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We are having a bowl-a-thon fundraiser on February 8, 2014 to help keep my dear friend Rhonda Reese out of a nursing home for as long as possible. Rhonda has been paralyzed from her shoulders down since a car accident in August of 1991 when she was 25. And at age 47, a nursing home is not the best place for her to continue living as best she can (for one reason, high-level quadriplegics like us require quite a bit of physical assistance, and nursing home staff typically do not have the time to be able to provide the care that a quadriplegic needs, even if they have the desire to).
If you would like to help either as a bowler or sponsor/donor, or by spreading the word to others… please see this webpage with all the relevant information, and let me know if you have any questions:
http://www.lookmomnohands.net/Rhonda.htm
Thanks – and God bless!
Bill Miller :-)
C1-2 Quadriplegic with a 255 High Bowling Game
Co-founder of Manufacturing Genuine Thrills Inc. d/b/a MGT
Business website: http://www.ikanbowler.com
Personal website: http://www.lookmomnohands.net
Below is the body of an email that I wrote to share with family and friends on Thanksgiving. If you read my blog or are friends with me on Facebook, and would like to be on my master email list to which I send occasional updates and things I feel are important, just let me know. And if the message below resonates with you and you want to participate by bowling or sponsoring me, please let me know. Thank you. :-)
Hello Everyone!
On this Thanksgiving, I'm doing well and have much to be thankful for, including family and friends both near and far. Being a quadriplegic, one of the biggest blessings is that I am able to live at home with my family and not in a nursing home.
Not only do I want to wish you a Happy Thanksgiving and help to remind us all of the blessings that we should not take for granted, but I also want to ask for a little help to keep a quadriplegic friend of mine out of a nursing home for as long as possible.
On February 8, 2014 we are having a bowl-a-thon to raise money for my dear friend Rhonda to help pay for the care she needs. If you're able, will you please sponsor me for ten cents per pin for my highest of three games at the bowl-a-thon? So if I bowl a 100 high game, your donation would be $10 and if I bowl a 200, your donation would be $20 (my average is about 155 and my highest ever is 255).
We are also looking for as many people as possible who want to bowl in the bowl-a-thon, and who will seek 10 sponsors for their highest of three games. We are bowling at AMF Leesburg Lanes from roughly 4 to 6 p.m. with our Quad Squad bowling group and hopefully a bunch of able-bodied friends. Please let me know if you're interested.
Rhonda was injured in a car accident in 1991 at the age of 25, and her mother was her primary caregiver for more than 20 years until cancer made her unable, and ended her life about a year ago. Her efforts for all those years are what kept Rhonda out of a nursing home, and with your help we can continue those efforts.
May God bless you and yours this Thanksgiving and may we count our blessings.
And may we count ten cents per pin for Rhonda on February 8.
Bill Miller :-)
C1-2 Quadriplegic with a 255 High Bowling Game
Co-founder of Manufacturing Genuine Thrills Inc. d/b/a MGT
Business website: http://www.ikanbowler.com
Personal website: http://www.lookmomnohands.net
My friend Lilian Strandlund is a delightful woman with cerebral palsy who is 64 years young. About five years ago, she met my Dad, Jim Miller, at a Toastmasters speaking group. Lilian uses a power wheelchair due to her CP, which also affects her speech – yet that didn't stop her from joining Toastmasters and giving speeches! That's an example of the type of spirit that Lillian has, and one reason why the word "delightful" is a most appropriate description.
Lillian is one of our central Florida Quad Squad Bowlers, and she wanted to share what the IKAN Bowler® has enabled her to achieve and what it means to her. Without further ado, here is Lilian's testimonial…
I am so thankful to Jim Miller for inviting me to come out and watch the central Florida Quad Squad Bowling Group. I liked the group name right away. I was surprised to find out that somebody had invented a device where an electric wheelchair user could really bowl. I was very excited to go and watch.
The big day came. As Ed and I entered the bowling alley, I looked around for a familiar face. I saw Jim and a few wheelchair users. I headed for the group. Jim introduced me to his son, Bill, and the rest of the group members. Then I saw how a fancy bowling ramp called the IKAN Bowler® attaches to a wheelchair. It gives the wheelchair user complete control of the bowling ball. I watched as wheelchair users were driving with an IKAN Bowler® attached to their chairs, turning slowly to aim the ramp as they approached the foul line. Then I saw how the ball released when they stopped and it went where they aimed. Amazing!
