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| Chair Scare |
When it comes to Halloween,
few outfits can beat a wheelchair costume for pure wow! An
endless variety  of clever wheelchair costumes started life
as a box and some coat hangers. Other materials include foam
core, sheets, wrapping paper, clear packaging tape, spray
paint and creative parents. Most wheelchair costumes can be
made for under $10.
Remember some basic safety
tips, such as making sure you can see — and be seen
— in the dark. Take care that nothing hangs down and
gets caught in the wheels. And don’t forget that you
and your costume have to fit through the front door.
For links to some good wheelchair
www.costumepage.org/hallocst.html |
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Question: What’s a vampire’s
favorite candy?
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| Christmas
lights got new life as part of Josh’s 2003 alien
spacecraft. Now 11, Josh owes a lot to his mom, Janet,
for his many years of fantastic costumes. Janet Cooper
encourages parents to start wheelchair costume exchanges
in their communities. |
Josh Cooper of Little Falls, N.J., went headless on
Halloween 2002, when he was 8. |
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| In
2000, in honor of his brother’s joining the U.S.
Navy, 6-year-old Josh was a Blue Knights pilot, in
a jet with a 6-foot wingspan. |
Oliver
Huston, 6, of Apple Valley, Minn., expertly piloted his
airplane through last year’s Halloween. |
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Question: What do ghosts say when
something is really neat?
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Do you have a photo of a wheelchair costume that you’d like
to share? Mail it to: MDA Publications, 3300 E. Sunrise, Tucson,
AZ 85718, or e-mail a high-resolution image to publications@mdausa.org.
Photos must be received by May 31, 2006. Be sure to include your
name, address and phone number. |
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 Answer: Ghoul!
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Summer Camp Stories |
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Once MDA
summer camp is over, it can be a loooooong year before you
see your friends again. MDA has two ways to keep in touch:
by posting camp photos and comments on the summer camp pages
on the MDA Web site, and by joining in the MDA “Kids
Like Me” chat each month.
To see summer camp photos from across the
country and find out how to post yours,
go to www.mda.org/clinics/camp/.
Pictures are nice, but when you’re missing
friends, chat is nicer. Invite friends to meet you on the
last Tuesday of each month from 7 to 8 p.m. Eastern time,
at www.mda.org/chat/calendar.html. Kids Like Me, a one-hour adult-hosted
chat, is a great place to make new friends, too! |
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Got Ramps? |
In the “olden days” it was a
lot harder to get around in a wheelchair than it is now — but
there’s still a long way to go before every place in the
United States is wheelchair accessible. “Got Ramps” is an online interactive game designed
by the Smithsonian Museum that shows the big difference a simple
ramp can make in the life of a wheelchair user. If you’re
trying to get more ramps in your community or school, check it
out at www.americanhistory.si.edu/polio/activities/.
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Moe Mendoza - Telethon Star |
Moe Mendoza, 17, could give
some adults a run for their money when it comes to raising funds
for MDA. Over the past five years, Moe has raised a whopping
$47,107 by mailing an appeal letter to the local media and his
large circle of friends and family. He presents the funds to
MDA during the Oklahoma City segment of the Telethon.
In his letters, the Turpin (Okla.) High School
junior writes about his successes (such as making an award-winning
piece of furniture in woodshop), his fun times and progress
toward finding a cure for his limb-girdle muscular dystrophy.
In last year’s letter he described the
new wheelchair MDA helped him buy. “They say it is the
‘Cadillac’ of wheelchairs. I like to think of it
as the ‘Lamborghini’ of wheelchairs. I was able
to customize it to fit my needs.” His chair is red and
black, the colors of the Turpin Cardinals, the high school football
team coached by his dad, Mario.
Moe, who uses hand controls to drive a lift
van, thinks he might like a career with computers. Just like
Jerry Lewis, each year he strives to beat his high score in
MDA fund-raising. He’s got a big job ahead of him —
last year he raised $12,845!
“Until they find a cure, I want to do
my part to help out,” he says.
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| Answer: A sucker |
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