Cancer. We all remember the how and where we heard about diagnosis. For me, it was December 16, 2019 via MyChart at a basketball game. As I like to say, I was ready for 2020 to be done before it started, it just took the rest of the world a bit longer to catch up. I started 16 rounds of chemo, followed by more surgeries and radiation, on March 5, 2020, and as my immune system plummeted, the world isolated with me.
I finished active treatment, ready to take on the world and be grateful for the life I had been given back, but scared to get COVID. The world had changed as my journey had changed me. In-person support groups were not a thing. Survivorship was hard. I went down a late-night Google rabbit hole, looking for opportunities to live life, with people who got it, but also be safe. Having spent nearly 20 years volunteering for a children’s cancer camp, I wondered if such a thing existed for adults? Enter Epic Experience. While in-person camps were not yet a thing, virtual support from afar was so helpful to me!
In Winter 2023, my opportunity for in-person winter camp came up. I was so nervous. Would I fit in? Could I do it physically? Who has this many winter clothes? From the moment I arrived at Camp, I lived one once in a lifetime experience after another. Mama Lou challenged us to say “Yes” to every opportunity. I took that to heart. I met a group of people who were so supportive and fun. They helped me to find some emotional healing along with the physical boundaries I was pushing. I laughed hard, I smiled from ear to ear, and I proved to myself: I. Can. Live. One day, I fell (or more accurately belly flopped), I had my moment of feeling sorry for myself, but more importantly I hopped back up and had more fun. I was ok, and life would be too.
I now have a family I know I can trust to send cancer appointment updates or sassy memes, and they will get both. I know if I need a hug, this group will be there. I also cannot help but smile every time I talk about my experience.
If you are considering going to or supporting Epic Experience and have any doubts, do it!
-Missy aka “Plato”