Utah Hemophilia Foundation

They came. They kicked. They conquered. UHF teens from the near and far reaches of Utah gathered together for one fantastic weekend at the Homestead Resort for the 2010 Teen Retreat. We had a great turnout for the 2010 Teen Retreat with thirty teens in attendance and a great group of adult chaperons.

After dinner on Friday evening, physical therapist, Heidi Lane, led a fun and informative discussion about compliance with treatment plans and annual visits to the IHTC as well as being physically active with a bleeding disorder. Thank you, Heidi, for joining us and sharing your knowledge. Then it was time to play! The teens swam, played pool and air hockey, and stayed up late playing card games and watching movies. In one of the girls’ condos we played a hilarious card game (thank you, Jan Western) that involved speed…and imitating barnyard animals. We laughed and cried ourselves silly over that game.

The teens enjoyed some more free time Saturday morning, and then after a delicious Mexican buffet lunch, we cleared the floor of the Timpanogos Room in preparation for some amazing karate. Dallas Lawrence of the Bobby Lawrence Karate Studio joined us and gave an unforgettable workshop. He taught the teens some self-defensive karate intermixed with a great motivational lecture about responsibility, self-advocacy, and achieving your dreams. He even taught the teens a mini karate routine. I couldn’t quite keep up, but all the teens seemed to jump, kick and chop with grace. The teens’ highlight for the day was challenging Dallas to a death-defying array of karate moves, which he gladly obliged them by delivering. They had him back-flipping, spinning and nunchucking around the room until everyone was dizzy. Dallas, you are fabulous, and we thank you so much for coming!

I was really pleased with the UHF teens and enjoyed getting to know many of them better. It was wonderful to watch them rekindle old friendships and make new ones. Camp Valor is sure to have a great group of Counselor Associates this year with these teens in the mix!

Thanks to everybody who pitched in to make the 2010 Teen Retreat a success: the dedicated chaperons; our great speakers, Heidi and Dallas; the warm Homestead Resort staff; and the teens that came and participated with great attitudes and smiles on their faces. We had a wonderful time and are already anxiously awaiting the 2011 Teen Retreat. See you then!