An illness should not rob a kid of their childhood. CoachArt, a nonprofit serving kids in Connecticut, is now working to make sure it doesn't.
CoachArt matches children who have chronic illnesses with volunteers who can teach them arts or athletic skills. It has changed the life of one girl in Glastonbury.
“This is my diabetes kit so when I’m going places, I have it,” Amelie Lewis, age 10, said.
For the fifth grader, life means round-the-clock management of type 1 diabetes.
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“I also have my insulin pump,” Amelie said. “I’ve gotten used to it so it hardly ever hurts anymore. Sometimes it hurts a lot more than the other times.”
She was diagnosed four years ago, at age 6. Ever since then, Amelie has needed to manage her blood sugar, 24/7.
“It is all hours of the day. Sometimes we have to wake her up at night. Like last night, I had to go into a room at you know, 11, 12 o'clock at night, give her a little bit of sugar to help bring her back up,” Meredith Lewis, Amelie’s mom, said.
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It limits what she can do when it comes to school, class trips, sleepovers and enjoying treats.
However, there are some areas where diabetes does not hold Amelie back.
“This is a painting of my house that I did two years ago, and it has a lot of detail,” Amelie said.
She has a lot of artistic ability and a love of science.
“I also have this microscope,” she said. “It had like all these things, it had Petri dishes.”
These are some of the hobbies that Amelie enjoys through CoachArt.
“I've done painting, crafts, science, and writing and baking,” she said.
The nonprofit connects children who have serious illnesses with coaches in arts and athletics.
“During the time that she's with these coaches, she really is not focused on her diabetes or her disability. She really is focused on the activity,” Meredith said.
The hour-long sessions happen in person or virtually.
“Having these opportunities, having all these open doors, it really allows just a whole new world,” Amani Joseph, Amelie’s CoachArt coach, who is a psychology college student in Staten Island, said.
Joseph spent about four months coaching Amelie.
“She was really fun and outgoing. She definitely loved a lot of hands-on science activities,” Joseph said. “It was a really fun time with her, just seeing her eyes light up when the experiment would work.”
The program also lets siblings join, so Amelie took some courses alongside her older sister.
With the pandemic, Amelie spent an extended time in virtual classes as a health precaution. CoachArt also gave her a much-needed social connection.
“They were very friendly and very nice. And they were always very patient. And we talked about all of our other interests that we had,” Amelie said.
It is a tool teaching the 10-year-old new skills.
“This one I wrote ‘never give up,’” she said, showing two paintings where she incorporated inspirational phrases.
Through CoachArt, Amelie continues to prove that she will only address type 1 diabetes, and life, one way: with strength.
“It's changed my life,” she said. “Because I found a lot of the things that I enjoy doing and that I might want to pursue, like as a career and it's just opened up so many things that I can do now.”
CoachArt expanded nationwide in November 2021, and now it is looking for volunteers in Connecticut. Coaches do not have to be an expert in art, cooking or sports to share a love of these hobbies with a kid.
Coaches will come up with an eight-hour lesson plan to help a child with chronic illness learn a new skill. Anyone who wants to sign up can do so at CoachArt.org.
