Message of hope in Bluebonnet Retreat

For Donna Crawford this year has a special meaning. It marks 31 years since her cervical cancer diagnosis and 19 years since she battled breast cancer. Added together this year marks 50 years of surviving cancer for Crawford.

So how is she celebrating? She’s packing her bags for the Bluebonnet Retreat. The Bluebonnet Retreat is an adult camp experience for cancer patients and survivors, the only of its kind in North Texas. The retreat is held each spring and fall and is funded by private donations as a special project of Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Hurst-Euless-Bedford.

Crawford has attended the retreat as a counselor since 2000. She even got her husband involved and now he’s a counselor too. Each year counselors are paired with campers, other adults who have been diagnosed with cancer in the past five years.

Cancer camp offers reminder of what’s important

When most people think of an adult cancer camp the first image that comes to mind likely isn’t one of celebration, but that’s one of the things that keeps Julie Smusz coming back year after year.

Smusz has volunteered as a camp counselor for the Bluebonnet Retreat since 1999. She works in the information technology area of Texas Health Resources and says this is her chance to give back to individuals facing cancer. Smusz has a personal tie with it because her daughter was diagnosed with cancer and underwent chemotherapy at age 12 and her father passed away in June of 2010 after a 9-month battle with cancer.

“It heals my heart every time I go,” she said. Smusz’s daughter is doing well and is now 33 years old and has three children of her own.