I became an orphan at age 12. Now, I run a summer camp for kids like me. [Video]

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Lynne Hughes, founder and CEO of Comfort Zone Camp. It has been edited for length and clarity.

When I was 9, my three brothers and I were watching our parents play tennis near our Michigan home. It was nothing out of the ordinary until my mom pulled a muscle. She came hobbling off the court, and my dad offered to take her to the hospital, but she said it wasn’t necessary. She called her doctor, who told her to ice and elevate her leg.

A few days later, I woke up to my dad calling my mom’s name in the bedroom next to mine. She had died in her sleep from a blood clot. It almost never happens, but it happened in my family.

After that, my family life became chaotic. Instead of coming together in grief, it was every man and child for themselves. My dad was racked with guilt, so he …