Fire Forces Camp on the Road
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LATIMES.COM F5 AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA MIND & BODY HEALTH HAPPENINGS Fire forces camp on the road By Kavita Daswani From a Happiness Retreat in Malibu to a camp for women in Lake Arrowhead that — literally — rose from the ashes, here are some ideas to stay focused on well-being in March. Jenna Schoenefeld For the Times Damaged camp tries Lake Arrowhead Campowerment, a women- only camp program, had its regu- lar Malibu location burn down in November, on the day it was sup- posed to start. The Woolsey wild- fire burned through the Gindling Hilltop Camp, where Campower- ment had run its retreats since the program launched six years ago. Tammi Leader Fuller, Cam- powerment founder, said the majority of buildings that served as dorm-style rooms, dining hall Luis Sinco Los Angeles Times and gathering spaces for campers A SUPPORT GROUP for people with multiple sclerosis in Downey includes David Santini, left, Harvella Printup, Luis Lemus. were burned to the ground. “We had 160 signed up to start, some of whom were boarding flights to get here,” said Leader Fuller, who with her colleagues was setting up for the first day of camp when they were told to evacuate. “We left all our supplies and materials behind, everything Inspiring MS figure we’d accumulated over six years, and lost it all.” Leader Fuller found a new BY STEVE CARNEY >>> When actress Selma Blair strode onto the Vanity Fair red carpet on Oscar night, her location in Lake Arrowhead and will now be mounting the event in most public appearance since announcing in October that she has multiple sclerosis, what drew most atten- late March, offering the same tion was not her couture but her cane. Not utilitarian medical supply, foam and stainless steel, but sheathed attractions women have been coming to Campowerment for in patent leather, and embellished with a pink diamond and gold monogram — a signal, both brash and heart- since its inception. In addition to ening, to others living with the disease. bonding over rope challenges, meditation and yoga classes, “Kudos to her for her stepping out like that, there will be speakers on parent- and looking beautiful. I think she encouraged ing, body language, integrated a lot of people,” said Dawnia Baynes, 39, of medicine and “writing your lega- Compton, who was diagnosed with MS in cy.” Leader Fuller said for the 2006. “She helped me be like, ‘Who cares? This foreseeable future, she’ll take her is what I’m dealing with.’ Now I want to trick camp on the road; another event out my walker! Bling it out! Put some spinners is planned for Ojai in November. on it!” Info: March 22-25, Running Blair, who first gained a cult following with Springs (near Lake Arrowhead). 1999’s “Cruel Intentions,” walked carefully and $1,599 for all activities, lodging, deliberately across the carpet, pausing and meals, snacks. campowerment smiling for each barrage of paparazzi strobes, .com waving the diaphanous cape of her Ralph & Russo gown, maintaining her balance while showing off that cane. She broke down mo- mentarily halfway along, and with the help of her friend and manager Troy Nankin, com- posed herself, then turned an unflinching gaze toward every lens trained on her. “That was awesome,” said Nandi Bowe, 55, a writer and director in Silver Lake, diagnosed 13 years ago. “All of a sudden, it took a little bit of the fear away. I’m not in a club of one, or a club of 10. MS can look lots of ways. MS can look like a fabulous, beautiful actor.” Blair’s confidence and openness about the disease come at an especially important time, according to Cyndi Zagieboylo, president and chief executive of the National Multiple Scle- Calamigos Ranch rosis Society. Not just that March is MS Awareness Month, but because a study pub- Live long, happily lished earlier this year revealed that twice as A retreat in Malibu will incor- many people in the United States have MS Evan Agostini Invision/AP than previously thought. porate data from the Blue Zones SELMA BLAIR The disease strikes the central nervous arrives at an Oscars party in high style with a cool-looking cane. — regions of the world where system, causing symptoms ranging from people live the longest — and numbness and tingling to blindness and pa- the onetime face of Chanel and a frequent the work of psychologist and ralysis. But because it’s not infectious, doc- ‘She helped me be like, guest at New York Fashion Week. Now she former Harvard lecturer Tal Ben- tors aren’t required to report cases, so preva- hopes to create her own line of adaptive cloth- Shahar. lence has been hard to pin down. The old