A Halifax teenager looks forward to testing his new lungs at summer camp.
Tahlia Ali is a double lung transplant recipient and practically skips to Brigadoon Village in Aylesford, NS. It is a traditional summer camp that offers programs tailored to different health conditions.
“This camp really helped me because it gave me the opportunity to talk to people about some things that I couldn’t talk to other friends who weren’t like me,” she said.
Like other camps in the province, Brigadoon was forced to cancel its nightly programming last summer due to COVID-19 public health restrictions.
Nova Scotia enters phase 3 of its reopening plan on Wednesday. At this point, public health facilities can begin resuming overnight campers.
Ali couldn’t go to camp last year because the pandemic shut everything down. Knowing that she can swim with her new lungs for the first time this year adds extra excitement. (CBC)
Ali looks forward to jumping in the lake the most. It’s something she couldn’t do before her lung transplant because she was on a subcutaneous pump.
“And swimming is an activity I’ve always loved since I was a kid,” said the 16-year-old. “Swimming gives me freedom.”
As a child, Ali was diagnosed with pulmonary hypertension, a disease that reduces the flow of oxygen to the blood vessels in the lungs. It’s a life-threatening condition that gets worse over time.
Like all Nova Scotians in need of a lung transplant, Ali had to move to Toronto for the procedure. She left Halifax on May 20, 2020, but did not receive her new lungs until November due to delays caused by COVID-19.
Ali has been going to Brigadoon for six years. In 2019, she formed a friendship that extends beyond the camp.
CharlLee McKay is also 16 years old and lives with several chronic health problems such as a connective tissue disorder and various heart conditions.
A life changing experience
“Before I went to Brigadoon, I felt like all my life because I didn’t know anyone who had what I had,” she said. “But then I went to Brigadoon and suddenly there are all these people like me who have similar conditions.”
It’s easier to talk to friends at the camp because they understand what they’re going through, she said.
“It’s a really good support system. When I go through things in the hospital, I know I have someone to talk to.”
Ali and CharlLee McKay sit on the jetty of the lake in Brigadoon Village. (CBC)
After a year of mostly staying at home, McKay said she had some nervousness about being around people again.
“I got my vaccine and I feel safe the way Brigadoon is limiting the numbers,” she said.
Storage restrictions
Earlier this month, the province published guidelines for overnight camps. Some of these requirements include adhering to mask protocols and operating with consistent cohorts of up to 15 campers.
Mat Whynott is President of the NS and PEI Camping Associations. He said the group worked with the government to create the guidelines and he was confident the measures will keep campers safe.
“I believe in my soul, my heart and everything I do that this camp is needed now more than ever,” he said. “It changes lives.”
He said up to 11,000 children attended overnight summer camps in Nova Scotia prior to the pandemic.
“Children who have gone to camp in the past need to know that the camp may not look like it always did, and they should be prepared for it,” he said.