Metabolic Camp in Atlanta

Every year for the past three to four years I have gone to Atlanta, not for a fun vacation or to go sight-seeing, I went for a metabolic camp. The camp is held at Emory University in fraternity houses for a rare metabolic disorder called Phenylketonuria (PKU).

To sum it all up, PKU is where someone was born without an enzyme in their body that breaks down phenylalanine which is found in most foods with protein. If a person with PKU eats protein it can affect their brain and eventually lead to seizures or lifelong damage to the brain. I have been going to this camp for multiple years as a way to meet people with the same disorder as me, since it is so rare. Also, because the camp focus’ on other things about living with PKU, like how to explain it to other people. It is a week-long camp for girls over the age of 12 to help cope with PKU and manage a diet with minimum amount of protein.

Within the week that I spent at Emory I cooked meals during the day, had a DJ at night, sometimes go to the pool for a pool party and we always spend one day off campus and go do something fun. Last year we did some shopping in Atlanta. The year before we went to a place that had a lot of arcade games, and laser tag. The camp isn’t always about going out and having fun, we have a few lessons throughout the day to help us later inlife as we become adults.

I flew down to Atlanta with one of my great friends named Addison who has PKU too and we have shared a room together every single time I have gone down to camp. Addison and I snuck out every night and took a walk around campus and make it a tradition called a nightly adventure. It was a really fun because there were always a lot of camps going on around campus which is why i kept going back every year!