One local news station recently reported an entertaining bit of news about a local nursing home invigorated by the Nintendo Wii game system.
Big competitions, playoffs, and tournaments are changing the norm for the retirees, and it’s all thanks to a video game.
“The harder you flip it, the faster the ball goes!” one member of the “Alley Cat” team, explained.
They’ve put away the shuffle board and the bingo cards and picked up a Wii controller.
“There’s
some real competitors both male and female,” a “Black
Knight” team member, said. “We have one lady in there that’s 96 years
old and she bowled 190 the other day.”
“These people didn’t
know each other before and now they’re great friends and they look out
for each other,” the Activities Director said.
Six teams at the nursing home bowl each week and the competition is getting pretty stiff.
But
it’s not just about a game of bowling. For these teams, it’s brought
physical and emotional healing and a chance to make new friends.
“We’re
able to tease each other and things like that and that helps alot when
you’re confined like we are most of the time,” a “Maybe
Baby” team member, said. “You can see we’re all in wheelchairs.”
“It gives them purpose, and that’s what they’re looking for,” the activities director said.
“My
mom is a different lady ever since this started,” a Volunteer and Coach said. “She was really fighting it, she didn’t want to
stay here. It was hard for her to accept that she was going to be in a
nursing home. Ever since we started Wii Bowling, that broke her into
the bingo. My mom is probably one of the most active women in the
facility!” For more, read the story.
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Robert W. Carter, Jr. is a Virginia attorney whose law practice is
dedicated to protecting the rights of the victims of nursing
home and assisted living neglect and abuse in Richmond, Roanoke,
Norfolk, Lynchburg, Danville, Charlottesville, and across Virginia.
