Meet the Cain Family
For first-time camper family, Tisa and Courtney, along with their daughters Amara, Eva, and Audre, Family Camp began with a mix of nerves and hope. Their medical team had encouraged them to try a weekend at Roundup River Ranch, where their daughter Amara would have access to care of medical volunteers and staff throughout the weekend. Arriving at camp for the first time felt like entering unfamiliar territory.
That uncertainty didn’t last long. Within the first hour, as they were still settling into their room, Amara excitedly showed a volunteer her stuffed “heart warrior” animal, complete with stitches to mirror her own. To her parents, that small moment said everything: she felt safe enough to open up.
Born with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome, Amara had already undergone three open-heart surgeries, her first at just two and a half days old. Today, her heart functions as well as it possibly can, and her cardiologist has cleared her to do whatever she dreams of.
Still, the weight of those early years remained, often in ways only other families with similar paths could truly understand. Their weekend at Family Camp offered a shared sense of understanding for the Cain family.
“You have the people in your life who know what the journey has been,” Courtney reflected. “But they don’t know what the journey has been.”
At camp, that knowing came more easily. Tears were shed within the first day, not out of sadness, but out of relief.
For Amara, the magic was simple: she wasn’t the only child with a scar or a history in hospitals. She met others like her, performed in the Variety Show, danced at dinner, and laughed at the Challenge Course. Her family shared in her confidence and joys as they all participated in camp programs such as Archery, where a friendly family competition took place with excitement.
Even through pouring rain during the weekend, families giggled through the new Low Ropes Course, tried the zipline for the first time, and bonded over clinking glasses at Café Au Lait (a special parents only evening activity). The Cain family came to Roundup River Ranch expecting their very first camp experience, and left with a deep sense of belonging that even brought them to the Fall Festival Howdy Hangout the following weekend.
“We wanted her to feel like she had people to relate to,” Tisa said about Amara. “And she did. We all did.”
