a camper's dream to fly

Camp is about making anything possible. This is the story of a former camper who simply wanted to fly.

There once was a bright-eyed 9-year-old girl who came to camp with her sights set high.
All day she zipped around the cabins sporting a set of toy butterfly wings that she hoped could one day make her fly. And at night, while tucked in her bunk bed, she dreamt of those shimmering wings fluttering in the sky.

Though she soared in her dreams, real life was not always so free. An illness left one side of her body partially paralyzed, making even the most routine things a challenge. Things we take for granted, like walking, were not always comfortable. Running, skipping, and jumping were just out of her reach.

Yet, despite these obstacles most children never have to face, this little girl’s spirit knew no bounds. And her zest for life and giant ambitions inspired everyone around her – especially her counselors, who all wanted to make her dreams come true.

So one afternoon, they brought her to the camp’s gym with a well thought-out plan to help her skip rope. With the youngster strapped into a harness and wearing a helmet, a group of her counselors used a rope pulley to lift her up and down as a jump rope swished beneath her feet and over her head. As they picked up the pace, she beamed with excitement. For the first time in her life, this young girl was jumping rope like she saw her friends do at school. Just as she had always imagined. And while she loved every minute of it, the little girl wasn’t done yet.

Soon she shouted, “I want to fly, I want to fly!”

Her counselors, looking back at one another, decided to give it a shot.

They moved further back, grasping onto the ropes as the girl was lifted slowly, but surely, higher into the air. As she dangled about five feet off the ground, she shouted again. “I want to go higher!”

Feeding off of the camper’s own determination, the counselors kept lifting until soon the girl was nearly 18 feet in the air, moving up and down and twisting around as her little wings flapped in the air just like the butterfly she pictured in her dreams.

In that moment, the girl let out a shout filled with pure exhilaration. “I’m flying,” she shouted at the top of her little lungs. “I’m really flying!”

While she swung in the air, beaming with joy, her counselors’ eyes filled with tears of happiness. As they looked around them, they noticed a quiet group of onlookers had assembled, taking in the incredible feat they had all witnessed together.

There was a feeling in the air impossible to define. A truly special moment created by a group of caring counselors who wanted to make a child feel on top of the world.

A short time later, the group slowly brought the little camper to the ground as she wiggled with adrenaline and enthusiasm. The giddy girl swung her arms around her counselors to say thanks. And then, she took off like a flash to go back with her friends, energized by the realization that her illness couldn’t limit her and that anything was possible.