Paradise exists, indeed

After driving for over an hour, we finally arrived to our lovely, serene haven. We drove through a hallway of dense forest and were finally presented with a beautiful, peaceful lake to the left and a massive building with a large veranda to the right. On the veranda stood 3 or 4 people waiting to greet us. This was the family who ran Camp Maromac-- and we were to learn that they were a wonderful, hospitable, and generous family too.

The family greeted us and showed us to our rooms. The 30 or so odd bunk rooms were all located on the second and third floors of the building and each had a set of bunk beds and one single bed. We were paired with roomates according to our diagnoses or situation. I was paired with 2 fellow breast cancer survivors-both between 25 and 26. Mike was paired with the boyfriend of a cancer survivor who was about the same age as him. Other rooms grouped thyroid cancer survivors, leukemia survivors, gynecological cancer survivors, hodgkins survivors, and so on. I thought this was an interesting way of doing this because we got to see quite a bit of our roomates (especially in the morning and late nights) and it gave us a chance to bond with people who had the same disease.

The main level of the building consisted of a large general purpose or meeting area, equipped with a piano, stage, a fireplace, and plenty of seating. There was also a large kitchen and eating area, and a sports room, where any sports equipment you could ever wish for was located. There were bathrooms and showers in every wing of the second and third floors. Outside, there was 2 volleyball courts, a basketball court, a tennis court, a baseball field, a gazebo and fire pit, walking trails, 2 docks at the lake, and approx. a dozen each of paddle boats, kayaks, canoes, and catamarans. I could not believe the activities that were available to us! They picked the perfect spot for a retreat.

After settling into our rooms the first evening, all 30 retreaters, as well as the facilitators, met in the general purpose room. We all sat in a large circle, where we were to have a support group session. Dr. Routledge explained that to start the weekend off, we would all first have a chance to introduce ourselves formally to the entire group. During our introductions we were to tell the details of our cancer diagnoses, the biggest challenge cancer has presented to us, and what we hoped to gain from the retreat. The room seemed to grow uncomfortably silent at the beginning of the session, as they tried to select the brave retreater who wished to "spill their guts" first. When the brave one finally volunteered, we were off on what would be one of the most moving moments of my life. With each introduction my heart was warmed more and more to the point of tears. Every one of these people, all around the same age of me, had their own unique, touching story to tell. Some of the stories were absolutely amazing. And from these simple introductions I already knew that I was not alone--everyone in the room expressed thoughts and feelings that seemed very familiar to my own. I suddenly felt extremely comfortable and ease with my situation.