Mark Reich, a teenager with wild, frizzy dark hair and a love of adventure, came to Rowe Camp in the 70s. In later years, he became a scholar and a gentleman, a good cook and gardener, an excellent host, and a valued friend. Mark lived with Duchenne’s Muscular Dystrophy, a condition that eventually paralyzed him. When he died last year, he was over 50, an age rarely reached for someone with Duchenne’s.
At Rowe, Mark got around to most places in his wheelchair; to get places the wheelchair wouldn’t reach, he cheerfully depended on fellow campers to carry him. He appreciated the open acceptance by staff and campers, enjoyed camp activities, and formed lifelong friendships here.
When Mark was twenty-one, he was rushed to the hospital with severe breathing difficulty. He awoke from emergency surgery to find his breathing controlled by a noisy machine that pumped air into his lungs through a tracheotomy tube in his throat. For the next three decades, he couldn’t talk louder than a whisper and he needed the ventilator for the rest of his life.
When I met Mark in the late 90s, he was paralyzed except for small head motions and a weak thumb-finger squeeze of his right hand. He was able to read by using a book stand and painstakingly used a computer by squeezing a lever strapped to his hand. Every day, he got up and dressed, a four- or five-hour process. He was lowered into his wheelchair using a special lift and he liked to be pushed down the ramp into his garden and got around town in a specialized van. He was meticulously organized and had a phenomenal memory, which served him well as he perused documents for the conservation commission of Millville, Massachusetts.
One day Mark saw Christopher Reeve on television describing how he had learned to vocalize with a trach tube, so Mark decided to try it, too. It was terrifying at first, because the technique actually blocked oxygen as air was forced past the vocal cords. It took months to master the process, but eventually Mark was able to speak audibly in public, have private phone conversations, and carry on real-time conversations.
Mark would have loved to return to Rowe, and he spoke wistfully of the changes that would need to be made to accommodate his needs as a quadriplegic on a ventilator.
In memory of Mark and in order to help others with physical disabilities enjoy Rowe, the Mark Reich Accessibility Fund has been established to help pay for ramps and other accommodations as buildings are renovated or newly constructed. The first project will be the Chapel, which is near and dear to every Rowe camper. You may make a donation in memory of Mark by using the online form.
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