Please donate to Camp Nejeda in Rose Kiernan Armstrong's memory

Rose Mary Kiernan Armstrong was a person who lived with Type 1 Diabetes for 48 of her 57 years of life. Her status as a person living with Juvenile/Type 1 Diabetes both defined and defied her personhood over decades trying to reckon with a faulty pancreas and regulate her blood sugars with insulin. Camp Nejeda was an integral, indeed inseparable, part of her life and her identity over those almost five decades.

When she was only nine years old, standing on the sidelines of the annual Saint Patrick's Day parade in New York City that was a testament to and celebration of her Irish heritage, an urgent need to urinate -- again and again, and yet again -- led to a trip to the hospital where Rose's life was irrevocably altered when her symptoms were diagnosed as juvenile diabetes.

The diagnosis was new and scary for her family: How to regulate her blood sugars? How to test? Does she get cake on her birthday? Where on earth do they start to help her?

Enter Camp Nejeda, the saving grace in Rose's life.

Rose began attending Camp Nejeda as a young camper at age nine. She swiftly caught on to the magic, camaraderie, mutual support, health-supporting tips, and lifelong friendships Nejeda offered, and she was hooked. She found her people. When Rose would return home to her family in NJ after a two-week, then building to a two-month long stint, the result was the same: abject sorrow that she was leaving her people, and disbelief that it would be up to 50 cruel weeks before they could again be reunited.

But Rose never really left Nejeda. And without a doubt, Nejeda never, ever left Rose.

Sure, she departed every August and returned each June. But those separations were merely physical/geographical. This was pre-FaceBook, pre-all the social media, but Rose found a way -- always -- to connect with her dearest friends in the world - those from Nejeda.

After she aged out as a camper, and then CIT, and then counselor, Rose joined the Board. Nejeda was an integral part of her existence for almost 50 years: her email was Nejeda, her license plate was Nejeda, her closest relationships were predominantly with Nejeda friends. Nejeda ran deep through her blood and was a fundamental part of her identity.

Rose suffered a catastrophic diabetic event in January 2023, and passed away in Mazatlan, Mexico, while on vacation. We lost this beautiful and bright light far, far too soon.

On September 24 many of Rose’s immediate family members are gathering from across the country, together with many members of the extended Camp Nejeda family, to simultaneously bolster the annual walk-a-thon they hold, and also to honor Rose's memory as a cherished, long-standing member of the Camp Nejeda community.

We often think of summer camp as mere recreation for youth, but for kids with Type 1 diabetes, camp provides life-saving care, as well as a network of support for both campers and their families. We can think of no better way to honor Rose's memory than to raise funds for Camp Nejeda so that the next generation of campers and their families can also navigate Type 1 diabetes.