After I watched for a while, Claude, the co-inventor, came over and asked if I wanted to try it. I said, “Oh yes!” He brought over an IKAN Bowler® and showed Ed how simple it is to attach it to my wheelchair. Claude and Bill gave me some pointers and then they let me loose. My first game I broke a hundred. I was thrilled! I had a real sport that I could participate in. I joined the Quad Squad at every outing they had and I was doing well.
One of Claude’s friends came and watched several times. One day he asked if I would mind if he bought an IKAN Bowler® and gave it to me. This person, Robert, whom I hardly knew, wanted to give me a bowler. I was speechless. I nodded my head. I was so touched by his kindness. Tears came to my eyes; I knew I would never be able to afford one.
I remembered Claude saying the IKAN Bowler® was sanctioned by the United States Bowling Congress and that meant I could bowl on an able-bodied league and in tournaments. Since Ed enjoyed bowling as much as I do, we joined a mixed league. The first day on the league I was so nervous. I knew they had to accept the IKAN Bowler® but would they accept me as a person who could bowl. Our group-mates were very gracious. Once I started bowling, people in the league were amazed how well I was able to control the bowler.
Let me explain something: in league bowling you must switch back and forth between two lanes. I had never done that before, but luckily I had enough room to switch lanes by going behind the ball return and scorer's table. I just had to be so careful not to bump anything, anybody, and not get in the way of any bowler bowling. Even though it was very nerve-racking, my first day on the league went very well.
For three years I have also participated in tournaments. I enjoy watching bowler’s faces turn from disapproval when they first see me to acceptance after they see me bowl. I like blowing people’s minds.
It is so gratifying to be able to participate in a sport with my loved ones. It feels so wonderful to be able to play side by side with an able-bodied person and be accepted. It’s like being on equal ground.
There is one more very important thing that the IKAN Bowler® has done for me. My mother and brother hold flying records. I never would have believed that I was capable of having a record also. I so much wanted to be like my mother and brother but I couldn’t see how it would be possible. With the IKAN Bowler®, my dream of holding a record has come true!! My 215 high game is actually the world record in multiple categories of dynamic wheelchair bowling. You can see them on the website: WheelchairBowlingRecords.com.
Thank you Claude, thank you Bill, and thank you Robert for making this possible!!!
Lilian
Thank you for sharing your thoughts Lillian and being delightful!
Bill Miller :-)
C1-2 Quadriplegic with a 255 High Bowling Game
Co-founder of Manufacturing Genuine Thrills Inc. d/b/a MGT
Business website: http://www.ikanbowler.com
Personal website: http://www.lookmomnohands.net
At our central Florida Quad Squad outing on Saturday, September 14th, we had seven different power wheelchair users bowl with an IKAN Bowler. The reasons for wheelchair use among the seven people include cerebral palsy, spinal cord injury, and spina bifida. We also have had people with muscular dystrophy in our group, but not on that day.
Brenda, Julie, Lilian, Rhonda, Aaron, Doug, and I were the seven IKAN users. If you're wondering how it works, the bowling alley typically has enough lanes that each wheelchair user can bowl on his/her own lane. Most of us bowl 3-5 games in the roughly two hours that we are together with various family, friends, and our volunteer caddies who are now friends who have become like family. We usually have a sizable group -- and we ALWAYS have a good time! :)
Bowling is always fun, whether the scores are particularly good or not. A good score is subjective to the person bowling, but we all have a friendly competition for top score of the afternoon (my Dad started this by offering $20 for the top score -- if that score beats me; I'm not eligible as the prize money is supposed to be incentive for people to beat me and keep my "ego" in check, says my loving Dad:) and Aaron set the bar high with a really good 196 in his second game of the afternoon.
But my strike ball found its groove and I followed Aaron's 196 with a 205 to take the lead for the top score of the afternoon. That was my 22nd game of 200 or better, so my caddy George tried to get a printout. But my Aunt Jackie accidentally cleared my score before George could get the printout! Jackie apologized and half-jokingly said, "you'll just have to do it again!"
