MIAMI (Ivanhoe Newswire) – When they first know their child has an incurable disease, parents understandably want to spare no expense in trying to help. But as you’re about to see, it’s not medicine from a hospital making a positive change in the lives of one family, but dance.
Twelve-year-old Jayden Nelson pretty much danced his summer away.
“It’s been keeping me not thinking about my sickle cell and not thinking how it’s bringing me down because it can’t ever bring me down,” Jayden told Ivanhoe.
That’s right. Jayden suffers from sickle cell anemia, which robs his body of the healthy red blood cells needed to supply it with enough oxygen. A side effect is physical pain.
Jayden’s mom, Kerry Lewis, said a camp in Miami has been the best prescription for her son’s health.
Kerry detailed, “He started having pain crisis around the age of eight and it has increased over the years, but now he’s doing a lot better. The exercise that he gets here is beneficial and it’s helping him to be well.”
These performing arts help ‘heal’ not only Jayden, but more than 100 others here at the AileyCamp Miami at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County.
The camps director, Tanisha Cidel, told Ivanhoe, “It creates discipline and because they have something they can own, they can feel good about, you can see it in other areas of their life.”
Turn arounds happen on stage physically and mentally every day.
“It gives you a good mindset of what to do in life,” said Jayden.
More than 500 kids tried out to attend the free camp, but only 100 were accepted. The Adrienne Arsht Center paid $3,000 for each child to attend.
Contributors to this news report include: Christina Nicholson, Field Producer; Roque Correa, Editor; Colin John, Videographer.