SOMIS : Special Camp Invites Youths With Asthma

From an open-air patio at the Cabrillo Racquet Club in Somis, Ramon Diaz exhorted 6-year-old Danelly Luna to exhale with all her might.

“Breathe out hard,” he told Danelly, who was wearing a black and pink swim suit and in a rush to jump into the pool.

“Let’s try it again,” said Diaz, a medical student at UCLA. “You need to breathe out hard.” Diaz was checking Danelly’s breathing before letting her join a group of children in the club’s pool.

Danelly was one of 50 Ventura County children attending a special summer camp this week for children who suffer from mild to severe asthma.

The camp, sponsored by the American Lung Assn. and Camp Time Away, provides children ages 8 to 14 with two days of activities that include asthma education programs, swimming, games and crafts.

“A lot of parents worry about sending their kids to summer camp because of their need for medication and the special attention they may require,” said Chris Landon, director of the Pediatric Diagnostic Clinic at Ventura County Medical Center who volunteers with the American Lung Assn.

The children are supervised by 19 volunteers from the association, Landon’s office and Dr. Maria Elena Lara from the UCLA Department of Medicine.

In addition to giving the children a chance to enjoy summer camp in a medically supervised environment, the program allowed the medical staff to conduct a study on how asthma affects children and their parents, Lara said.

For 11-year-old twin sisters Maria and Gloria Perez, it was the first opportunity they had to go to camp without their parents.

“It’s difficult for them,” said Landon, adding that the two sisters also have cystic fibrosis. “They require medication several times a day.”

Last year, the camp was held at Santa Monica Mountains National Park. But because that site was badly burned by fire, the Cabrillo Racquet Club donated its facilities.

The camp is funded by donations and children attend free of charge.