This summer, dozens of seriously ill children in Scotland got to enjoy a special holiday – thanks to the late Hollywood star, Paul Newman.
Among them was 14-year-old Matthew Norrie from Inverurie.
Thanks to the legendary star he’s attended camps Newman described as being: “A place where kids can kick back, relax and raise a little hell.”
Raising hell is not normally on Matthew’s agenda.
He spent four years of his life going through intensive treatment at Aberdeen Children’s Hospital for a serious illness, diagnosed when he was just three years old.
But at the Over The Wall camp (OTW) Matthew can climb a wall, ride a horse, shoot a bow and arrow, or just relax and have fun in his favourite activity of all, arts and crafts.
One volunteer helping him achieve his goals at camp is Thom O’Neill, who previously worked as a doctor at Raigmore Hospital, Inverness but is now at the Accident and Emergency Unit at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary but who is involved with OTW in a non-medical capacity.
Falling under the umbrella of the SeriousFun Network, the camps are designed to create positive, recreational experiences, with programmes purposefully structured to enhance coping and resilience; to encourage independence and foster personal growth.
In essence, camp helps children reach beyond the limits of their medical conditions.
The story begins 20 years before Paul Newman died in 2008, when he had a vision for children living with serious illnesses to have the chance to simply be children again.
He just wanted them to have fun.
So he started a camp in Connecticut where kids could, in his words, “kick back and raise a little hell”.
He called it The Hole In The Wall Gang Camp, after Butch Cassidy’s gang and his hope was to allow children living with serious illnesses to escape the everyday pains of the real world and be free once more.
Initially intended to just be a week of fun, it was soon realised that camp had a more profound effect – parents and doctors were overwhelmed by the changes they saw in their children returning from camp.
Today there are 30 camps worldwide including several called OTW camps in the UK, including two in Scotland – held at Tullyallan Castle and Strathallan School.
“Paul Newman’s legacy extends far beyond the many iconic performances from the silver screen and one of his greatest achievements is a little-known but much-loved creation held dearly in the hearts of hundreds-of-thousands of children affected by serious illness across the globe,” said Thom.
The Over The Wall ‘camp bubble’ is built from the ground up by a team of dedicated volunteers who transform these sites into a magical environment for campers.
It has an on-site team of paediatricians and nurses round-the-clock, as many campers require continuing therapy but they do everything they can to de-medicalise life for campers, with the medical team dressed up and covered in face-paint just like the rest of the volunteers.
Now in its 15th year of operation, Thom joined the OTW family in 2009 and has volunteered at 16 camps so far.
“Since then I’ve gotten to know hundreds of fantastic children such as Matthew and adults who I’ve forged lasting bonds with for life,” said Thom.
“Childhood illness has a certain brutality in that it steals away so many key periods of growth and development in the lives of young people, but this year marks a far more positive four-year period for Matthew.
“It will be his fourth camp at Over The Wall.
“In 2012, his younger brother Daniel came to the OTW Scotland Sibling camp, which gives a unique opportunity for the brothers and sisters of children affected by serious illness to share in the fun and be amongst other children who share similar emotions and experiences.”
To the youngsters, camp is a week of fun and adventure, but every activity and challenge is intentional and provides proven therapeutic benefits to the campers’ health and their quality of life, which can have long-lasting effects for the future.
Thom said: “Every activity has an element of challenge and it is the choice of the camper of how far they would like to take this.
“We do this by recognising comfort zones and understanding that each individual has a different comfort level.
“Getting campers out of their comfort zone into a ‘stretch zone’, without pushing them to panic, enables them to realise their potential, and it’s where their self-esteem grows.
“Each activity is set up for success by removing whatever barriers, physical or psychological, standing in a camper’s way.”
Reflection is a key part of the therapeutic process as campers become conscious of their success, thoughts and feelings which leads to self confidence.
The intensely-trained volunteers – who are “awesome!” according to Matthew – facilitate this process, and help to validate each camper’s achievements.
For Matthew, one of his proudest achievements was striking a perfect bullseye in archery.
Attending camps also helped him reach a new level of confidence in communication, both with peers and adults, and a eagerness to try new things.
“What makes Over The Wall so special is that every camper knows that the people surrounding them ‘get it’ and understand what each other has been through, or is going through now,” said Matthew.
“I know the other boys in my team have had the same feelings as I have, and have had to deal with the same hurdles.
“I can relate to them, and we can be ourselves. Be who we want to be.”
Thank you letters sent to camp organisers from parents reflect the good the camps do.
One parent wrote: “I don’t know what you have done, but you have given me back my daughter. You have given her back her smile.”
It’s not just campers who benefit from the experience, volunteers such as Thom often report a change in their outlook on life and how they relate to friends and peers outside of camp.
“Personally, I don’t think I would be the kind of person I am today without Over The Wall’s influence, and it has shaped the kind of doctor I wish to become too,” said Thom.
“Focusing on fun, rather than illness, and showing campers what they can still achieve despite any obstacles, has instilled in me a perception of illness and wellbeing that I know I wouldn’t have without Over The Wall.
“There are things that happen at camp which don’t happen anywhere else. Certainly not in school, or at home, and certainly not in the hospital.
“It’s magic, and it touches everybody.
“The spirit of Over The Wall is so precious, and it’s something you don’t get in ordinary life.
“Whilst the hospital may fix the hole in a child, camp tries to fix the whole child.
“Through the bonds forged between campers and volunteers, camp becomes a place of deep love, acceptance and friendship, and as a result of these, a place of healing.”
With the support of the SeriousFun Network, partially funded by the profits from Newman’s Own food company, OTW is able to direct 90% of money donated by individuals, corporations and fundraising events straight to camp itself.
As Newman said: “What could be better than to help people less fortunate than you are?”
And it’s luck that he attributed the creation of camp to, in an attempt to “acknowledge the benevolence of it in my life, and the brutality of it in the lives of some children”.
“From Matthew’s experiences at camp, and the discoveries he has made because of it, it would seem Newman’s lifetime of trying to correct that luck was very worthwhile indeed,” said Thom.
FACT
The Over the Wall children’s charity runs free therapeutic recreational activity camps to seriously ill children aged eight to 17, who have a wide range of life-limiting illnesses and conditions.
It also runs family weekends and camps for siblings.
The charity has initiated a growth programme to allow it to increase the number of children it is able to help each year from 415 to over 1,000 by 2017 but this requires money.
To donate, volunteer or for further information contact www.otw.org.uk