As the snow begins to melt and winter gives way to spring, MDA staff and volunteers across the country prepare for yet another longtime MDA tradition MDA summer camp.

Every summer since 1955, children ages 6 to 21 affected by neuromuscular diseases have had the opportunity to spend a fun-filled week at accessible, barrier-free campsites. During this special week, campers enjoy activities ranging from outdoor sports like swimming, boating, baseball and horseback riding, to less physically demanding programs like arts and crafts projects and talent shows.

Meanwhile, parents enjoy a week of richly deserved respite from their day-to-day challenges, secure in the knowledge that their childrens special needs will be met by trained camp counselors and MDA staff.

Of course, parents also appreciate MDAs commitment to their childrens safety. Each camper is teamed up with an able-bodied volunteer counselor carefully screened and selected in advance by MDA who serves as caregiver, helper and companion. (See "Getting to Know an MDA Camper." )

This year, MDA expects nearly 4,300 campers to attend one of almost 90 camp sessions from Alaska and Hawaii to New York and Puerto Rico. And while specific activities will vary from site to site, MDAs 47 years experience suggests that at every camp there will be friendships formed, hidden talents unearthed, practical jokes and high jinks, and a seemingly endless supply of good old-fashioned, loud, raucous, occasionally messy and downright childish fun.

There will also be memories the kind that last forever and experiences that will change the course of some campers lives.

Not the Only One

For most children, one frustrating aspect of growing up with a physical disability is being noticeably "different" from their peers, trying to "fit in" in a world that seems to have been designed for everyone else.

So it often comes as a pleasant surprise for kids with neuromuscular diseases to discover that not only is there a "world" thats been created especially for them but there are other kids in that world.

		Denise DiNoto (at right) and close friend Jen Ayala (nee Hitchcock) shared laughs at the Wagon Road Camp in the 1980s. Years later, DiNoto (far left) served as a bridesmaid at Ayala’s wedding.

Denise DiNoto, 29, was the youngest of Sam and Carolyn DiNotos six daughters, growing up in the tiny town of Bainbridge, N.Y.

"I always joke and say that Bainbridge has 2,500 people and 10,000 cows," she says.

When she was little, DiNoto was discovered to have Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT), a diagnosis that was later changed to spinal muscular atrophy.

DiNoto was the only member of her family with SMA. And she was the only child in her upstate New York hometown with a discernible physical disability.

Then, at age 7, DiNoto attended her first MDA summer camp.

"It wasnt the first time Id ever seen another child with a physical disability Id seen people on the Telethon or at clinic but it was the first time Id ever got to spend time with them and develop friendships with them."

The following year, MDA moved DiNotos camp to the Wagon Road Camp facility, operated by the Childrens Aid Society and located in Chappaqua, N.Y., roughly 35 miles north of New York City.

"That really opened my eyes and gave me a broader perspective, in terms of what was normal and what wasnt," she explains. "Coming from a really small town, I never had any experience with people from other ethnic or cultural backgrounds, and here I was going to summer camp with inner-city kids from Brooklyn and the Bronx."

During the 1980s, local MDA campers shared their camp activities with children with other illnesses and disabilities.

"We were there for two-and-a-half weeks with kids who had asthma, developmental disabilities, orthopedic and cognitive impairments - the whole spectrum," DiNoto recalls. "And we were all there at one time, so that was pretty intense."

Instead of needing help because of her own disability, she would find herself in a position to help others meet the challenges of their disabilities.

"I was actually one of the more physically functional kids," she relates. "By the time I was 12 or 13, we were doing more counselor-type stuff, even though we were still campers."

In fact, it was working with hearing-impaired children at the Wagon Road Camp that inspired DiNoto to learn American Sign Language and later to pursue a career as a speech-language pathologist.

"When youre the only kid in your school whos dealing with a disability, you start to think that nobody else really understands, even though they might say they do," she explains. "But when youre surrounded by people with all sorts of disabilities, you see that theres a lot that you can still do to help somebody else out. And the fact that I was able to help other campers with daily tasks really made me more aware of what I had to offer others."

Today, in addition to her work, DiNoto coordinates the Ms. Wheelchair New York pageant, having served as Ms. Wheelchair New York in 2001 and finished as first runner-up for the Ms. Wheelchair USA title.

Also an amateur musician and composer, DiNoto cites her experiences at MDA summer camp as a key influence behind her self-confidence, determination and all-around positive attitude.

"Camp taught me to not feel sorry for myself," asserts DiNoto, who lives in Waterford, N.Y. "I was surrounded by people who had less physical ability than I did, who were not complaining about their lot in life. So what did I have to complain about?"

Lifelong Friendships and Then Some

It was the summer of 1989, and 13-year-old Terra Clifton was making her first trip to Camp Hastings, located just north of Chicago. Terra, who has congenital myasthenic syndrome, wasnt quite sure what to expect from the MDA camp, and was especially nervous because she didnt know any of the other kids.

