With a cheer and a "high five," Charlene Lingo saluted Jim Sander after he picked up a spare in the 10th frame to finish 11 pins ahead of her when they bowled last Wednesday.
However, Lingo came back strong, bowling a personal best of 214 to win the next game, all while seated in a wheelchair at the Five Counties Nursing Home.
Sander, 73, scored a 146 in the first game, but stayed consistent, bowling a 156 in his second game.
Not bad for someone who has never touched a bowling ball.
Sander, who lives in Bison, handles the wireless remote for the nursing home's Nintendo Wii video-game console with the skill of a teenager. His average is climbing while he recovers from surgery at the nursing home.
"It's not that hard to learn," he said, demonstrating how the "trigger" on the back of the Wii remote works.
Sander takes advantage of his mobility to stand up and "loft" his balls to miss a curve in the digital alley that tends to throw balls off.
Lingo, 63, is a temporary resident of Five Counties while she waits for a broken leg to heal.
Joining Lingo and Sander for the weekly bowling session was another resident, Lorraine Schneider, and Kim Roy, a member of the staff.
Schneider is also confined to a wheelchair. She has a gentler touch on the remote and a tendency to "hook" her shots, but she bowled a 130 and a 161.
Roy graciously handicaps her game by sitting in a chair when she bowls. Her scores of 160 and 185 are "pretty consistent" with her average at the bowling alley.
Six of the nursing home's 38 residents provided a cheering section for Wednesday's game, monitoring the balls rolling down the lane on a 42-inch flat-screen television that is mounted on a wall in the nursing home's common room.
A continuing-education grant paid for the flat-screen television, which arrived about the same time as the Wii, according to nursing home director Jan Van Beek. The staff uses the television for in-house training sessions.
The larger screen has been an excellent addition to the nursing home for residents as well. Van Beek said residents have an easier time watching movies on the wall-mounted screen.
With the addition of Wii Sports to the nursing home's weekly activities roster, the flat screen has added a new dimension to residents' lives.
Van Beek went searching for the hard-to-find Wii system after seeing the excitement and interaction between residents of Chamberlain's Sanford Mid-Dakota Care Center when they used the game.
She "lucked out" and found a system advertised in an area newspaper.
Van Beek admits a few people were skeptical about the nursing home's need for a video game.
One criticism was that she bought the game for her children to play.
"My kids did come and play the game, but I told them they had to involve residents," Van Beek said.
In fact, Van Beek's daughter recently complained the residents "won't let me play."
At first, residents were leery about plunging into the video-game world, according to Ruth Waller, activities director at Five Counties.
"Once we got it going, we have some who really like it," Waller said.
Other residents are content to simply sit and watch others play. Occasionally, another resident is tempted to try to play.
Although a few adventurous residents have dared to try Wii baseball or boxing, bowling remains the most popular of the Wii Sports package.
Digital bowling is much better than taking aim at a set of pins standing on the floor and reaching down from a wheelchair to launch a bowling ball, Lingo said.
That old game is now in storage, according to Niki Goben, an activities supervisor.
For people confined to wheelchairs, using the motion-sensitive remote is easier than trying to roll a ball, Goben said.
"We have some people who love to bowl, but they are in the wheelchairs, and it was harder with the real bowling ball," she said.
While Goben talked, the game continued in the background with cheers and shouts from the bowlers and their gallery.
There's always an audience when someone is playing Wii, Goben said. Even residents who are normally hesitant about being involved in activities will stop in to watch someone play.
"We have some ladies who don't really do anything, but they come down and get really excited about it," she said. "It's fun to hear all their comments."
Even the staff is hooked. A few employees stop by on their days off to play with the residents.
Occasionally, children in the community stop in to try their skills, Goben said.
Goben has noticed children who accompany parents on nursing-home visits will draw a crowd when they play the game.
That contact between residents and children is one of the benefits of having the popular video-game system, according to Mandy Mahnke, activities director at the Mid-Dakota Care Center. A family memorial gift paid for the game for the activities program.
"It's a lot of fun, and it's worth it," Mahnke said. "It's a neat item to have."
Children from a neighboring day care and Head Start group frequently visit the Chamberlain care center, she said.
The game is a big attraction, but it also encourages children to overlook physical limitations and communicate with the center's residents.
Residents also love watching the children play various games, Mahnke said.
In Lemmon, Waller has noticed residents interacting more with each other. Even a resident whose vision is impaired comes to bowling just to hear what's happening.
Another added benefit to the Wii is the physical activity required to operate the remote when playing the games.
"It's good range of motion (exercise) for their arms," Mahnke said.
Like Sanders in Lemmon, Mahnke has noticed residents stand and walk toward the game when they bowl. "It is a get-up-and-do type thing."
Mahnke said seniors are also excited about the challenge of learning "new things."
"They get involved," Waller said.
"It was a little tricky at first, but we have a semi-bowling league right now," Mahnke said.
For Lingo, the weekly bowling helps pass the time, especially since the arrival of the Wii.
"I need one of these when I go home," Lingo laughed.
Source: Rapid City Journal
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