CAMP offers fun for disabled children

8/23/2002 - LACKLAND AIR FORCE BASE, Texas -- Dr. Chris Johnson was a pediatric intern at Wilford Hall Medical Center here when Matt walked into her life. Matt was going to a camp for children with disabilities that summer and needed an entry physical.

Matt had a lot of health problems. He had undergone a kidney transplant several years earlier, wore leg braces and a back brace, and was on about 21 medications. But, he was excited about attending summer camp for the first time.

After the physical, Johnson sent him on his way. When she saw Matt again a few months later, she asked him about his summer. He burst into tears.

"(The camp) wouldn't take me," he said. "They said I was too handicapped."

That clinched it for Johnson.

"I had always dreamed of starting a summer camp for disabled children after I retired from the Air Force," she said. "Matt pushed that dream forward by about 19 years. I just knew it was time."

Johnson went to work. She asked some co-workers at the hospital to help out and took 30 disabled children, including Matt, on a weekend outing to a rented camp out in the country.

"It poured the whole weekend," she said. "But we did everything anyway. The kids were ecstatic.

"I was thrilled because these kids got to do something they never did before."

Johnson solicited funds, and Air Force Aid gave her $10,000 a year for three years. She founded Camp CAMP, or Children's Association for Maximum Potential, in 1979.

Thirty-three years later, hundreds of children -- military and civilian -- from throughout the country flock to the Texas hill country near San Antonio to attend weeklong camp sessions.

Just like at any other camp, there are a variety of outdoor activities ranging from swimming and canoeing to archery and horseback riding. But, at Camp CAMP, many of the activities have to be modified to accommodate campers' disabilities.

"I've seen kids with no arms and legs go horseback riding and swimming," said Marilyn Allen, CAMP's head nurse. "Sometimes we have to build or modify equipment. We do whatever it takes."

Marilyn recalled a little girl with spina bifida who wanted to go on the rope swing over the river. "No one thought she'd be able to do it," she said.

The girl was insistent so Marilyn and six doctors took her down to the water to help the girl get up on the swing. She swung out over the water and jumped in.

"Children can do things here that they can't do anywhere else," said Allen. "We don't limit the children because of their disabilities. That is what this camp is all about."

The campers' disabilities range from cerebral palsy and mental retardation to autism and paralysis. But no matter how severe the disability, Johnson said no child is turned away.

"We take kids who get turned away from other camps like this one," Johnson said. "In 33 years, we've never had to turn away a child."

But with such severe disabilities, many children need round-the-clock care. Each child has his or her own counselor and there are doctors, nurses, physical and occupational therapists and paramedics on staff -- all volunteers.

"It is very demanding and very fulfilling," said Lt. Col. (Dr.) Jim Vandecor, a developmental pediatrician from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. "The kids take a lot of time and effort. It's like being a parent for a week."

The medical staff does everything from applying a bandage to a scraped knee to suctioning a child's feeding tube. The medical clinic, housed in a cabin, looks homey but is filled with state-of-the-art medical equipment.

"We're equipped for everything but surgery," Vandecor said. "We have kids with severe seizures and others on ventilators. We have to be prepared to treat anything."

This hands-on experience is invaluable for pediatricians and nurses, Johnson said. In fact, three Air Force hospitals have already made it part of the curriculum for pediatric interns in the field of disabilities to attend a session of Camp CAMP, where they not only learn about disabilities but they see and treat them firsthand.

This training, both hands on and in the classroom, counts toward continuing education credits. It is her hope that doctors and nurses will become better able to care for disabled children, Johnson said.

Training aside, Johnson has not lost sight of the true purpose of the camp, which is helping children -- like Michael Bachman Jr.

Michael, the 13-year-old son of Master Sgt. Michael and Ayako Bachman from Lackland AFB, has been to Camp CAMP six times. He has cerebral palsy, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder and is mentally retarded.

"I know this is a positive experience for him," said his mother, Ayako. "He participates in a lot of activities and he gets a chance to be social. Michael doesn't have a lot of friends, so it's good that he's a part of a group here."

Despite his disabilities, Michael enjoys the same activities as other kids. He loves horseback riding, archery and swimming.

"My favorite is horseback riding," he said.

Ayako said the camp is not just fun for children, but it is also beneficial for parents.

"It isn't easy," she said. "Michael is disabled, but he's healthy. Many kids here aren't and that can be draining over time. It's especially difficult on military families since they're usually away from family so the burden is solely on them."

Because of this, CAMP expanded its services to include weekend respites throughout the year so parents can get a break at other times besides the summer. The organization also offers day care for disabled children here called The Littlest Camp, or TLC.

Camp CAMP has come a long way since that first rainy session in 1979. Thousands of children have passed through, but Johnson said she will always have a special place in her heart for Matt, the boy who helped her realize her dream.

"I started this camp because Matt walked into my life," she said.

In part because of his experiences at Camp CAMP, Matt went on to graduate from college as a minister. He was working on his master's degree when he passed away in 1999.

"His parents cremated him and spread his ashes here because of what this camp meant to him," Johnson said.

"In school, these kids are compared to other kids," she said. "Here they have the chance to be the best. This is the one place in the world where children like Matt are the best at everything."