Jadiz Flowers was the youngest child at Camp to Go last week, but he wasn't going to be left out.

The 23-month-old mimicked the staffers' dance moves, fished in the waterless pool of plastic fish and dug through sand to find hidden treasures.

As he played alongside other children at the Medical College of Georgia Children's Medical Center, his aunt Angie Kearse laughed with family members of other children participating in the camp.

For a few hours, her worries about the surgery that Jadiz's big brother, Cordiz, was undergoing were eased, Mrs. Kearse said.

"They are having so much fun and are so energetic, despite what they are going through, and for a few hours, everything is OK," she said. "When they are happy and smiling, you can't help but smile, too. It makes you, as the adult, feel that everything is going to be OK, and it takes your worries away."

Camp to Go is a new program organized by Camp Twin Lakes to bring activities to hospitalized children. Camp Twin Lakes is a nonprofit organization that conducts traditional camps for children who have serious illnesses or are experiencing other challenges, said Nyleta Singleton, the organization's program associate and recreational therapist.

"The children have different energy levels, so we have adapted the camp activities to the hospital and the children," she said. "We make it as much like camp as possible so they can have that experience."

About 100 children, including inpatients and outpatients, participated in the camp. It was a welcome change for many kids, said Jennifer Wallace, a child life specialist at the medical center.

"It's not fun being in the hospital," she said. "This has given them the opportunity to focus on socializing and being normal kids instead of on illnesses, procedures and medicines. Their parents and siblings also are participating, so everyone is involved and having fun."