Campers Take Break at Chesterfield Restaurant

Tuesday, campers from Camp Rainbow piled into a bus and headed out from the camp's location in Wildwood to enjoy dinner and bowling in Chesterfield.

About 30 campers and staff noshed on cheeseburgers, fries and chicken tenders at at Chesterfield Mall. They had spent the day with the firefighters and police who visited the camp, learning about fire trucks and safety. They also had time for other activities, such as learning to draw caricatures and completing an obstacle course.

For these kids, though, camp is more than a week of summer fun. Camp Rainbow allows them a chance to get away from their daily life, which is often filled with hospital stays and painful surgeries or treatments. Camp Rainbow is a camp for St. Louis-area children with cancer and blood diseases.

"I look forward to (camp) so much every year," 12-year-old Greta Thompson said. "It's amazing...just being there with everybody is a lot of fun." Thompson, who lives in Webster Groves, has attended the camp for five years. A few years ago, Thompson was diagnosed with Ewing's sarcoma, a bone cancer that landed her in the hospital regularly for chemotherapy treatments. She has also undergone two leg surgeries. Thompson's cancer has been in remission for four years. 

The camp, which opened in the summer of 1988, its website states, was designed to give these kids a a chance to relax and forget about their illnesses. In 1992, it moved to its current location at in Wildwood, but it draws campers from all around the St. Louis area. Typically, campers and the medical staff come from St. Louis Children's Hospital, SSM Cardinal Glennon Children's Medial Center and pediatric oncology offices at St. John's Hospital.

The camp runs for a week every June. This year it ends Friday.

Thompson and Darian Brooks, a 13-year-old resident of St. Louis County with sickle cell anemia, both said swimming was their favorite activity at Camp Rainbow. They also get chances to fish, practice archery, do art projects, play music and participate in drama workshops. Thompson said the activities change slightly every year, but a lot of the same kids come back, so they're able to develop strong friendships.

Brooks has a blood transfusion every five weeks to treat his disease. It used to hurt, he said, but it doesn't any more because he's gotten used to it. Rainbow Camp, which he has attended for four years, gives him a chance to leave worries about his disease behind.

"It makes you forget about the other things you go through," he said.