Morgan City teen helps special kids have a special summer

If a teacher asks Jake Arceneaux what he did on his summer vacation, the incoming Morgan City High sophomore will have a story to tell.
Arceneaux, 15, spent much of the summer pushing kids in wheelchairs, dancing with them, singing with them and staying within an arm’s reach as they swam.
And he was good enough at those things to be named the top junior counselor at the Lions Camp, the Leesville-area facility that conducts summer camp for physically and mentally challenged kids and young diabetics.
“You really figure out how lucky you are in life,” Arceneaux said in an interview Tuesday.
This kind of luck started with a misfortune. Arceneaux, the son of Kevin and Melissa Arceneaux of Morgan City, was diagnosed about two years ago with Type 1 diabetes. He’s insulin-dependent.
The condition forced him to change his diet and other habits, and it robbed him of his choice of an adult career.
“I was in the Marine Corps,” said Kevin Arceneaux, “and he wanted the same thing. And when he was diagnosed, he couldn’t go into the Marine Corps anymore. That was a big hit to him.”
Two years later, young Arceneaux has made his peace with diabetes.
“It’s made me stronger as a person. It truly has,” he said. “It’s given me an idea.
“This really opened me up to camp actually because I found out about camp because I got diagnosed. I thought it would be a great experience. It’s really been an eye-opener.”
He’s now considering a career in some medical field related to diabetes. His parents said he now comes to them with internet research into schools where the relevant training might be available.
The Lions Camp summer session is seven weeks long. It starts with a week of pre-camp, followed by two weeks for youngsters with mental challenges, two weeks for kids with physical challenges and two weeks for young diabetics.
Lions Clubs finance the camp, including food and medicine, with donations. Campers, depending on their abilities, can swim, dance, do archery, sing and take Zumba classes.
Arceneaux attended the camp last summer as a camper and then returned this year as a counselor. He was trained in all the tasks that young people with special needs require. He even had to be certified as a lifeguard.
“They have this thing called the one on one,” Arceneaux said. “If you go swimming in a pool and they have seizures or they’re handicapped, you have to be in arm’s reach of them in case they have a seizure or anything of the sort. If they’re in wheelchairs, you have to push them everywhere. You really get to know them.”
Arceneaux makes those tasks sound more like a blessing than a burden.
“I think it’s fun watching them smile and laugh, especially the mentally challenged kids, because they’re always considerate about everything you do,” Arceneaux said. “They’re always laughing and joyful, and they enjoy everything at that camp.”
“I’d have to say,” said Melissa Arceneaux, who visited Jake along with his father periodically during the camp period, “the mentally challenged children are just so sweet. I can’t say enough about them.”
They’re an especially good audience for the reading of a Sponge Bob book, too.
“They’d jump up and down,” Arceneaux said. “They couldn’t wait until I read the next book. They were loving it.”
Arceneaux said the campers begin counting the days until next year’s camp as soon as the current camp ends.
“Whenever they arrive at camp, they immediately feel welcome,” he said. “This is the only place in their life where they feel normal. There are other kids who know what it’s like to live with a disability.”