For Aoibhe, camp helped her rebuild something cancer that had changed during cancer treatment: confidence in herself and what she could do.
When Illness Changes How You See Yourself
By the time Aoibhe came to Barretstown, our SeriousFun camp in Ireland, cancer treatment had changed more than her routines.
She was using a wheelchair and receiving daily injections. Her family had watched her become less confident in everyday life, and her mom worried about letting someone else take over her care.
When Aoibhe first arrived at camp, trying something new felt difficult. Her first instinct was often to say no. She tired and unsure if she wanted to take part.
But little by little, something began to shift. At camp, she had the support, choices, and opportunities to try activities at her own pace.
“I Can Do That. I’ll Try That.”
Before long, Aoibhe was eager to get back to camp for archery and clay activities.
Her mom, Orla, remembers one day when Aoibhe was so excited to get to her activities that she barely had time for lunch.
“I want to rush down for archery and clay,” Aoibhe insisted.
For Aoibhe, connecting with other children felt easier at camp than it often did elsewhere. She started making friends and becoming more comfortable trying this for herself.
“Before I was like, ‘Oh, I don’t want to do that. I’m too tired,’” Aoibhe says. “And then after I was like, ‘Oh, I can do that. I’ll try that.’”
A New Sense of Possibility
Aoibhe’s family could see the change, too.
She left her wheelchair behind for shorter trips and began talking excitedly about the friends she had made. Her mom watched as Aoibhe become more willing to try things—and more certain of herself.
“The sickness took her confidence away,” Orla explains.
At Barretstown, it returned. Orla describes watching Aoibhe come home “very independent and very sure of herself.”
That may be one of the most powerful things camp can offer a child living with cancer: a place that recognizes what they’ve been through while helping them rediscover what’s still possible.
Aoibhe didn’t leave camp with a different diagnosis. She left knowing she could make her own choices, try new things, and make friends—feeling more confident and less alone.
She went from “I don’t want to do that” to something much more certain: “I can do that. I’ll try that.”
And sometimes, that change in what a child believes about themselves can change everything.
