Campers get to forget everything -- except having fun

For one magical week, a suburban park became an outpost of the Wild West, cowboys on horseback blasted water balloons to smithereens and young riders got to test their nerve on a mechanical bull.

And kids with cancer got to forget about everything except having fun.

"How the West Was Fun" was the theme of the 27th annual TLC Camp in Lombard. The Lombard Junior Women's Club's day camp for children with cancer and a sibling is held at Sunset Knoll Recreation Center, 820 Finley Road.

Ninety campers in red T-shirts, and almost as many counselors in blue, played Western bingo, ate tacos, rode horses and - well, you can only carry a theme so far - went bowling and to Enchanted Castle.

Some children are in treatment; some are in remission. Cowboy hats and bandannas covered a few tiny bald heads.

It's the only day camp for kids with cancer in Illinois - and possibly the country - that allows a brother or sister to come, too.

"Cancer affects the whole family," said co-director Sue Bielenda.

Many of the counselors are former campers who were treated for cancer when they were little. "It's a place where I didn't feel different," said counselor Rachel Eliason, 18, of Lombard, a leukemia survivor. "I was just a little kid having fun."

The camp is free to families. It costs $400 to $500 per camper to run the one-week session, all covered by donations and the fundraisers that go on year round. The camp is for children ages 5 to 13; after they "age out" campers are encouraged to apply for counselor positions.

Jermaine Walter, 26, of Chicago, has been coming back every summer to be a counselor for 12 years. He is a leukemia survivor.

"I'm returning the favor, to help the kids have fun as the counselors did for me," he said.

Over the week, campers develop close bonds of friendship with each other and with the counselors. "I have a friend (here) and we've been hanging out every single year and we do goofy stuff together," said Bryan, 12, of Villa Park, a brain tumor survivor.

While campers worked on Western-style fleece tie pillows, volunteers in denim shirts were snapping photos like paparazzi. Every camper gets a scrapbook full of photos to take home with them at the end of camp.

"Some kids take them to the hospital when they go in for treatment," Bielenda said, "to remember what a fun week they had."

To learn more or find out how to contribute, visit tlccamp.org.