Something magical happens once a year for kids affected by the neuromuscular diseases in MDA's program. That something is MDA summer camp.

Photo by Deborah Gilbert

Since 1955, MDA's camp program has given these special youngsters an extraordinary week full of fun activities uniquely designed for them. It's a time when dreams come true, worries drift away and lifelong friendships are made.

It wouldn't be possible without thousands of adult volunteers. Most are assigned one-on-one to take care of a particular camper all week long. Others assume special camp functions. All of them are there with one common purpose: to give these kids a week of fun and laughter they'll never forget.

The experience is just as unforgettable for the volunteers who take the plunge and get involved. So if you're 16 or older, call your local MDA office and ask about volunteering at camp. Help create joy in a special kid's heart. And in your own.

I was in my final year of nursing school, and I was being treated for something by a local neurologist who also happened to be the local MDA clinic director. He asked me what I was doing in the summer, and said he had a project for me. The nurse at the local MDA camp wanted to retire and the camp needed a replacement nurse to provide the necessary medical support. I didn't know anything about MDA, but I agreed to try it out. This was 1978.

First, I volunteered to observe in the MDA clinic for a while, so I would get oriented to the neuromuscular diseases and learn how to evaluate this pediatric patient population.

So I went to camp that first year and, frankly, that's all it took. I was hooked. Not that it was easy the first time. I was scared to death. I was medically responsible for all of these kids. But I found out that you just need to forge forward, through your fears. As you get into the activities, a lot of the anxiety dissipates, because everybody's having so much fun.

At camp, as the medical director, I'm responsible not only for the health of the campers but also the counselors. Not only are you dispensing medication but you're assessing activities to make sure they're safe for the campers.

Talking to the campers, I never have any superficial conversations. Only important ones. "What kind of wheelchair am I going to get when I can't walk?" "John caught a fish yesterday. That was the first time he ever caught a fish!" "What are they doing to cure my disease?"

Everybody is there for the sole purpose of making it a special week for the campers. That's the one goal that everybody rallies around and everything else takes second. It's wonderful to see how a counselor grows during the week, by being responsible for someone else's care.

With that kind of commitment, you can deal with virtually anything, even a week of rain, because it makes that week special. You don't do the same kind of activities as if the sun was shining, but you'd be surprised how unique that week can be. And each time you go back to camp, you don't get the same experience. You get a different one.

I see the kids during the year at MDA clinic. We'll sort of share a smile, some memory from that special week that we can share secretly.

Camp is an intensely emotional, dedicated, communal experience where you shut out the world for six days. And you just take care of each other. And that's really unique.

I'm a teacher and coach at Jesuit High School in Tampa. I also head up the volunteer service program. All of our students are required to do some community work so they'll have an experience of actually touching somebody's life.

The program is basically the same as when I was a student at Jesuit, years ago. To fulfill my volunteer service requirement, I went to MDA camp. I was one of about 25 kids from the football team that went there that year, so I was with my buddies.

The next year, I got the letter from MDA that it was time to be a camp counselor again. I was getting ready for college, and I thought, I don't have to do this, I don't have any community service requirement anymore. But I asked myself why did I go to camp in the first place? To fulfill a requirement? To be with my buddies? No, I decided, I went there to help somebody's life.

So I went back to camp, and this time my buddies from school weren't there. On the first day, I sat by myself in the cafeteria. By the end of the week, I was sitting with about 40 people around me. I realized I had had the greatest experience of my life.

I've been asked if there's one thing that shaped the direction of my life and I always say it was that week, when I was alone and I had to stretch myself a little to meet other people.

After I returned to Jesuit, not as a student but as a teacher, I continued to go to camp, but I also began to recruit students to volunteer as counselors, maybe 20 or 30 kids a year.

I always tell them that it's not going to be an easy thing, but it's going to be a worthwhile thing. I get to see them learn and grow and realize that when they give something of themselves, they get a lot more back in return. That's an amazing thing to watch.

