Up Frog
NORMALCY page 6 •
"When I come to camp, there
are times, just seeing the chil-
dren, knowing their prognoses,
what they're up against, that I
have to walk away and compose
myself," he says. "But most of the
time, the children are having
fun, smiling, dancing and
singing. The camp has such a
profound influence on the chil-
dren."
He recalls one girl who had
five hours of surgery one day, fol-
lowed by seven the next. "She
was very .depressed, wouldn't
eat. I called her, reminded her
about camp, said what we were
going to do [neXt year], and she
started to eat."
Rabbi Goldberg teaches
karate and meditative breathing
to the boys, while the Mrs. Gold-
berg teaches lamaze breathing
to the girls — all of which helps
during painful treatments. "I use
karate to teach to breathe be-
yond pain and fear and that they
can control their environment,"
he says.
At camp, "you don't have to
worry about CT scans or needles
or X-rays or anything like that,"
says Ruth, 16, from Ann Arbor.
"I go to different cancer camps..
This one is special because it's
just for Jews. It's not the same
thing as being in Israel, but al-
most."
As many as 100 kids can at-
year, while she was dating
their son, Avi. "It was great,
very positive, not sad at all.
The point is to give these
kids whatever will make
them smile," she says.
Although most people
would expect a visit to
Camp Simcha to be somber
and tear-laden, it is just the
opposite. Why? "Because
it's not like you're meeting
them in a hospital," ex-
plains Altea Steinherz, who
lives with her husband in
Jerusalem.
"They're at camp, nor-
mal kids — OK, so the in-
firmary is a lot more
high-tech than most. But
you're meeting kids in an
environment where they're
totally relaxed and happy.
Many of them don't have
Oak Park native Rlvky Schwartz, with Ellana, 12, from Israel:
The best thing is campers' smiles.
that year-round."
Children come from ob-
tend, but the population varies, you can't come back. Next year
depending on who goes back and I'm off three years," he laments. servant and secular families
alike. "One of the most fascinat-
forth to the hospital. This sum-
Ben, 13, also from Atlanta, ing parts of the programs is that
mer, the campers' ages ranged says there's nothing he doesn't
we have children who are grand-
from 4 to 21.
like about Camp Simcha. His
Do-v, 12, from Atlanta, says friends there "are kind of more children of Satmar rabbis, and
the friendships made at Camp understanding and because of little boys with earrings," Rabbi
Simcha are different from the their disease, they're more ma- Goldberg says.
"Everyone has such a good at-
ones at home because the other ture."
titude,
and no matter how upset
campers "have problems that
Drs. Peter and Laurel Stein-
you have. The only thing that herz oversee medical care. Their they are, everyone's happy," says
makes me unhappy is that if daughter-in-law, Altea Stein- Adrienne, 14, from Palm Harbor,
you're off chemo for three years, herz, first came to the camp last Fla.
Justin, 14, from Hallandale,
COLORWORKS STUDIO OF INTERIOR DESIGN
Fla., says Camp Simcha is spe-
cial because "we're all friends, all
come together. Around the world
a lot of Jews aren't getting along,
and we're all getting along, all
different types ofJews."
Camp Simcha packs more into
three weeks than some camps do
in two months, says Ruthie Gold-
berg. One day a circus comes to
camp. The next, stunt men on bi-
cycles. And on another, day, the
kids pile onto four busses to go
to the mall, beginning at Toys 'R.
Us, which opens early just for
these campers.
As the busses pull away from
camp, the ambulance follows at
the end of the line — a shocking
reminder. The children at Camp
Simcha may appear to be viva-
cious and spirited, but they are
precious, almost fragile.
The first summer that the
Goldbergs came to camp, Ruthie
Goldberg went to the waterfront
and asked who would like to
learn to 'dive. A girl with only one
leg raised her hand.
Goldberg was skeptical. But
"within minutes, she did a per-
fect dive," she recalls. "Whatev-
er they put their minds to ...
there's a strength they have that
none of us could have.
'These kids give us more than
we give them," Mrs. Goldberg
says. "They've taught us about
what's important in life." 0
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