10-Year-Old Fallston Amputee Knows ‘No Limits’

Fallston native Chloe Schmidt is not your average 10-year-old girl.

She’s well spoken, all smiles, determined and shows tremendous strength. And ever since an accident when she was 3, Chloe is also an amputee.

Chloe wears a prosthetic leg, which doesn’t seem to hold her back at all. She’s outgoing, plays soccer, does gymnastics and even runs about inside her home. 

However, Chloe wasn’t always as confident as she is now. In fact, for a while she felt alone—until she discovered Camp No Limits, which helps children with limb loss and their families.

“Before I felt like I was the only person in the world, and I felt different,” Chloe said. “When I found camp, there are people running everywhere and I was like, ‘Woah. They are like me so I can do that too. It makes me happy.”

Camp No Limits is a national nonprofit that provides overnight getaways around the country for children with limb loss and their families. At the camp, kids get to play games, go to therapy, learn about prosthetics and most importantly, play and interact with other kids who are just like they are.

Chloe’s mom Kari Schmidt has trouble finding the words for how much Camp No Limits has helped her daughter.

“Since going to camp she is a different kid,” Schmidt said. “She has always been a ray of sunshine, but the first time she went to camp, was the first time I could just see her let go and breathe. At camp they are the stars—everyone else is different.”

Chloe and her family have attended camps in Maine, Maryland and Florida. And now they are launching a local fundraising effort to help fund their trips to camp, and give back to the organization that has given so much to them. 

“We would like to do our own fundraising to help us go, but to also help other kids that can’t afford to go,” Schmidt said. “It means so much to us; we want other people to experience it as well.” 

Each family pays their own way to go to Camp No Limits. The fee covers all the activities, boarding and meals while they are there. While the camp does offer some scholarships, most families are responsible for their own payments. 

Schmidt loves that the camp is for the entire family—siblings too—and offers educational materials, mentors and therapies as well as fun. However, when Chloe talks about camp you can undoubtedly tell she just loves fitting in.

“Some people don’t understand because they haven’t experienced it,” Chloe said. “People like me, with prosthetics, they understand because they are exactly like you. They just say, “oh cool you are like me.’”

If you want to help the Schmidt family and other families attend Camp No Limits, stop by Chick-fil-A in Forest Hill on Tuesday from 4-8 p.m. You can meet the Schmidt family, and pick up a flier. Chick-fil-A will then donate a portion of your meal cost to Camp No Limits.