Pyramid Hill light show preparation
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Lakota West vs. Anderson
Sculpture donated in Hamilton
Camp offers a whole week to just be a kid
By Amy Saunders, Contributing Writer
HAMILTON — Emily Barkley typically spends more than half her day resting in a wheelchair, her muscles fatigued from a disease she's had since birth.
But this week, Barkley will spend her days on a horse or a high ropes course, or in a pool or a canoe at the Muscular Dystrophy Association's sixth annual week-long camp at YMCA Camp Campbell Gard.
The 12-year-old Liberty Township resident — and this year's MDA Greater Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Goodwill Ambassador — is one of about 70 area campers who suffer from mitochondrial myopathy or one of 42 other diseases.
"I just like seeing people who have the same disability as me," Barkley said. "They understand what I go through and other people don't."
This week Camp Campbell Gard is entirely devoted to MDA children and volunteers, with staff members working to make all of the camp's activities handicap accessible.
"The schedule on paper is the same schedule as we'd run in a typical week," said executive director Rick Taylor. "... What we try to do is make sure every child gets to experience a week at camp."
Over $500,000 in recent renovations such as air-conditioning, ramps and hydraulic lifts has, according to camp director Rachel Crescibene, made Campbell Gard the best camp in the area for special-needs kids.
"There are no barriers, they don't stand out, they're not different," Crescibene said. "It's a week where they're not looked at or judged."
Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2028 or asaunders@coxohio.com.
