"Can I have a piggy - back ride?" were the first words that came out of her mouth when we first met at the MDA summer camp in June. Immediately, I glanced around, almost every camper was in a wheel chair except for mine. Am I being pranked? I thought to myself. Looking past it, I introduced myself to her parents, and then kneeled down to shake her hand, she ignored me as if I was air. I hopped around with my back facing her, "so how about that piggy - back ride?" I smirked at her. She acknowledged me. As we strolled around the camp, I glanced at the file I received with all the medical history and information of my camper. Megan Dabbs, seven years old, 48lbs with ADD, slow progressing Limb-Girdle MD, extremely shy, wear diapers at night, afraid of thunder, tends to mutter to herself, heavy sleeper, prescribed pills must be taken daily, unable to shower or use bathrooms at times due to weak muscles. This list goes on and the file was almost as thick as my AP Biology text book.
To say that my week at MDA camp was a stroll at the park would be a lie. The daily waking up at 6 am, going to bed at 9pm, an entire week of non-stop activities, the sudden weight on my shoulder as the responsibility of taking care of a child was handed to me in one day, the constant back pain from the endless piggy back rides. Somehow none of it mattered or could compare to the satisfaction that hits me like a crashing wave when I see the dimpled, thin lips, smile on Megan's face. As her stick thin arms wrap around me, my stomach sinks, with a warm feeling like its Christmas in June. With her smile and her arms around me, I know that patient and love is the greatest contribution I could give.
