b'MS Focus Activitiesteach people about pediatric MS and further their siblings so everyone has a chance toconnecting other children, she said. speak with the neurologists. Each bash endsAfterward,anotherpersonmessageda with a trip to the Mall of America, adjacent towish to Oscar: that he could come and visit the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Air-them. Averse to the idea of sending Oscar port. All of Oscars programs run betweenaway,Emilysmotherencouragedherto $25 and $35. While the number of familiesmake more of him. Since orange socks are has tripled since the rst Buddy Bash, Emilyuncommonandpricy,Emilypurchased recalls the immediate change in two youngwhite socks and dyed them orange. I taught ladies who, at rst, were averse to attending. my mom how to make Oscar, and to this day, During our second Buddy Bash in Februarywe have monkey days where we binge-watch 2019, a girl newly diagnosed in November 2018Netix and make a bunch of sock monkeys, complained the entire drive from Michigan tosaid Emily. Each takes two hours, but its Minnesota about attending an event hostedexcellent hand therapy and a way to form the by a sock monkey, she said. She was verycommunity.bitter, mad at the world and her diagnosis.The first care package got sent out in Before the camp was over, her father came toDecember 2015, consisting of brochures about me and said that he hadnt seen her smilingthe organization and Mr. Oscar Monkey himself; since November. The girl opened up to the othersincethen,morethan500carepackages teens and families completely; thats when IreachedotherchildrenwithMS.Inever knew the community needed these camps. charge a dime for any of these items. My only In February 2020, when that same familyrequest is that they share pictures or videos returned for the third Buddy Bash, their daughterwith us on social media once they received comforted a new and bitter girl at the camp.their sock monkeys, she said. She said, I know what youre going through,MS as an umbrella andtheytooktoeachotherquickly,saidAside from the care packages, Emily sought Emily. That girl who rst attended camp withother ways to extend Oscar\'s reach. In February us last year before COVID-19 has, too, blossomed,2018, the organization hosted its rst annual and its wonderful to see.BuddyBash,athree-dayfamilycampin Emily was inspired by the Teen AdventureMinneapolis lled with team-building, group Camp, exclusive to teens with MS, that sheQ and As, and fun. They make tic-tac-toe bags attended in Rhode Island from 2014 to 2018and other trinkets and goodies to include in that changed her life. "It brought me right backthe care packages, Emily said. For the Q and A, to that weekend my dad and I spent in Siouxwe split up the parents, kids with MS, and Falls, but so many more teens came together,msfocusmagazine.org 36'