

“Each kid -- often because of their medical conditions -- can feel isolated and different than everyone, and this camp gives them the opportunity to be able to be like everyone else,” he said. “It’s amazing how [such] a short time can make an incredible difference in a child’s life.”

The Painted Turtle has given Asher the chance to be a normal, happy and confident kid, his mother said. “It gave him a place where he could truly be himself and be comfortable with who he really is and be comfortable with who he really is outside of camp as well,” she said.

With $1.8 million raised last year by the Los Angeles Times Summer Camp Campaign, approximately 8,000 children will go to camp in Southern California this summer.

The Summer Camp Campaign is part of the Los Angeles Times Family Fund, a McCormick Foundation fund, which matches all donations at 50 cents on the dollar.

Donations are tax-deductible as permitted by law. Addresses will not be released or published. For more information, call (800) LA TIMES, Ext. 75771, or e-mail familyfund@latimes.com.

Mail donations using the attached form (do not send cash), donate by phone at (800) 518-3975 or donate online now at latimes.com/donate.

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juliette.funes@latimes.com