BY DR. TOM BALZ

PALS Parent & Volunteer

We often ask members of our PALS Family "Why PALS?" to learn how our mission has impacted their lives. This month, we hear Tom's story. Tom is a parent and medical volunteer at PALS!

Dear PALS Family,

We first found PALS when my wife came across some of the incredible PALS videos when looking for an overnight program for our daughter with Down syndrome. Since she has a tendency for homesickness, and since I had the opportunity to be on site as a medical volunteer, it seemed like a good fit. What I discovered, however, is that as marvelous as the videos are, they only show a very small tip of a very large iceberg. The relationships that develop at PALS are genuine and transforming. The smiles and laughter, the high-fives and fist pumps, and cheers for the songs at karaoke are all genuine and heartfelt. It gave my daughter the chance to experience something that had never been available to her before. As a parent of a child with Down syndrome, the privilege to be able to witness this is beyond description.

“It gave my daughter the chance to experience something that had never been available to her before. As a parent of a child with Down syndrome, the privilege to be able to witness this is beyond description.”

I have spent my career working at a teaching hospital. This has put me in almost daily contact with medical students and residents, a fairly accomplished group. However, I have never been around a more impressive group than the counselors at PALS. They give up a week of their summer (and the directors a good deal more) to be able to share themselves with our kids and young adults. Many will then thank the families for sharing their campers with them. How incredible! Someday, perhaps when they are parents, they will realize what a precious and powerful gift they have given to our campers and families.

PALS has helped Katie move past her homesickness, and she is about as anxious to have her father around when she is with her friends as other twentysomethings. Therefore, we now plan our summers around two camps, hers and mine. Even though she is not at my camp, all of those smiles, high-fives, and cheers are (by proxy) for my Katie. That is Why PALS.

Sincerely,

Tom Balz