how adam got over the wall

By Rachael Robinson, Marketing and Communications Officer, Over The Wall

It was a nerve-racking experience for 8-year-old Adam when his mother dropped him off at Over The Wall, a SeriousFun Camp in the United Kingdom. It was his first time away from home and a strange place where he did not know anyone. 

In the last five years, Adam has dealt with more than anyone should in their entire life. Adam has a brain tumor, which has resulted in left sided hemiplegia (a severe weakness of the limbs on one side of the body) and a visual impairment, both of which affect his mobility and independence. He has undergone four brain surgeries and two years of chemotherapy.

Adam often trades the classroom for the hospital room and friends his own age for doctors and nurses. When Adam is in school, he is accompanied by an adult to ensure his needs are met. Making friends can be difficult as he is unable to join in the playground games.

But at camp, things were different. Adam met other children his own age, who had many of the same stories. The experience transformed him. In an environment that encourages “I can” rather than “I can’t”, Adam was challenged to try many new activities. “He loved the team songs, talent show, horse riding, fishing and the creative writing at camp,” said Adam’s mother. “He loves everything apart from the climbing wall, really!” Adam even managed to paddle in a kayak all on his own, something he and his mom never thought possible before camp. 

The camp’s name was inspired by Humphrey Bogart movies, where prisoners broke out of jail and jumped over the wall to escape. The camp’s founder Joe Woods once explained, “These kids are escaping chemo and hospital at camp; they are going over the wall.” 

And “over the wall” Adam went.

Adam just returned home from his third year as an Over The Wall camper. “When he first went, it was all about being away from us and taking part in the activities," said Adam’s mother. “But now it is more about having fun with the volunteers and other campers and feeling more ‘normal,’ as he is with kids who know how he feels.” 

Camp may have provided Adam with an escape, but more importantly, it restored a sense of possibility in himself and his family, something Adam now enjoys in his everyday life. Because of camp, Adam is better able to cope with challenges, and has a renewed sense of confidence and independence.