Amy Heaps

Amy Heaps: Volunteer

I’ve been going to camp for six years now and this particular story is from my fifth year when I was with my friend, Ryan.   Before going to camp that year I had never met Ryan.  When we first met, he zipped up to me in his wheelchair and told me how excited he was to be at camp.  Getting to know Ryan that day was simply the best, he is a very sweet and affectionate kid.

This was MDA’s first year at YMCA Camp Roger.  Ryan was 7 at the time and he was so excited about riding the horses. The first two days, all that he could talk about were the horses—“Is it time to ride them yet? Have you ever ridden a horse before? When can we ride the horses? Can we go see them for a few minutes? Wow, they are so big! Did you see what that one just did?! Is it time to ride them yet? What do you think it will be like to ride a horse?”

Ryan is a pretty delicate kid; the terrain of camp was really rough on him. However that never dampened his enthusiasm or his desire to get up on that horse and ride it! I was fairly concerned about the logistics of how everything was going to go down.  My worries had to do with his comfort and safety. I’m positive that I probably got a tad annoying with all my questions—“did the camp have anything in place to help keep Ryan in an upright position and his neck up?  No, they don’t? Oh, well then, could it be at all possible that maybe I ride the horse Ryan? No, because it is against Camp Roger’s policies? Alright… Then what’s the game plan? You’ll let me know? Okay..”

When the time had finally arrived, Ryan and I made our way down to the corral and waited at the back of the line. Ryan could barely contain himself—squealing with delight each time one of the other kids got up on the horse and again after it walked past our place in line.

A concern I didn’t know I had arose when I helped Ryan put a helmet on his head. The weight of it made his head sink toward his chest and he started crying because it was uncomfortable. I took the helmet off for a minute and we talked about how YMCA wouldn’t let him ride the horses without it… did he still want to try? His answer was absolutely.

Then, when it was his turn, I set the helmet back on his head, and he brought his wheelchair as close as he could to the corral. I picked him up and carried him the rest of the way in. I talked to the YMCA ladies about what the best course of action would be. They suggested that I try and lift Ryan and set him on the horse myself, but there was no way that could ever happen (I could hardly reach the top of the horse!) Luckily two of my group leaders were there. Tanner and Kelsey are thankfully much taller than I am. Tanner carefully took Ryan from my arms and with some help from everyone we were able to set Ryan in the saddle.  With Tanner and Kelsey on each side of the horse, they slowly walked around the corral keeping Ryan in place. 

He couldn’t stop talking about it for the rest of the week. While we were waiting for his parents he kept talking about how his parents would never believe that he actually rode a horse!  I love camp because of those kinds of experiences—watching the kids doing something that isn’t a normal part of their routine.  I loved watching Ryan experience a different kind of freedom while he was on the horse, even though it was only for a short while.

I adore camp and all of the friends (and to be quite honest (and cheesy) the family) that I have made since I started going to camp six years ago. I can’t imagine a time when camp won’t be the highlight of my year.