Camp for disabled a welcome break for kids, caregivers

Caitlin Hudgins

Friday, July 30, 2004 | 4:22 a.m.

WEEKEND EDITION

July 31 - Aug. 1, 2004

When Joe Wilk, 17, fills the goalie position in hockey, he never lets the puck get past his wheelchair.

Wilk, who has muscular dystrophy, a disease characterized by a progressive wasting of the muscles, played basketball, football and hockey at a school for disabled students in New York. In Las Vegas, however, where no such schools exist, he feels left out of athletics.

But last week, Wilk got back in the game.

At the Muscular Dystrophy Association's summer camp, established in 1955, Wilk and other disabled children and teens are in the majority rather than the minority, health care services coordinator Amy Hernandez said.

"They like it because they are able to see kids that are just like they are. The chance to be around kids that are familiar to them is comforting," Hernandez said.

At Lake Tahoe's Camp Shadow Pines, campers ages 6 to 21 participate in activities designed especially for them: a wheelchair obstacle course, trick-or-treating in July, derby races, and boating activities.

Because he is in the same league as everyone else at camp, Joe Wilk, a five-year camp veteran, feels like he can accomplish things, his mother, Angela Wilk, said.

"It's good for him to be just a normal kid," she said. "It (camp) gives him a chance to be just one of the guys."

Only 10 of the 48 children do not use wheelchairs, Hernandez said.

All of the participants "get to do things that they can't do at home," said Cindy Dail, whose son Andy also attended camp last week.

Fourteen-year-old Andy likes sports, but usually chooses video games over ball games. Sometimes Andy ventures outside to play with his neighborhood buddies, but they often just run off and leave him, Dail said.

"They (children with muscular dystrophy) hear kids out playing kick ball and they want to do that too, but they can't," Dail said.

In public, people often stare at muscular dystrophy patients who use wheelchairs, Dail said, and peers might even laugh if a disabled child falls down. At camp, she said, no one makes fun of a child's disability.

"There's an unspoken understanding," Dail said.

She said campers benefit from observing how other children deal with their disabilities.

"They can change and help each other out," she said.

In addition to having other children around who understand muscular dystrophy, each child also has his very own volunteer counselor who has been trained to care for -- and be friends with -- disabled children.

"They (counselors) are patient with them -- they understand kids' limits," Dail said.

The volunteer who has been Andy's camp counselor for three years is "just unbelievable," she said, and is there to cater to her son's every need.

The majority of counselors are volunteers from the fire department, Hernandez said. Las Vegas Valley firefighters also support the camp with their annual Fill-the-Boot fund-raiser and are celebrating their 50th year of partnership with the Muscular Dystrophy Association this year.

Counselors spend 24 hours a day with their campers, and even sleep in cabins with the children to provide round-the-clock care, especially necessary for muscular dystrophy patients, who are unable to turn themselves during the night.

Parents of the campers, meanwhile, get a break from their usual, time-intensive care-giving routine.

"He (Andy) is my job, and that's what I do for a living," Dail said. "When he's gone, I have time for my body to heal and to get some sleep so I can go another year."

The rest of the family also gets to enjoy some extra freedom, Dail said, since siblings often pitch in to help take care of disabled children.

Andy's 17-year-old sister takes him to the movies, goes shopping with him and plays games with him, Dail said.

"It helps the siblings just to have time to not have someone who's dependent on them," Wilk said.

Every year after camp is over, Andy comes home full of exciting news, wishing the program could last more than just one week, Dail said.

Many campers keep in touch through e-mail in an effort to make next year's camp come quicker.

"It's wonderful for them," Wilk said. "They look forward to it every year."

For more information about the camp, call (702) 822-6920.