The Bridges Foundation

Camp Bridges Foundation provides camps and programs at no cost for pre and post transplant children, teens, young adults and their families from Alabama and neighboring states. We create a fun and educational environment for heart, kidney, liver, and lung transplant recipients that encourages positive self image and healthy transplant living. Those served receive and provide peer support and form lasting friendships to better cope with the unique challenges of transplantation.

The note below says it best:

Dear Friends,

Summer is a special time of year, a time for family, friends and fun.  Schedules are lighter and worries are fewer. However, this year that laid-back lifestyle seemed far away for our family because my daughter received her kidney transplant on May 21st.  We heard that summer was going on outside the climate-controlled, season-free walls of the hospital, but it was not a part of our world.  We were busy adjusting to her new kidney and all of the promise and concerns that go along with it.  The Farmer's Almanac may have said that summer began on June 21st but for our family it began on July 2nd, when we arrived at Camp BRIDGES Family Camp.

The Camp BRIDGES staff and volunteers were wonderful and I was truly honored that they sacrificed their holiday weekend to assist and inspire us. Their attitude ensured that every activity was fun and meaningful.  The atmosphere at camp was so accepting and hospitable that no one could have anything but a superb time.  Even the new surgical scars did not stop my daughter from jumping into her swimsuit and heading to the water.  She was able to focus on a child’s summer job – to have fun.

After the intensity of our hospital experience we gladly embraced the new challenges at camp. “Can I swim another lap?” “What can I learn from my new friend whose has a transplant experience so much like mine?” “Could I possibly eat another piece of watermelon?”  Daily dilemmas no longer carried life-and-death weight and were just plain fun.  They all represented a refreshing change from our recent worries and they did indeed do as Camp BRIDGES aims to serve as a bridge between the wonderful support we received at the hospital and our own baby steps toward an independent life.

We thank Camp BRIDGES for providing us this opportunity! The experience will cheer us, teach us, and sustain us for a whole year….until we go back next year.

Signed,

A Grateful Mom