Awash in tears and applause, the story of the ordeal of terminal
brain cancer in preadolescent Teddi Mervis and the "something
positive" her father, Gary, determined to make of it - a camp for
all the kids with cancer. Buttino is the local journalism professor
(St. John Fisher College, Rochester, N.Y.) recruited to memorialize
Teddi by promoting the cause, or vice versa. To chronicle the
period from her diagnosis in 1979 through her decline and death in
1982, including the first two camp summers, he reconstructs
whatever scenes he can piece together from hospital records and the
self-involved recollections of some 50 people. It's an
undiscriminating patchwork: we learn more about what Nurse Barb
said to Nurse Anne, or why Teddi's room assignment was changed,
say, than about how her two teen-aged siblings coped with being
upstaged by her growing symbolic prominence, and with the
sufferings - sorrow along with stress - of being weighed down by
her steady physical deterioration. Likewise, when Teddi (preparing
to "go over to the other side") is baptized, we hear about
godparenting Italian-American style, but not a word about the
nagging ambiguity of religion in the Mervis home. The Episcopal
priest becomes an authentic presence for Teddi (in contrast to the
cast of well-meaning sentiment-groupies who populate the book,
especially at camp), and he sums up the Mervis message: "Suffering
is only meaningless if we can't find its purpose." Camp Good Days
and Special Times came to embody that purpose for Gary Mervis after
his short, unavailing search for a miracle cure for Teddi; a
politico used to pulling the strings, he escaped his helplessness
by crusading to raise money and consciousness. And with grand
success: what began ten years ago as a volunteer-run week of camp
for 63 kids has mushroomed into a national support system for
afflicted families. Like the dynamics in the Mervis family, the
logistics of operating the camp remain unexamined. All the
inspiration here doesn't make up for the lack of substance and real
animation: Even Teddi is only a paper hero. (Kirkus Reviews)
Teddi Mervis lost her fight with cancer when she was 12 years old.
Beginning with the diagnosis of her brain tumor, the story tells of
her three-year battle for life--a struggle she eventually lost.
Although Teddi passed away, her memory inspired those who had
helped her to deal with her suffering to band together to aid other
children who are facing cancer. These people and thousands of
others inspired by Teddi's story--from construction workers to
college students to bank presidents--helped form an organization
whose primary purpose is to make the lives of children as happy and
rewarding as possible. The organization, Camp Good Days and Special
Times, Inc., has become one of the largest and most successful
organizations of its kind in the world. It is credited with
breaking down the barriers for children with cancer and creating
pioneering new programs. The 2001 Edition carries the story forward
from 1990 with new photographs and an afterword. This book serves
to teach and guide those who must cope with the devastating ordeal
of childhood cancer.
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