Each year, the MDA puts on a summer camp for the kids with Muscular Dystrophy and, each year, the Cajun HOG Chapter visits for the football game.

Wait: kids with Muscular Dystrophy playing football?  Yup.  That's the beauty of this camp; it's a week where these kids can be kids.  And if you've never seen kids in wheelchairs playing football, some for the first time, you have no idea how much it can touch your heart.

Photo by: Cajun Harley Owner's Group (HOG)
Photo by: Cajun Harley Owner's Group (HOG)
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The HOG members meet at Cajun Harley-Davidson early in the morning and head up to Pollock, Louisiana, on their motorcycles, to spend the morning with the campers.  Most of the HOG members stay for lunch, visiting with the campers and counselors at the Grant Walker 4-H Educational Center.

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Photo by: Cajun Harley Owner's Group (HOG)

Just before the beginning of the football game, the HOG members take to the field, ON THEIR BIKES (the campers love the roar of the engines)!

Photo by: Cajun Harley Owner's Group (HOG)
Photo by: Cajun Harley Owner's Group (HOG)
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After the coin toss, the game is on!  It's the Tigers against the Saints, and very few rules.

Photo by: Cajun Harley Owner's Group (HOG)
Photo by: Cajun Harley Owner's Group (HOG)
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After the game, it's time for lunch and visiting with the campers.  Here's some of the action from the game:

If you don’t know about the MDA Summer Camp, it is one of the few times of the year that individuals with Muscular Dystrophy are on their own, without their family, without their nurses/attendants.  Each camper is assigned a counselor, and they are together for the whole week.

Camp does a few things for the campers and their families:

  • It gives the caregivers time for themselves.  Studies have shown that caregivers can develop what is known as “caregiver burnout”.  It is important that the caregivers get breaks to keep themselves healthy so that they can more effectively care for others.
  • It gives the campers a chance to feel independent.
  • It breaks the “routine” of the rest of the year.
  • It gives the campers a chance to bond with other people affected by MD and make new friends
  • It gives the campers a chance to be kids for the week.

The Cajun Harley Owner's Group adds a special touch to this awesome camp when they show up on their motorcycles.  It's just a small part of the awesome experience of the MDA Summer Camp!

 

 

 

 

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