October 20th at Hotel Minella, Clonmel, Co. Tipperary
2018 has been a very busy year, the NLFI’s main focus this year has been the Children’s camp. This fun interactive camp was the first of its kind in this country to address both the physical and mental difficulties brought about by lymphoedema in children. In January we began with an initial outline of the camp, a selection criteria was decided and the camp was limited to 10 children (5-16 years) with parents/siblings.
All our members and volunteers completed the Children’s First Programme and those in direct contact with the children were Garda vetted. We were delighted in March when it was confirmed that Prof. Peter Mortimer could officially open the camp. We were also very pleased that Dr. Rosemarie Watson, Edette O’ Dea and Pamela Webster could attend from Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital, Crumlin. The camp provided a stimulating and lively environment for these children to share their experiences and difficulties and included a group educational session, Q&A session for parents with Prof. Mortimer, movement/interactive classes, one to one education with therapists (for the children and parents) and an aqua lymphatic class with lunch and refreshments included.
Dr. Markus Killenger (Dr. Vodder Clinic, Austria) kindly offered help and support for us on the day and also did a talk on lipodema. The children participating received a goody bag which included a copy of ‘The big book of Lymphedema’ and a certificate signed by Prof. Mortimer.
Industry was extremely supportive of the children’s camp and it was very encouraging to have stands for SerraNova, Haddenhams, Medi, Jobskin, Healthcare 21 and 3M in place on the day and bandages donated by Nimex!
The day was a resounding success and feedback from the health professionals, industry and most importantly the children and parents that attended was 100% positive!
