Photos courtesy Michelle McLoughlin for Quinnipiac University, Helen Henglein
When Camp No Limits took over Quinnipiac University’s TD Bank Sports Center Friday night for a sled hockey game between the game between the Connecticut Wolfpack and the New York Sled Rangers, it was the culmination of many games that had been played at the summer camp.
But what makes Camp No Limits unique is that it focuses on children with limb loss and their families. Camp No Limits was started over a decade ago by Mary Leighton, an occupational therapist. Since then, the camp has expanded across the United States.
Quinnipiac is the first college or university to host the camp, and is using it as a platform to help serve both occupational therapy students and those in the community.
“Limb differences can happen congenitally, during development in the womb, or traumatically, through an accident or incident,” said Jaclyn Davis, a graduate occupational therapy student at Quinnipiac.
Davis worked as one of the OT Student Leaders for the camp this week. “You enter thinking about all of the schooling you have received and how you can pass on any knowledge you know,” she said. “In the end, you come to realize that these kids taught you more in one weekend than any classroom can give.”
At the end of the camp, each of the campers was given a customized Boomer, modified to look just like them. Davis came up with the idea and says that handing out the stuffed bobcats was one of the most rewarding experiences for her.
“I distinctly remember handing one Boomer to a camper, who was missing her left arm above the elbow and right leg at the hip, and she immediately exclaimed, ‘Look Momma, he has the same arm and leg as me!’ and she gave Boomer a huge hug. That moment validated to me how much this camp means to them.”
