30 Days of MD: MDA Summer Camp

Written by Ralph Yaniz |

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Day 9 of #30daysofMD @leah_lani_may story: The first time I attended MDA Summer Camp I was 10 years old. I had only just been diagnosed with Mitochondrial Myopathy Muscular Dystrophy one year earlier. It would be my first time being away from my parents for a whole week which was a bit of a scary thought. Thankfully, I wouldn’t be alone. I had met met this girl named Holly at an MDA event the winter prior and it was her first time going to camp too. Before we knew it, the day had arrived to load our bags and wheelchairs onto the bus that would take us to camp. A couple hours later, we pulled up to a beautiful campsite in Palmdale, California, that is, if you could call it a campsite. 12 wheelchair accessible cabins lined the upper part of a hill with a wooden building overlooking a lake that was the mess hall. To the left sat a small hospital in the shape of a turtle (The camp was called The Painted Turtle), next to it stood the gymnasium and beside that a whale shaped pool with a built-in ramp. Those next four days were filled to the brim with non-stop fun and activities. We forgot all about our diseases as we rode horses, swam in the pool and sang songs by the campfire. Not once did we face problems of inaccessibility because everything was handicap accessible. Lifelong friendships were built and memories made. The nurses delivered each of us our medicine and our counselors made sure we were all taken care of. One of my all- time favorite memories was of what we all called Silly Olympics. A day where we all gathered on the grass to throw oatmeal, paint and other goop at each other only to be hosed of by the local fire department. Don’t worry, we had all transfer out of our precious wheelchairs. That summer I had also just received my very first power wheelchair so all my camp mates taught me how to drive it! It’s no wonder why each MDA camper counts down the days when they can once again attend summer camp.

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About the Author

Ralph Yaniz Ralph served as the executive director of the Florida Society of Clinical Oncology Foundation in 2016, helping to establish the organization and begin serving the community. Prior to that he worked for AARP, where he was a regional vice president for a decade and, prior to that, the Illinois State Director for four years. In his capacity as the Illinois State Director, Ralph led AARP Illinois in major legislative victories between 2002 and 2006, including the Older Adult Services Act in 2004. Before going to AARP, Ralph was executive director of the Berwyn Cicero Council on Aging. The mission of the organization is to assist adults over 60 in maintaining their independent living with the highest quality of life. He holds BS and MA degrees in psychology from Loyola University of Chicago and worked as a licensed clinical professional counselor in Illinois for three decades. He also holds an MBA degree from Regis University in Denver, Colorado. Ralph has served on numerous boards for nonprofit organizations and in 2018 founded the LGMD2L Foundation to help look for treatments and cures for his form of muscular dystrophy.

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community MDA Muscular Dystrophy Association Muscular Dystrophy Awareness Month


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