A new view on asthma

For Claudia Martinez, being a teenager with asthma always made her feel like she was different from everyone else.

After an asthma attack left her breathless with pains in her chest, Claudia, 15, decided to get an asthma coach to learn more.

Soon her condition improved, and her coach introduced her to a summer camp that changed her life.

“I got to meet new people that have the same sickness as me and see that I don’t necessarily have to look at myself as a different person who has asthma,” Claudia said of that first summer at camp last year.

This summer, Claudia, who lives in South Los Angeles with her parents and three siblings, will spend a week at Camp Nawakwa in the San Bernardino Mountains.

About 280 asthma patients, ages 8 to 14, will attend the camp for one of two sessions in August under the sponsorship of the California chapter of the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America.

Campers get a chance to hike, swim and sing, and there’s a volunteer medical staff on hand at all times.

The children, and their parents, can be assured that they are well cared for, and that’s a key attraction of the camp, said Francene Lifson, executive director of the foundation’s California chapter.

Doctors teach an asthma education class each day, and campers learn how to take their medication properly, which is something that can be difficult for children to learn, Lifson said.

“Especially the teenagers, they sometimes have a complex carrying an inhaler. They learn not to be so embarrassed,” Lifson said.

Between activities and classes, Claudia found refuge in “group time,” a session in which she could talk about her asthma experiences with other teens.

As camp drew to a close, she began to realize that her condition was no longer an obstacle.

“Having asthma is not a challenge,” said Claudia, who hopes to become a veterinarian or a social worker one day. “It’s a hard step for people who aren’t used to it, but it’s not hard if you have people helping you out.”

Thanks to the $1.7 million raised last year by the Los Angeles Times Summer Camp Campaign, about 8,000 children will go to camp in Southern California this summer.

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

Unless requested otherwise, the Times Family Fund makes every effort to acknowledge in the newspaper donations of $100 or more received by Sept. 1.

All donations will be acknowledged by mail in three to four weeks. 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.

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nicole.loomis@latimes.com