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Organization giving sick kids hope, courage & confidence

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    Kids of Courage want to change the way people look at illness

  • Duration 7:38
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Welcome back everybody and Julie Banderas and you're watching fox highlights and now.

Switching gears a bit too a story about kids of courage it's an innovative all volunteer organization you must learn about it's dedicated to support sick children and their families that day and night 365.

Days a year and joining me now is doctor Stuart did -- he's the co-founder and medical director.

Of this.

-- that organization and maybe you can tell us more as to how we can get involved the first to start off by saying you know.

What it is apparent.

Need to do to get their children into this organization fans -- -- Well we're actually the largest medically supervised traveling year round program in the world for sick and disabled children and young adults.

We are all volunteers we believe in philanthropy and volunteerism.

There is no cost any of the families who send their kids with us on the troops we leave the family at home and give them a chance to rest up.

They can go to our website kids sociedad -- they enroll their children and then we have a medical intake individual who decides whether they're medically appropriate coming up.

That was gonna sad -- imagine not not every sick child's is going to be allowed to come months of this trip so I suppose.

What are you looking for when you need to determine who is the reverse what you might think this sicker they are the more likely they are to be accepted into the program we don't accept children who are in remission for a long period of time.

We're children who have curable diseases were resolved.

We -- children who are either chronically ill work children -- in stage disease.

So is if they are sicker if they have more medical -- -- more likely to be accepted into the program okay now and we talked and stage disease were talking obviously a lot a lot about cancer.

Cancer neuromuscular disorders different types of genetic disorders very often but.

When we're with the kids we focus on the positives we don't talk about Brad -- the negative outcomes now are these children continuing medical treatment while on these trips they are are there experimental drugs that are being used on his traps or how -- -- -- don't usually not experimental on the trip but I'll support whatever -- they're getting throughout the year very often we're doing infusions we have done -- dialysis on the troops we've been different types of ventilator and oxygen therapy we have fourteen children who are with us on the West Coast a few weeks ago.

Who were traveling on ventilator -- ventilator support so we travel with nurses physicians paramedics.

And our volunteer staff that specially trained to take care of the -- and when you say travel where where you guys going.

Everywhere we ski in the winter we go to Vermont in the winter we we ski in the summer we do -- California or Florida.

Why we're planning trips to other places throughout the United States over the next day you're too and in the next two years were trying to plan a trip overseas -- And the parents stay home parents stay home when I meet parents -- you know it's it's it's a gift to the parents but it must be so difficult for the parents to let their kids go it's a leap of faith but it's it's it's a trip that a lot of these parents could never afford to -- this gift to their kids that it -- couldn't get most of their lives and hospitals not.

In the been -- in the slopes in Vermont tomorrow or use.

Lot of these lavish vacations that that most children -- about.

For sure and it not only couldn't prepare -- afford it.

But with the restrictions on travel today just to -- one bottle of medicine and an airplane.

Requires.

All kinds of pre approvals and planning.

We take we charter an entire 757 as part of our trip and we quit that cabin with everything that you would -- emergency room in the United States.

Nervous at all about traveling with someone sick children yet they're very nerves and I was -- my staff.

When you stop being nervous it's time to stop doing I mean how many kids -- -- you talking about on one track it's almost a 150 kids for the large trip for the ski trip it's about eighty kids this year eighty to 85 children with an adaptive ski program so.

We take large numbers the total group is actually over 400 with the support staff.

And with -- medical logistics team and our medical teams at least that was our authority so why didn't you gotta get funding for these these tips and how do you get money tips to fund such a large scale traps we beg borrow and steal all year long we rely on philanthropy were -- corporations and individual donors most of our donations come from individual donors.

We have unique relationships with corporations like united airline which provides this.

Much -- -- travel for the kids.

So we have very good relationships but most of our donations come from individuals sitting at home watching shows -- tell -- about the impacts that that you think you've seen that these -- have had on on these children.

Well the best impact that we've notices that the kids get sick less on the troops than they do at home and that's been something that we've been following for four years now.

In our history since this program has been around which was -- it appears we've only had one hospitalization.

And two emergency room visits throughout the foreign and appears in the reason for it.

Is that the kids they're happier on the trips we believe that they're immune systems work better and they feel better and they just feel bad.

Instructor is a huge factor to fighting disease that's -- -- and when you are living day in and day out with the with the parents that are obviously it's just out that they try to be there and they try to show their love and support that you -- -- your parents are hurting him.

You're going in and out of hospitals and it really says a lot about how stresses such a key factor to healing I'm -- from from even and and stage diseases.

Absolutely and we see the stress factor impacting the families who I think that families are.

More impacted by the stress the parents tend to get sick more unfortunately.

And there's a terrible strain on the family dynamics when you have a sick child so.

When we travel with the kids and at this point we're traveling almost three to four weeks a year with these -- resting now.

That's three to four weeks a year parents have a chance to get to know each other again and get to be with their other children and it gives them.

I have to rebuild their lives I would imagine the parents are -- much better off when their kids come back it's almost like a reboots it restart a -- -- -- -- you only have time to breathe.

Know when you're when you're caring for sick child and -- I mean I I can't imagine what that's like for any parent in my heart breaks as.

For any parent that would never have to the truth have to see that day in day out where can people go to learn about more information.

They can go to the website kids sociedad or where they can go to our FaceBook page kids of courage on FaceBook and they can now either donate there or they can apply -- they can apply to become volunteers and there we welcome all.

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- A group of a 150 kids it's a total group 400 people that were trapped.

Oh my gosh and you have to pay aero these doctors doing it no they will volunteer they're all doing it on -- -- Peterson and they might either be on the triplets and waiting list.

For people to get on the true.

That's amazing I love.

Thank you so much for coming in -- and talking to us and -- I want more people send it to know about the site never heard -- that before.

Go to kids both seen dot org you can learn how you can either donate.

Or if you want to travel in and and be a part of this amazing experience and really change the life of more than one child at a time.

-- send your child if you if your parent out there that is desperately seeking.

Some relief.

I couldn't imagine a better way to do -- thank you so much so they're talking to a stop to -- district we appreciate you coming on thank you we're gonna.

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