Selah wasn’t even 4 years old when she discovered the joys of Variety Adventure Camp. Just before her 4th birthday, Selah attended Variety’s “mini-camp” held at The Heights in February. Along with several other Variety children, she got a little taste of what camp is all about – art, sports, music and friendship!
Mini-camp only lasted for one day, but Selah was hooked. For months, she talked about all of the activities she did at “her camp,” and she and her family talked about Adventure Camp coming up this summer, and all of the fun and excitement she would experience.
Finally, summer rolled around, and Selah attended the first week of camp, June 22-26. “She’s a pretty independent girl,” her mom, Roben, said. “So she was ready to do something on her own.”
Selah was so ready, in fact, that she wanted Roben to leave her at the open house the Sunday afternoon before camp started. Roben explained to her that they would only be there for a little while that day, but she’d leave her at camp on Monday.
Leaving Selah was difficult for Roben. Selah and her older sister, Chloe, and brother, Abram, are all home schooled. The children, who share a close bond, attend few activities without one another, and without one or both of their parents.
Roben said it wasn’t that she was worried about Selah. “We’ve had only positive interactions with Variety,” she said. “We had complete trust that she would be taken care of, and she’d have a good time. I’m just not used to leaving her.”
Selah flourished at camp. It’s a place where a 4-year-old with spina bifida, often confined to a wheelchair, can just be a 4-year-old. Each night, she recounted the day’s activities to her family. Selah talked most about the swimming pool, where each day she became a little more comfortable. She also mentioned martial arts, as well as the people she encountered at camp – especially her counselor, Meryl.
Other camp activities included arts and crafts, music, dance, fitness activities and cooking. Variety’s “I CAN!” philosophy shines through at Adventure Camp, as children try all sorts of new activities and realize they are able to do anything everyone else is – perhaps just in different ways.
Variety Adventure Camp also grows with each camper. The groups are divided by age, and a teen group was instituted this year. For teenage children who are able, there is the opportunity to become a volunteer to assist with younger campers, or even become a counselor when they turn 16. Variety has provided several former campers with their first job as camp staff.
Roben said she thinks Variety programs, like camp and the “St. Louis Through the Eyes of a Child with Disabilities” outings are so important, because the experiences are geared toward children like Selah. Rather than Selah having to either adapt to activities or sit on the sidelines, these activities are adapted to her.
“Variety has been an amazing addition to our life,” Roben said. Not only does it provide medical equipment – Selah has received a mobile stander, wheelchair and ladder chair (to allow her to sit at the table with her family) – and programs like camp and outings, but it also gives Selah the opportunity to see other children in similar situations. Before Variety, she really had not come in contact with many other children who use wheelchairs, Roben said.
Roben and her husband, Luke, were told Selah would have spina bifida at her 20-week ultra-sound. “Our world changed,” Roben said.
When Selah was born, she did indeed have a lesion in her spine, and, as far as anyone knows, she is paralyzed from her waist down.
She has developed a severe kyphosis, or outward curvature of her spine. That condition causes Selah to be hunched over, and the curve is beginning to affect her lungs and other internal organs. In September, Selah will have surgery to correct the kyphosis, when doctors will remove the affected vertebrae and insert rods to support Selah’s back.
Despite her difficulties, Selah is really like any other 4-year-old. She loves to listen to books, color, complete puzzles, play with her brother and sister – and go to camp. Roben said they “absolutely” plan for Selah to return to Adventure Camp next year.
Variety Adventure Camp runs for three one-week sessions each summer – the second and fourth weeks of June, and the second week of July – for children ages 4-15 with disabilities. Teenagers are able to volunteer at age 13, and paid counselor opportunities begin at age 16. For more information about camp, please contact Variety Program Director Barb Kramer at barb@varietystl.org, or (314) 453-0453, ext. 115.