But veteran MDA camper Matt Messmer, who was also 13, noticed her right away.

"He came right up to me and said Hi," she recalls. "He was very sweet at first. Then the practical jokes started."

Not surprisingly, Matt, who has spinal muscular atrophy, remembers it a little differently.

"Thats what she likes people to think," he says with a laugh. "But dont let her kid you. When it comes to pranks, she gives as good as she gets."

In other words, the two teen-agers quickly became fast friends, as they enjoyed such camp activities as sports, swimming

"and dances," Terra recalls with a smile. "I remember lots of dances."

Before long, Matt and Terra became virtually inseparable at camp, and during the rest of the year, as well.

"We lived about 40 minutes apart, so we had to rely on our parents to take us to see each other," Terra recalls. "They were very accommodating in the summer but less so during the school year," she says with a chuckle.

"We talked on the phone a lot," Matt agrees. "And it got to the point where we couldnt wait for camp to start, just so we could have a whole week together."

Once they became old enough to drive, things got really serious.

By the time Terra and Matt had both graduated from high school, they knew that whatever the future held, they were determined to face it together. So they moved to Tucson to attend the University of Arizona. In 1996, the couple got married, and later became the first married couple to enter the UA College of Law together.

		Terra Clifton and Matt Messmer met at Camp Hastings in 1989 (left). Today, the two are married and both are attorneys.

Today, the Messmers are enjoying the fruits of their hard work. They both passed the Arizona Bar examination in October 2001, and have embarked on careers as attorneys Terra, 26, is in private practice, while Matt, 27, is a public defender.

Needless to say, fond memories of MDA summer camp will always have a special significance for the Messmers.

"Thats one of the things I thank MDA for the most," Terra says. "I dont know where Id be today without MDA summer camp."

Once a Camper, Always a Camper

Some campers and parents experience a degree of trepidation when getting ready to attend their first MDA summer camp. For most kids, its the first time theyve been away from home and family for any significant amount of time. Then, by the end of the week, they dont want to go home.

Just ask Angela Wrigglesworth of Houston.

Wrigglesworth, 25, was found to have SMA as an infant and has always relied on a wheelchair for mobility.

"I used to spend most of my time indoors," she recalls. "I was a total city girl, and I was terrified of bugs. Now Im much more outdoorsy, and bugs dont bother me at all."

Wrigglesworth first attended the Houston-area MDA camp, then held at Camp Manison near Waco, Texas, when she was 5 years old.

"Going to camp changed everything for me," she asserts. "Being with other kids who had disabilities just like I did was very liberating."

When Wrigglesworth was 6, she started making appearances on local segments of the MDA Telethon. She also served as Texas MDA Goodwill Ambassador in 1985 and 1986, and received the MDA Personal Achievement Award for Texas in 1997. Wrigglesworth is a member of MDAs National Task Force on Public Awareness.

In 1998, MDA moved its camp to the newly constructed Camp for All, a completely barrier-free camp specially designed for chronically ill or disabled children, located near Burton, Texas. And in 2000, when Wrigglesworth became too old to attend MDA camp as a camper, she simply applied for a job at Camp for All.

Today Wrigglesworth is a third-grade teacher at Klenk Elementary School in Houston during the week, spending weekends and summers as an activity facilitator at Camp for All. "We facilitate everything from organized camp sessions, like the MDA camp, to family weekends and even corporate retreats," she explains.

"Youd think as a camper that it cant get any better, but I think working at Camp for All has really made me a better person," she asserts. "It also helps me to be a better teacher. It helps me keep things in perspective to be able to help the kids I teach to realize and appreciate the many gifts they have."

		Angela Wrigglesworth (at right) enjoyed MDA summer camp in Texas as a youngster. Today (left) she works part of the year at Houston’s Camp for All, where MDA summer camp is held.

Of course, Wrigglesworths involvement with Camp for All has also made it possible for her to continue to participate in MDA summer camp. This year will be her 21st MDA camp, with no end in sight.

"I have a thousand wonderful memories of MDA summer camp," she says proudly. "Now Im fortunate enough to have the chance to create a thousand more."

Tens of Thousands of Campers Agree

The cost to MDA to send a child to summer camp is roughly $525, but thanks to the generosity of those who support MDA, theres no charge to the camper.

And the benefits of attending MDA summer camp are priceless.

Sure, theres an abundance of fun and frolicking. But to former campers like Wrigglesworth, DiNoto and the Messmers, the real benefits come in a much subtler form the lifetime friendships, the improved self-esteem and confidence, and the chance to spend at least one week out of the year in a place where physical disabilities are the rule rather than the exception.

Right now, your local MDA office is looking for both campers and volunteers call today.

Youll be glad you did.

Click Here to Read "Getting to Know an MDA Camper"