They've learned from the MDA campers that you need to maximize every moment of life. Because they see the campers having fun and going after things despite their physical problems.

Camp has always been the place that's moved me to my greatest laughter and my deepest tears. It's the only place where I feel that paradoxical feeling of fulfillment and sadness. I know that if the day comes when I no longer feel that feeling, then I will stop going to camp. But I don't think that day will ever come.

I have Duchenne muscular dystrophy. I'm 22. I started going to camp when I was about 10. I heard about it through the MDA clinic.

The first year, I was scared being awayfrom my parents for the first time. But I ended up enjoying it very much.

Many of the counselors at our camp are U.S. Marines. They are very nice guys. They're tough, but they're gentle when they pick you up. They know how to use their muscles!

At camp, everybody's happy. No one judges you or looks at you like you're different. I like the nature walks and especially the pool. It's the only time of year I would get to swim around. They also have arts and crafts, hiking, campfire night, sports. And I really like the karaoke night and the talent show because I get to sing!

About five years ago, MDA asked me if I would talk to new kids who are scared about coming to camp for the first time. I talk to them and tell them not to be scared. I tell them there are a lot of kids there with the same disease, and that there are people there to help them with their specific needs. And I tell them about all the events that you get to do.

Last year was the last year that I could go to camp as a camper. But I'm going to go on helping and talking to the new campers and convincing them to go to camp. I'm a happy person and I always like to talk to people.

I first got involved in camp for selfish reasons. I had a photography studio, and our marketing person told us that if we wanted to meet the right people we needed to get involved with some charity organizations.

I got in touch with MDA. They wanted me to photograph their summer camp. At first, I wasn't sure I wanted to do it. They told me that if I did, it would change my life.

I just fell in love with the kids once I was up there. The first thing I noticed is that they're NOT different. Yes, they're in wheelchairs, but they act just like any other kids.

I take a lot of pictures early in the week. I shoot pictures of each volunteer with his camper. They have swimming, horseback riding, canoes, art activity, a gym where they play wheelchair basketball. They have dances at night. We shoot all of that.

At the end of the week, I take the pictures and put them into a slide show to show to the campers and counselors.

The second year I was there, I started a photography workshop that the older kids participated in.

The volunteers? Well, you hear a lot of bad things about teen-agers these days. But here at this camp, you see all these teen- agers donating their time, and working really hard. It's really amazing.

Now I do a lot of stuff for MDA during the year, like shooting golf tournaments. I couldn't turn them down for anything anymore. This will be my fourth year at camp.

My sister Shelby and I got involved because my dad is a firefighter and He's been volunteering at camp for a long time. My camper's name is Jacqui. She's going to be 10. She has myotonic dystrophy (MMD). We have bunk beds and I sleep right above her.

She likes the swimming pool and the activities that we do in the evening like campfire. Her favorite thing is the dances.

It's the most work I've ever done in my life, but it's the best work. It's a lot of running around, so you get pretty tired by the end of the week.

It's totally worth it. You see these kids and how much fun they're having and how happy they are to be there. They really get to be themselves. People don't make fun of them. And they get to do things that some of them have never done in their whole life.

Sometimes the new campers get homesick. You just have to remind them of how much fun stuff we're going to do. One of my campers, he really wanted to be at camp but he also wanted his mom to come! Then, by the end of the week, he was saying "I don't want to go home." But then as soon as he saw his mom, he said "I'm ready to go."

It's hard for us to say good-bye to them at the end of the week. It gets very emotional. You just get so attached to them.

I've quit jobs to go to camp because my boss wouldn't give me the time off. Now I have two jobs, but both my bosses have already told me I can have the time off when I need it.

I'm glad I can help kids who aren't as lucky as others. But sometimes I feel like they ARE lucky because they make the most out of life.

It's the best thing I've ever done. The best place I've ever seen. The funnest. The most love.