Edition 17 | Summer 2019
A three-day, cabin-bunking, getaway experience for adults!
Story by Cipriano Chayrez
Photo courtesy of Camp with a Ramp
Summer camping retreats can be the highlight of a youngster’s three-month break from school. Making s’mores around a campfire, canoeing on the lake and making potential life-long friends while bunking in a cabin is definitely the preferred alternative to eight hours of sitting in a classroom.
But what happens when you’re no longer an adolescent, but still crave that summertime camping experience? The desire to relive those glory days becomes even harder to fulfill if you’re someone with a physical disability.
These were the things Tina Fisk had in mind when creating Camp with a Ramp.
“There’s tons of kids’ camps and ways to get kids involved, but once you’re 18, you’re done,” Fisk said. “That’s such a shame.”
As an occupational therapist for the past 28 years, Fisk has always had a passion to assist people with physical disabilities, specifically those with spinal cord injuries. That passion turned into a camp where anybody with a spinal cord injury or disease can enjoy a three-day cabin camping experience.
The vision started in 2006 when Fisk, a group of nurses, physical therapists and volunteers got together and decided they wanted to create something uplifting for adults.
Before Camp with a Ramp, the three-day adventure was the Arizona Spinal Cord Injury Retreat, which ran from 2006-2010.
Disagreements among volunteer staff and board members caused the program to go on a six-year hiatus starting in the summer of 2011. However, when the opportunity for a comeback arose, Camp with a Ramp was born.
Since its 2017 return, Fisk is often reminded why she decided to bring it back.
“I want people to feel that when you have an injury or some disability, your life is not over,” Fisk said. “You may live it in a different way, but everything is still possible as it was before.”
Camp with a Ramp will be held from August 1–4. More information available at www.campwitharamp.com
Cipriano Chayrez
Writer
@CJChayrez
Cipriano Chayrez Jr., (C.J.) is a student at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University, pursuing a bachelor’s degree in sports journalism. His love for all Arizona sports teams began in 2008, and he has been living with the consequences ever since.
Read more by Cipriano Chayrez.