On our cover this month is a photograph of children at Sunny Shores Sea Camp racing down the beach. For 31 years, this free, four-day cystic fibrosis summer camp has offered a unique opportunity for people living with the disease to relax and have fun while gaining a greater knowledge of cystic fibrosis and how to manage it. A physician's letter confirming the diagnosis and an affiliation with a cystic fibrosis clinic are required for one camper and up to three of her or his immediate family members to attend the camp, located at Disney's Vero Beach Resort in Vero Beach, Florida. The program is funded by the Falcon Batchelor Memorial Golf Tournament held every year in Miami in April.
"Having cystic fibrosis myself, I wish I had a camp like this when I was a child," says camp president Dana Munsey. "The knowledge families gain here helps them prepare for the future." Attendees and their families learn about nutrition, exercise, handwashing, and general lung health from nurses, physicians, and respiratory therapists, among many others. "We learn by sharing experiences and addressing issues as they happen; in that way, we avoid months or even years of uncertainty," says Munsey. "Participants learn to maintain a healthier baseline and to achieve a longer and better quality of life."
For more on parents and children with this disease, see this month's Original Research CE feature, "Parents and Children with Cystic Fibrosis: A Family Affair."
For more information on Sunny Shores Sea Camp, visit its Web site at http://www.ssscamp.org.-Alison Bulman, senior editorial coordinator