Tiana did not have a good understanding of what having cancer meant or what sorts of things would happen to her when she spent all of those days in and out of the hospital receiving treatment. To this six year old, having the cancer diagnosis of T-Cell Lymphoma, simply meant a lot of time away from school and away from friends. She remembers the cycle of receiving treatments, getting sick from those treatments, then getting discharged from the hospital only to recover well enough to start the cycle all over again. It was truly a scary time of her life and one that she remembers like yesterday.
She remembers the Summer of 1995 as her first year at Camp Reach for the Sky. Like most campers, she didn't know anybody and had no desire to go. And like many campers, someone thankfully forced her to get on that bus. It took very little time for the camp magic to settle in and ease her out of her shell. Tiana LaCerva was a camper at Resident Oncology Camp for seven years. And it has been seven years since she was last at CR4TS. It was time to come back.
In 2010, she decided to become a team captain and get involved with Relay For Life at Point Loma Nazarene University. Tiana was team captain for the largest fund raising team at the event, "Diego's Finest." This team was a collection of her family and friends as far north as Del Mar and as far east as Alpine. Tiana also spoke during the event about her CR4TS experience and of all the wonderful people that she met through camp that have impacted her life.
Having cancer will stay with me forever. I remember how it changed me and made me so fragile and so scared. Camp Reach for the Sky made a difference in my life. It has made me a better person. It is time for me to try and make a difference to the campers of Camp Reach for the Sky.
Relay For Life was Tiana's first step towards giving back to the program that helped her on her road to recovery. This coming summer, Tiana wants to become a camp counselor at the same camp at which she was a camper. There, she hopes she can impact the lives of the next generation of campers that do not want to get on that bus.
Tiana LaCerva makes a difference...
She remembers the Summer of 1995 as her first year at Camp Reach for the Sky. Like most campers, she didn't know anybody and had no desire to go. And like many campers, someone thankfully forced her to get on that bus. It took very little time for the camp magic to settle in and ease her out of her shell. Tiana LaCerva was a camper at Resident Oncology Camp for seven years. And it has been seven years since she was last at CR4TS. It was time to come back.
In 2010, she decided to become a team captain and get involved with Relay For Life at Point Loma Nazarene University. Tiana was team captain for the largest fund raising team at the event, "Diego's Finest." This team was a collection of her family and friends as far north as Del Mar and as far east as Alpine. Tiana also spoke during the event about her CR4TS experience and of all the wonderful people that she met through camp that have impacted her life.
Having cancer will stay with me forever. I remember how it changed me and made me so fragile and so scared. Camp Reach for the Sky made a difference in my life. It has made me a better person. It is time for me to try and make a difference to the campers of Camp Reach for the Sky.
Relay For Life was Tiana's first step towards giving back to the program that helped her on her road to recovery. This coming summer, Tiana wants to become a camp counselor at the same camp at which she was a camper. There, she hopes she can impact the lives of the next generation of campers that do not want to get on that bus.
Tiana LaCerva makes a difference...
That's me! I think that picture is from 1999 during my first year at camp. I'm glad to hear that you want to come back to camp, Tiana. I know you'll love it!
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