LINCOLNTON — Chase Borders has happy memories of attending Camp Strong Heart as a child.
“I always enjoyed it. I had a good time every time, and I enjoyed making friends,,” said Borders, 29, who was born with his heart “upside down and backward” and had two surgeries — one as an infant and another at around 4 years old — to correct L-transposition of the great arteries with pulmonary stenosis.
Once a camper, now Borders is serving as a counselor for this year’s camp. Borders took a week off his job as chief engineer at Tru by Hilton in North Augusta for the camp and even brought a photo album from his summer camp experience to share with this year’s batch of campers.
Camp Strong Heart is a camp for children with cardiac diagnoses and about 40 children are participating in it July 15-17 at The YMCA Camp Lakeside in Lincolnton. The specialized camp is one of six offered by the Wellstar Golisano Children’s Hospital of Georgia. Other camps focus on children with cancer (Camp Rainbow), lupus and asthma (Wheeze and Sneeze) and renal issues (Kidney Bean).
The specialized camps provide children with the outdoor summer experience that many would not be able to take part in because of their medical conditions, according to Kym Allen, the manager of child and adolescent life services at the children’s hospital.
“Parents feel comfortable sending their kids to one of our camps because we have an attending physician and two nurses here,” she said.
Children participate in most activities unless it’s not medically advised. At Camp Kidney Bean, children won’t do the zipline because the safety harness puts pressure on the organs or do a rock climbing wall, she said.
Otherwise, they are participating in the same fun activities that children without medical conditions do. At Camp Strong Heart on July 15, they ziplined, swam, did arts and crafts and sang along to karaoke.
Borders said some of his best memories were the friendships he made those several summers he went to Camp Strong Heart, and Allen said campers build bonds with people who’ve gone through similar situations.
Some have never met anyone else with a chemo port or a surgical scar in the same place.
“We want these kids to connect with other kids,” she said.
And while there are no formal therapy sessions, Allen said organic conversations arise. Allen said teenage girls have asked one another what types of bras they wear to cover a scar or others find out how to respond when someone asks what if their hair never grows back because of chemo.
Children also get to see their doctors in a different environment. Allen said a child pulled her aside needing to tell her something. The child was amazed that the doctor ate Cocoa Puffs cereal.
“They get to see their doctors as regular people,” she said.
Borders remembers being at camp with his own pediatric cardiologist, Dr. William Lutin.
“Dr. Lutin is one of the most compassionate doctors I’ve ever met,” said Borders, who has kept in touch with Lutin, who is now retired, through social media. Lutin even wrote one of Borders’ reference letters to get the counselor position.
Lutin served as the camp’s first medical director and functioned in the role for many years. He said he enjoyed being able to see his patients in a different environment.
“How you remember them is how you saw them in hospital or in the ICU,” he said.
He said it was inspiring to see them doing a Ropes course or swimming or riding in paddle boats after they’d been so ill.
“To see them out there in the wild is awesome; it’s incredible,” he said.
Charmain Z. Brackett, the publisher of Augusta Good News and Inspiring: Women of Augusta, has covered Augusta’s news for more than 35 years. She’s won multiple Georgia Press Association awards, is the recipient of the 2018 Greater Augusta Arts Council’s media award and was named best local writer by readers of Augusta Magazine in 2024 and 2025. Reach her at charmain@augustagoodnews.com. Sign up for the newsletter here.
