I was so nervous about sending Ben to overnight camp for the first time. Another heart mom and I agreed to send our boys to Camp Odayin together. We reminded each other that the kids were probably safer at camp than they were at home! We teared up when the bus left, but we knew our […] Read more
On July 21, 2022 we welcomed parents, volunteers, medical professionals and ALL adults that love kids – to join us for a workshop to learn about and celebrate gender diversity. The workshop was designed to establish basic understandings of gender diversity. Through direct presentation, video clips of youth and others talking about gender, and optional […] Read more
Camp Odayin campers are among the 1 in 100 babies born with a congenital heart defect each year. Many of these amazing kids have endured multiple heart surgeries. Having heart surgery can be traumatic. Camp Odayin is good medicine to help reduce the mental health risk factors linked to childhood trauma. We provide: We provide […] Read more
The road is often challenging when navigating life with a heart condition. Campers Miranda, Ashlyn, and Eddie were all awaiting heart transplants when their moms Melanie, Angie, and Chris discovered powerful sources of support, for both themselves and their children, in one another. Below, they each provide a bit of insight into their shared journey… […] Read more
(Guest blog post for Adult Congenital Heart Association by Cassandra Reinbold) Two weeks after I was born, the doctor came rushing in with more doctors behind him during my check-up to discover I had a special heart. Appointment after appointments, they discovered I was born with an unrepairable ventricular septal defect. My first surgery was […] Read more
(Guest blog post for Conquering CHD by Laura Hoagland) To say I enjoy summer is an understatement. I LOVE summer! Growing up in the Pacific Northwest summer was filled with family vacations to the coast, afternoons on the lake and attending a local summer camp with school friends. As I got older, and especially throughout […] Read more
(Originally published in the Star Tribune August 19, 2003 – By Robert Franklin) “Ten-year-old Donovan Bays says a big attraction at camp this summer was “being able to swim without my shirt.” That’s because he wasn’t self-conscious about his heart surgery scars. Nearly all the kids at Camp Odayin — and several of the counselors […] Read more