esti- “Who cares? This is ing, joking that she’ll make elastic waistbands The two-night Happiness mate, about 400,000 people nationwide, was chic. Retreat will include yoga, medita- extrapolated from a 1975 study; the new re- what I’m dealing with.” Zagieboylo credits Blair for talking frankly tion and journaling sessions, and search, published in the medical journal Neu- “about her appearance, and how she looks, a talk by Nick Buettner, a director rology, puts the number at almost 1 million. and how that’s important to her.” of Blue Zones, a movement based The new tally shows the urgency for more Now I want to trick out “Some people, that’s what keeps them hid- on the practices of the areas in the funding and research, and will help indicate den,” she said, shame over not presenting like world where people live the long- whether the disease is growing, or appears in my walker! Bling it out! they used to. Blair, however, is owning it: “I got est. (Those include Ikaria, Greece; geographic clusters, Zagieboylo said. At the a cane, and it’s beautiful, and it should be Okinawa, Japan; a community of same time, Blair’s panache can dispel insecu- Put some spinners on it!’ beautiful.” Seventh-Day Adventists in Loma rities among those with MS, and raise aware- Baynes, who runs a support group for peo- Linda, Calif.) ness — not just for donations, but to spur peo- —DAWNIA BAYNES, ple with MS in their 20s through 40s, lauds “There are huge myths around ple into getting checked. who has MS, on Selma Blair Blair’s desire to keep working, and said people happiness,” said Tia Graham, After Blair revealed her diagnosis in Octo- with the disease sometimes “shut down.” founder of Arrive At Happy, a Los ber, traffic on the MS Society’s website in- “Don’t cancel things, or feel like you’re be- Angeles-based company organiz- creased 200% from the same time a year earli- that it varies from person to person, but also ing a burden to someone,” she said. “You do ing the retreat. “People think that er — though there’s no guarantee the two are that it varies within each person,” she said. need a community.” if they get that promotion, rela- related. And after her red carpet turn in Feb- That’s why people often take so long to get di- Luis Lemus, 31, of Norwalk, was diagnosed tionship, new car or house, they ruary, visits to the page “Definition of MS” agnosed. in 2014, and — like Blair — exhibits spasmodic will be happy. But study after were more than 300% higher than the same According to the NMSS, the disease is dysphonia, which affects the larynx and study has shown that whatever time in 2018. rarely fatal, but its complications increase the causes strained, halting speech. But he’s also that new thing is, that happiness Blair announced her diagnosis on Insta- risk of heart disease, stroke and other prob- a communications major at Cerritos College, only lasts a few months.” gram, and since then has chronicled her life lems. Researchers are still unsure what planning to graduate in the spring and then Workshops are intended to with the disease, with honesty and self-depre- causes MS, and though there’s no cure, treat- move on to Cal State Fullerton. arm participants with tools that cating humor, via the web and through inter- ments can alleviate some symptoms. It affects “If someone tells me, ‘Oh, you can’t do studies have shown lead to overall views on “Good Morning America” and in this women up to three times more often than that,’ I personally see that as a challenge,” he happiness; stronger connections month’s Vanity Fair. men, usually between the ages of 20 and 50. said. “I lost coordination, but I’m still pursu- with friends and family, intel- The actress said she’d had symptoms for “Women in the prime of their lives,” Bowe ing school. I don’t let this define me.” lectual growth and learning how years — fatigue, numbness, loss of coordina- said. “What a cruel time to be affected by this Lemus said he feels the disability has cost to anticipate — and deflect — tion and others — but either ignored them, or debilitating disease.” (Unable to hike with her him friendships and party invites, but admits inevitable daily stresses. was misdiagnosed. Finally, after an MRI in three sons, Bowe said now a simple trip to the his own fears sometimes made him cautious Info: March 21 to 23, Calamigos August, she got a definitive answer, and cried mall requires mental calculations about walk- and closed-off. Ranch, 327 Latigo Canyon Rd, tears of relief. ing distance, bathrooms, crowds and even But Blair inspired him. Malibu. Accommodations at “I’ve heard that from people,” that an MS temperature.) “Because of her, and her fancy cane, she Four Seasons Westlake Village.