Campfires & Skits

My sister and I go to MDA summer camp every year. This year will be Janelle's 12th year and my 14th year. It's a special week for all of us. It is a time to renew friendships and begin new ones.

Janelle's most memorable experience is from the campfires, where we sing songs and watch skits. Her favorite skit is "Falling Rock," a tradition at camp for years. "Falling Rock" is a story about an Indian contest. Every time the name "Falling Rock" is mentioned, the storyteller has to do a belly flop.

My favorite camp memory is from the talent show in 1997. We set up a table on the stage full of makeup, hair spray and brushes. My two female counselors sat in chairs behind the table and two male counselors knelt behind them and applied makeup on the lady counselors without looking at what they were doing. The results were so funny.

Every year brings new memories with it. Volunteers go out of their way to make our stay eventful. Every year camp gets better and more creative.

Melissa Eckardt
Camp Cuyamaca, Decanso, Calif.,
1985-1998

Camp's the Best!

Last year's camp has proved to be the best yet! What more could a camper ask for? To be able to attend a brand new camp, where anything and everything is possible, accessibility isn't a problem, and where there are many activities to do in a week, is very exciting.

Camp for All, where MDA had the privilege of holding the first long camp, was specifically designed to accommodate people who are handicapped. Activities such as fishing and canoeing were made very easy since every last detail was planned out.

The day the Harley-Davidson motorcycle group came to camp, the roar of engines could be heard as they wound their way down the road. Riding in the sidecar of a Harley was very exciting and the tattoos were especially neat.

The ropes course, a new activity, was the closest campers will probably get to riding a roller coaster or bungee jumping. The thrill of soaring down the zip line was incredible, and knowing you were only attached to a rope was exhilarating.

Swimming at camp this year was exceptional because the pool was large and had all kinds of ways campers could get into it.

Overall, camp was a blast! If one thing didn't interest campers, there were plenty of other activities for them to do. Having a nice, new, accessible facility made camp an even bigger success. Campers can look forward to next year at this incredible place!

Brian Catalina
Camp for All, Burton, Texas, 1998

The Camp of Champions

I didn't know if I wanted to go to camp or not because I had to be away from my family for a whole week. But my mom said if after a day I didn't like it she would come and pick me up. So I went and I had a blast. This is why.

We slept in cabins that had bunk beds. The campers slept on the bottoms and the counselors slept on top. I made my counselor's bed cozy by putting in red, white and blue confetti stars and flags.

One day while I was in arts and crafts, the camp director came and said, "These guys need to talk to you for a little while." But what they really did was interview me for the TV news in College Station that night. I couldn't believe it: I was a celebrity!

One fun activity was a scavenger hunt. There was a box of stuff like doctors' gloves and we had to blow one up and draw a counselor's face on it. We blew up the whole box. Instead of finding a four-leaf clover, we drew one on a piece of paper.

We had a war with another cabin. They stole our counselor's bed sheets, so on the last day of camp we got them back. We taped a piece of paper that said "YOU STINK" on the back of a piñata and took it to their cabin.

I met a girl named Nydia who was 10. We played together and whenever we needed partners we got together. I also made friends with a little girl named Jessica. She thought my wheelchair was cool. Sometimes she would cry a lot; I would give her a ride in my wheelchair and she would stop crying. I also shared my doll with her to make her happy. We had a lot of fun braiding our hair in French braids.

Marisa Liles
Greene Family Camp, Bruceville, Texas, 1996

Silly String and Squirrel Songs

The first year I went to camp, I was 7 and I was at first scared. Then we drove in and I saw all of these buses with kids getting off the bus and all of them had wheelchairs. I had never seen so many people in wheelchairs in my life. It was really good for me to see because I didn't feel alone any more. I felt I could relate to these people, and I knew I would be happy and have fun.

There were a lot of fights with water balloons and water guns. Usually the girls' cabin and the boys' cabin fight against each other and everyone just gets soaked. The first time we had a water fight I was really bad. I got a lot of people wet and I got really wet. Later that night they got back at me with Silly String and shaving cream all over my hair, all over my clothes, everywhere. I had to go to the cabin and take a shower in my clothes to get it all off. That was probably my most disgusting memory.

At our camp, if you lost or misplaced something they put it up on top of the fireplace in the lounge, and in order for you to claim it you had to sing this stupid little song in front of the whole camp. What people would try to do is steal your stuff and put it on top of the fireplace so you would get all embarrassed and have to sing a song to get it back. It's called the "Squirrel Song." It's like, "Squirrel, squirrel, shake your little toe," and you have to do all of these things and look like a squirrel when you do it. That happened to me a couple of times.

Our cabins were big with four sections and two bathrooms. All of the girls liked being in one cabin. We really did bond. We would get together and plan something to do to the boys' cabin. So it was never girl against girl; it was always girls against boys, which was fun.

A lot of the 6-year-olds get really scared when they first go to camp. Not scared, but they're shy so you kind of have to bring them out a little bit. I've done that a couple of times. It's up to the older campers to make them feel comfortable. The older campers can help because they know what they're feeling and experiencing.

Mandy Van Benthuysen
Camp Cuyamaca, San Diego, Calif.,
1987-1998

Welcome, Chad Everett

Chad Everett visited our camp in June 1982. I was 13 that summer and I had no clue who he was.

Little did I know that women my mom's age thought he was pretty hot; little did I know he was the star of a TV show called "Medical Center." We just thought it was cool that he was donating some beef so we could have sloppy joes for dinner!

