BalloonLife,October1999

26

Sunday morning dawned warm, but overcast. The weather fore-
cast of rain, and the large band of storms visible onradar just 20
miles to our west and moving in our direction were not going to
dampenour spiritsorenthusiasm,fortodaywastobeavery
specialdayfor us,andhopefullyfor agroupof 55young,but
incrediblybrave, boys and girls.
As a neonatologist (newborn specialist) in Atlanta, I spend
manyofmydaysworkingwithverysicknewbornsandtheir
familiesatatimeof greatstressintheirlives.Manyofthese
children have com-
plex medicalprob-
lemsrequiringon-
goingandfrequent
surgeries, elaborate
medicalcareanda
longlistofdaily
medications. All of
thisresultsinchil-
drenunabletoen-
joythe simple pas-
timesofanormal
childhood-riding
bi kes ,pl ayi ng
sport, camping etc.
Earlier onthis
su mm er,Ihad
learnedo fCamp
B r a ve H e a r t.
Start edju stfo ur
yearsag obythe
parents ofa young
cardiac patient, the
three day overnight
campis heldevery
yearjustnorthof
Atlantain the beau-
tifulStateParkof
FortYargo.Chil-
drenaged5-17years,whohavehadcomplexcardiacdisease
gather together to enjoy the same activities enjoyed by so many
other youth, butina medically supervisedenvironment.Camp
counselors consist of parents, nurses, therapists, child life work-
ersandacardiologist.AfewmonthsagoIapproachedthe
cardiologists whoparticipate atthe camp and offereda balloon
tether - an offer accepted immediately and with great enthusiasm.
I then put the idea to our club and without exception, every single

pilot offered their balloon. We only had space for three! And so,
onSundaymorning,pilotsandcrewoftheGeorgiaBalloon
Association(GBA) metoutsidemyoffice andthenmade their
waytoCamp BraveHeart.
The kids and their counselors gathered onthe lawn in front
of the main pavilion as I laid my balloon out and prepared to talk
tothemaboutballooningandballoonsafety.Theothertwo
balloons were ready to lay out as soon as I had inflated. Amongst
those children present were 7 heart transplant patients, the most
recentbeingjust7
weekspreviously,
anda hostof other
verycomplicated
po st-surg icalpa-
tients. Every one of
them was beaming.
After abriefdiscus-
si on ,an ds o me
greatqu es tio n s
fromthekids,we
werereadytoin-
flate. Andthenthe
raincam e.And
came.Andcame.
Withgreatspeed,
we packedthe bal-
loon away before it
gott oowet,and
wentindoors.
Thed is ap-
pointedfacessur-
roundedus.Notto
be outdone, I man-
agedtoinflateour
18foottallradio-
co ntrolledhotair
ballooninsidethe
pavilionandflew
that for about 15 minutes, and then as the rain slowed to a drizzle,
I re-inflated it again outdoors. The kids linedup for a chance to
operatethe radio and fly the balloon on it’s tether to about 70 feet.
We had a great time until the windpicked up a little and I had to
deflate for fear of burningthe fabric. Once again, the kids went
indoors.
Bynow,wewerefeelingquitedisappointed.After some
coffee, the rain had stopped and the wind seemed a little calmer.

Sharing Hearts at Camp
BraveHeart

by Danni Suskin, MD

Kids at Camp BraveHeart enjoy a tethered ride compliments of Danni Suskin and the
Georgia Balloon Association.

27

Balloon Life,October 1999

Iwasdeterminedto give
those kids their rides. The
other pilots and crew were
all enthusiastic, and we de-
cided to try again, with just
my balloonthistime incase
I neededmanyhandstopack
away if the rains came. We
unpacked on a large tarp, I
started the fan, and the kids
came running.
For the next hour or so,
we piled kids and counse-
lors inandout ofthe balloon
as we made ascent after as-
centtoapproximately50
feet. Atthatheight,we could
see the large lake and sur-
roundingforest.Kidswaved
at their parents, laughing in
absolute enjoyment. They delighted in the “blast off’s,” feigned
terror at the landings and teased any bird who misfortuned at
flyingby. Not a singlechildwastooscared, andafter the medical
issuesthey have faced, I can understand why. The fun these kids
had is diminished only by the sheer joywe all feltatgiving them
the opportunity to enjoy the balloon.
While free flying over trees and lakes is splendid fun, and
balloon festivals are great competition, and gas flying is quite
challenging, nothing I have done in ballooningcompares to the
senseof satisfaction as seeing the faces ofthosebraveand
innocent children.
My thanks to the pilots and crew of the Georgia Balloon
Association for embracing this project with enthusiasm.

Photos courtesy of Bill Parks

While waiting for the weather
young aeronauts try flying a
model balloonat Camp
BraveHeart.

Danni Suskin talks to th e kids
about safety.