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Alberta camp offers escape for kids with arthritis

8-year-old Courtney Cochrane of Edmonton attends Alberta's first medically-supervised camp specifically for kids with arthritis on July 12, 2017. Global News

For the third straight year, an Alberta camp lent a helping hand to kids with arthritis.

Sixty-three kids attended Camp All In This Together at Camp Kindle for a week-long, medically supervised summer camp, which ended Friday.

The camp is located just outside Water Valley, about an hour northwest of Calgary.

“It’s a break from all the difficulties that come, especially a childhood diagnosis of arthritis,” said Suzanne Valenta, executive director of the Prairie, Nunavut and Northwest Territory region of the Arthritis Society.

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The campers, aged eight through 17, participated in a variety of activities, including climbing, swimming, building campfires to more creative outlets.

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“The kids themselves came up with the title of the camp,” said Valenta. “It’s kind of nice that we can pay homage to them actually creating the camp to be what they want it to be.”

According to the Arthritis Society, about 24,000 Canadians aged 18 and under have some form of the disease.

WATCH BELOW: Medically supervised camp brings fun to Alberta children with arthritis

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Medically supervised summer camp brings fun to Alberta children with arthritis

“The biggest thing that we hear is that they’re not alone,” said Valenta.

Of the 63 campers, about 20 were from the Edmonton area, with the rest coming from across Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan.

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