Camp CCK

Once upon a time.....now I know what you are thinking this is not a fairy tale.  When you go to the Center for Courageous Kids Muscular Dystrophy camp that is just what it feels like.  You have all of the main components of an adventure/fairy-tale story.  Riding horses, shooting arrows, meeting characters to share your adventures with...sounds like a fairy tale to me. 

  

Camp showed me how much was possible. The staff could not do it alone, they had to have the large zealous group of volunteers.  They had no lack of passion for what they were doing and why they were there.  The staff and volunteers worked tirelessly.  They made sure no one had to worry about their medical problems, and had the ability to participate for the whole camp.  When you have a disability it is often hard to forget about the things you cannot do.  Everywhere you look can be a new struggle or something you cannot  do.  At camp CCK accessibility is not an afterthought it is their first priority. You can feel the independence at camp CCK which can be often hard to do when you have a disability. At camp CCK I got to try many new things such as archery, mini golf, fishing, put put golf, bowling, and horseback riding.  Many of these activities when people get the opportunity to try at camp they can expand on at home or later in their life.  Maybe you can try it once at camp, or maybe you can find a way to do it many more times near home. Lots of people have not had the opportunities to try things like I have or had experiences for adaptive activities.  You can see it in peoples faces when they get to try and participate in something new and you can see that they are enjoying every minute of it. It is a common saying that the eyes don't lie.  I can see that being true when you look into someones face during one of these experiences.  You can see the love and joy they have for it.  Often when I frequent places like hospitals and clinics I can see the fear, worry, depression, or sadness in kids eyes.  My least favorite thing to see is when kids lose the light in their eyes and have given up hope.  At CCK you can see that hope rekindling and joy in the eyes as they take back the grasp of their life and take back hope and joy.  

I use the saying frequently that a picture is worth 1000 words.  Please enjoy these pictures of mine.  Next time you go by someone see what story their eyes tell.   See if you can share some of your light with them, because one flame can start a fire.