Camp Limitless: Creating a Place Where Kids With Type 1 Diabetes Can Just Be Kids
When Ellen Jones’ daughter Amelia was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes two years ago, everything changed.
Amelia was just 8 years old. There was no family history of diabetes, and the diagnosis came as a complete shock. Suddenly, everyday childhood activities came with new considerations—blood sugar levels, insulin, pumps and devices, and the constant awareness that something as simple as playing outside or going swimming would require extra planning.
But Ellen didn’t want Amelia to feel defined by her diagnosis.
She wanted her daughter to feel connected to other kids who understood what she was going through. And she wanted Amelia to have the opportunity to experience something every child should get to experience: summer camp.
That desire eventually became Camp Limitless.
“Somebody needs to start this. And I realized that I am somebody.”
After Amelia’s diagnosis, Ellen immersed herself in the Type 1 diabetes community. She attended monthly coffee gatherings for moms and began meeting other families who were navigating many of the same challenges.
As she became more connected, one question kept coming back to her:
Why doesn’t a day camp for kids with Type 1 diabetes exist in St. Louis?
There was an overnight camp through the American Diabetes Association (ADA), but Amelia wasn’t ready for an overnight experience at the time. Ellen wanted to create an option that would give younger children the magic of camp while also providing an environment where their medical needs were understood.
“I thought, somebody needs to start this,” Ellen says. “And I realized that I am somebody.”
She initially kept the idea to herself because she knew that once she said it out loud, she would have to go through with it.
Eventually, she told her best friend.
Then she mentioned the idea at one of the diabetes moms’ gatherings—and found other moms who wanted to help make it happen.
Ellen, along with three other moms, began meeting, brainstorming and planning. One of the moms had a connection to Beaumont Camp, and together they began working through what a camp could look like and what would be needed to make it successful.
They knew they couldn’t do it alone, so they reached out to the American Diabetes Association.
The ADA agreed to partner with them, recognizing that St. Louis could support a day camp specifically designed for children with Type 1 diabetes.
And in the spring of 2025, the planning became official.
A week of feeling like everyone else
The first Camp Limitless was held the first week of August 2026, welcoming 29 children between the ages of 5 and 12 years old.
For Ellen, the week was unforgettable.
“It was the most meaningful thing I’ve ever done,” she says. “It felt like magic. A magic week.”
The camp gave children the opportunity to participate in all of the things that make summer camp special—climbing walls, archery, swimming, slip-and-slides, outdoor activities and plenty of opportunities to make friends.
But Camp Limitless offered something else that was just as important: a place where Type 1 diabetes didn’t make them different.
For many children with diabetes, activities like swimming, exercising or playing outside can bring additional concerns. Insulin needs can change with activity and a multitude of other factors, blood sugar can drop, and medical devices can sometimes fall off.
At Camp Limitless, those things weren’t unusual.
They were normal.
Several children lost their devices during activities. But instead of feeling embarrassed or singled out, they looked around and saw other kids experiencing the same thing.
“Everyone is in the same boat,” Ellen says. “It’s okay. You’re not alone.”
At the pool, kids could sit on the side eating gummies to treat low blood sugar while comparing their numbers with one another. They didn’t have to explain why they were checking their blood sugar or wearing a pump.
They just got it.
One parent told Ellen that the camp was transformative for her child—and that it was the first time her child had been able to go to the pool without someone commenting on her pump or medical devices.
At Camp Limitless, the kids with pumps and devices weren’t the exception.
They were the norm.
Overcoming fears, building confidence
One of Ellen’s favorite memories from the week involved a little girl who was terrified of the mud cave.
The cave was dark and had no lights, and the girl initially refused to go inside. She eventually decided to try it with a later group.
When she emerged, everything had changed.
“She was radiant,” Ellen remembers. “She had mud on her face and flew into my arms. She was so proud because she had been so scared, but she overcame her fear—and she loved it.”
Her parents later told Ellen how proud their daughter was of herself. She had learned that she could do something that frightened her, and suddenly she wanted to explore even more.
For any child, that kind of confidence is powerful.
For a child who is also learning to navigate a chronic condition, it can be especially meaningful.
More than a camp—it’s a community
By the end of the week, the children had done much more than participate in camp activities.
They had found each other.
They made friends, exchanged phone numbers and created connections that could continue long after camp ended. They had spent a week surrounded by people who understood the everyday realities of living with Type 1 diabetes without needing an explanation.
And that sense of community was exactly what Ellen had hoped to create for Amelia.
The camp also brought together an entire team to support the children. Medical professionals, nurses, a dietitian, psychologist and medical director all played important roles.
“We really thought through what disciplines we needed,” Ellen says. “It’s similar to what I do as a care manager. We think through the connections and what all is needed.”
That connection is at the heart of Ellen’s work at Aging Gracefully.
She describes herself as a connector. When someone is newly diagnosed or a family needs help navigating a complicated situation, she often finds herself at the center of a web of people, resources and support.
And she brings that same mindset to her own family.
After Amelia’s diagnosis, Ellen became a care manager not only for her clients, but for her daughter and for her family.
When plans change, you figure it out
There was also a moment during the first Camp Limitless that reminded Ellen just how much care management and camp leadership have in common.
The ADA director who had been working with the team throughout the planning process arrived Saturday evening, just before camp was scheduled to begin Monday morning. Then, a family medical emergency required him to immediately leave and drive to Wisconsin.
His boss flew in from Florida late Sunday night to help—but there was still plenty to do. Equipment hadn’t been unpacked, medical tablets weren’t where they needed to be, and the camp needed to be ready for children the next morning.
So Ellen went into problem-solving mode.
“We plan and we plan and prepare and prepare,” she says. “But you can’t plan for everything. Something unexpected will happen, and that’s where thinking on your feet and staying calm saves the day.”
For Ellen, the response was simple:
“If it needs to be done, I’m going to do it.”
That philosophy applies to both her work as a care manager and the way she approaches her family.
“If it needs to happen for the client or the kid, it doesn’t matter if it’s my job description. You just do it.”
Looking ahead
The goal is for Camp Limitless to return as an annual one-week summer camp for children with Type 1 diabetes.
The organizers hope to welcome even more children next year. With additional medical staff, there may eventually be an opportunity to expand the camp to more than one week.
Registration for next summer is expected to open in early spring.
For Ellen, however, Camp Limitless has already accomplished something much bigger than creating a summer activity.
It gave children a place where they could climb, swim, get muddy, make friends, face fears and simply be kids.
A place where a pump falling off wasn’t a crisis.
A low blood sugar wasn’t something that needed explaining.
And being different wasn’t different at all.
It was a place where they belonged.
And perhaps most importantly, it gave Amelia—and 28 other children—the chance to experience a little bit of the childhood magic Ellen had hoped to give her from the very beginning.
To learn more about Camp Limitless and future camp opportunities, visit the American Diabetes Association’s Camp Limitless page.
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