BY JENNIFER HOEGG
Kings County Advertiser/Register
Support also comes from the kids who have grown up with b.r.a.i.n.Child, for the parents and children at camp.
“Thomas – he’s 21, but we like him,” Garrett Oakes said, including one of the adult survivors in his new circle of friends.
Like Garrett, Thomas Margeson, from New Glasgow, had a brain tumour when he was three years old.
“It came back when I was four and a half and that was the last of it.”
Margeson said he loves helping the kids and is especially happy to be at Brigadoon to see McKeage’s dream come true.
“Dave was one of my first counsellors at Camp Good Time,” Margeson said.
“He always talked about building this. Now that I see it, I’m very pleased.”
Despite the long drive, Margeson and the Oakes love the chance to come to camp- and are looking forward to coming back to Brigadoon.
“It’s beautiful” Sarah Oakes said, “when we came in we were like ‘wow!
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“It’s great that so many other kids are going to be able to benefit. There are lots of groups that haven’t been able to go to camp.”
Echoing other’s praise for the relaxing experience, Scott said, “it’s great to have a facility where you can come and not have to do dish duty.”
Although Brigadoon’s first season is short – it opened in late August - McKeage’s dream camp has already given dozens of children and families with special needs space. This year’s bookings include camps for kids with Crohns and Colitis, families with children with Downs Syndrome, the Nova Scotia Hemophilia Society, teens with facial differences, a Kidney Foundation family camp, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and Choices, a mental health program through the IWK.
Community rentals are also available when programs for children and families with chronic illness are not using the facility.
From late spring to fall, the camp can sleep 140. In the wintertime, 50 beds are available in insulated cabins.