The day he was to arrive, the campers were gathered around a poster to welcome him. The poster was painted in bright colors, with a picture of a cow and our signatures. Each one of us contributed to its creation. It was hung on the front of the barn, which served as our dining hall.

When Chad Everett arrived, we crowded around him excitedly. He was kind and nice to all of us, even as he was being inundated with attention. He patiently suffered through lots of Kodak moments. He beckoned for me to sit on his lap for my picture!

It was an exciting week and a fun day, leaving all of us tired, but with smiles that wouldn't fade.

Theresa M. Kidwell
Camp Montresor, Leesburg, Va., 1982

Role Models

My son, Justin, was diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy in 1993, when he was 10 months old. Needless to say, I was scared and confused.

I volunteered in 1994 for MDA summer camp. I was curious. I thought that at camp I would see what my son would look like, act like, speak like, be like. I had imagined something horrible.

I was assigned to a young man who had Duchenne muscular dystrophy and many developmental delays. "Water" and "wet towel" were the only words he spoke. He wandered away if you didn't hold on to him and rarely sat still. It was very hard, and after the first day I wanted to go home.

I knew I would have to change my attitude to get through, so I did. I noticed the boy's beautiful smile and the way he loved doing everything. I started to really have fun with him. The week went by too quickly. In the end, it was the most work I've ever done, but I was rewarded with a great sense of fulfillment. I have gone back to camp every year since.

As a mom, I learned a huge lesson that year at camp, and it's made a difference in how I parent: Things are only as hard as you make them. I wasn't facing parenthood of a disabled child. I was just facing parenthood of Justin, my child. That wasn't so scary.

Today Justin is 6 years old and ready to attend MDA summer camp for the first time. I can't wait for him to go. There are so many wonderful role models there -- kids I want him to know. He is a super kid himself; maybe he will be someone else's role model.

He is ready to swim, fish and camp in the mountains. He practices yelling "food fight!" He has told me that it is OK if I'm there, as long as I don't come anywhere near him, and I am certainly not to kiss or hug him. You can bet I will be volunteering for both 1 a.m. and 4 a.m. turns. I'll sneak my kisses in then.

Melissa Mahan
MDA Summer Camp at Easter Seals Handicamp, Empire, Colo., 1994

Loves His Counselor

If everything is clean every day, like the bathroom, our clothes off the floor, our bunk beds made, we get points for water balloons the last day of camp. One year a group that didn't get any balloons filled a trash can full of water and dumped it all over everybody.

My camp counselor is Marty Muniz. He is the most kind and caring person I know. He has muscular dystrophy also and is one of my best friends.

Cole Vasile
Camp Cuyamaca, Decanso, Calif., 1998

A Counselor Reminisces

The summer camp program of the Muscular Dystrophy Association has evolved into one of the most important events in my life. I have been doing it for 16 years, and the people I've met have helped build and shape my life into what it is today.

I remember David C., my first camper. I remember the canoe that tipped over, which had the cameraman on board who was filming for the Telethon. I can remember boat races, fishing, campfires, skits, s'mores, dances, ball games and much more.

I can remember campers crying because they didn't want to leave mom and dad, and that very same camper crying because they didn't want to leave camp at the end of the week. I remember bedtime at 10 p.m., but going to sleep at 3 a.m. I can remember J.R. and how during a talent show he did a tap dance routine he had been learning all year, which brought tears to everyone's eyes.

I can remember each and every camper and attendant who has come into my life and touched me in a very special way, no matter how briefly.

The person I remember the most is Tracey Armstrong. She showed me that no matter what challenges life gives you, you should never give up.

I still keep in touch with Tracey's family. It is her memory today that keeps me going. I know that she's still watching over me. A part of Tracey still goes to camp every year, for her spirit is with me.

People say that it is better to give than to receive. Through summer camp, I have received more than I could ever give back. I have received life.

Jim Bazluki
Camp Bethelwoods, Rock Hill, S.C., and Camp Thunderbird, Lake Wylie, S.C., 1983-1999

A Mom's Memories

In the winter of 1995 MDA sent my daughter, Allyson, a notice about summer camp. When she arrived home from school, she opened it and exclaimed, "Mom, Mom, it's camp! Can I go? Can I go?"

Allyson learns archery.

I read the letter only to realize that it was overnight camp for a week. Allyson, then 7, didn't see any problem. She said she would write to me if that was my problem.

Of course, I had questions, and the next day I called the MDA office to ask about them. Where was this Mass. Hospital School where the camp would be held? Who was in charge? What was their experience? How many adults to campers were there? I had my whole "protective mother" list. After talking to the director at the school itself and seeing a short tape from camp the year before I decided to allow Allyson to go.

The week was a long time for me, in that I missed her much more than I had anticipated, but it was also a break that I had never had. When the week was over, I couldn't seem to get there quickly enough. All the way home she talked nonstop about her new friends and experiences.

I realized that for the first time in her life, Allyson had been someplace where the only reason not to participate was one of her own personal choice and not because of inaccessibility or her disability. Allyson came home to us even more self-assured than before and with a new excitement about life and living. Once more I realized that my true hopes and dreams hadn't gone anywhere: I was seeing them before my eyes.

Allyson intends on going to MDA summer camp until she is too old.

Lina DuPont
Camp Florian, Canton, Mass., 1995