That, of course, is MUCH easier said than done, but my strike ball was working well and I did break 200 again in the very next game, nearly matching the 205 with a 204. So that's why the title of this post includes mention of a 23rd 200+ game -- for a person who happens to be a ventilator-dependent quadriplegic. Here's my scoresheet:
All glory to God and God bless all!
Bill Miller :-)
C1-2 Quadriplegic with a 255 High Bowling Game
Co-founder of Manufacturing Genuine Thrills Inc. d/b/a MGT
Business website: http://www.ikanbowler.com
Personal website: http://www.lookmomnohands.net
Rhonda is doing pretty well, but without the collective generosity of others, she will likely have to move to a nursing home sometime in 2014 when she's either 47 or 48.
We just updated the goal amount for her fundraiser to $90,000. We're hoping that is a fairly feasible goal. Originally we estimated the amount it would take for Rhonda to stay in her apartment and to afford her care for the next ten years, but that amount (over $500,000) seemed unrealistic (unless a very wealthy philanthropist happened across her fundraiser).
Every donation helps. Rhonda is quite possibly the most grateful person I know.
Here's the link, and thank you for your consideration and potential generosity:
http://www.youcaring.com/medical-fundraiser/help-for-rhonda/37633
May God bless Rhonda and everyone reading this.
Bill Miller :-)
C1-2 Quadriplegic with a 255 High Bowling Game
Co-founder of Manufacturing Genuine Thrills Inc. d/b/a MGT
Business website: http://www.ikanbowler.com
Personal website: http://www.lookmomnohands.net
My blog is about empowering wheelchair users... empowering my fellow wheelchair users to seek to improve some aspect of their life, or even their mindset. A stereotype about us wheelchair users is that for some or many of us, life is a spectator sport. And that needn't be.
Properly enabled and empowered, the sky is the limit. I'm a quadriplegic on a ventilator and yet I know someone in a condition like mine who has been skydiving multiple times. Much of my blog talks about the bowling successes of people who cannot even lift a bowling ball themselves, myself included. And I had a blog post about earning my Masters degree. Many examples exist of people overcoming significant obstacles to achieve.
Here's a video on Victoria Conrad, a senior at the University of Massachusetts who is succeeding despite cerebral palsy:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=srN4g0lKGS8
I don't know Victoria personally. But I do know that she is a great example of someone who is striving to live her life to the best of her ability, despite significant physical challenges. We all face challenges of some kind, some more difficult than others. And I love to see people like Victoria courageously facing and conquering the challenges before her, and striving to achieve what she wants and what she can.
She's focused on what she can do, not on what she can't.
That perspective and mindset can empower us all.
And may God bless us all.
Bill Miller :-)
C1-2 Quadriplegic with a 255 High Bowling Game
Co-founder of Manufacturing Genuine Thrills Inc. d/b/a MGT
Business website: http://www.ikanbowler.com
Personal website: http://www.lookmomnohands.net
Many wheelchair users are not aware that a relatively new device exists that enables even people paralyzed from the neck down (like me) to bowl in a way that mimics the able-bodied bowling process. The IKAN ("I can") Bowler® attaches to one's wheelchair and allows its user to setup, and then physically approach and release the ball upon stopping short of the foul line. That's basically able-bodied bowlers do, and it's why the United States Bowling Congress sanctioned the IKAN Bowler® for league and tournament play, bowling with or against able-bodied bowlers and/or fellow IKAN users.
Using my IKAN Bowler, I had my 21st game of 200 or better on June 22nd, with a 213 in my first game of the day with our Quad Squad Bowling group. Brenda, Melissa, Ben and I were the IKAN users that day, and we all had a good time as usual. It was our first time back at what was Classique Lanes and is now Break Point Alley. I opened with a turkey (three straight strikes) and that seemed to be validation that we made the right choice to return to the revamped bowling alley.
Here's my scoresheet, and additional commentary is below (click the picture to enlarge the scoresheet):
I followed the turkey with a 9-spare, then two more strikes, and knew I could/should break 200 unless I messed it up, which I almost did. In my next two frames, the 7th and 8th, I missed spares I usually make. I rebounded with a 9-spare in the 9th, which meant that a mark (spare or strike) in the 10th frame would result in 200+. My strike ball worked twice more and I added 9 with the bonus ball in the 10th for a 213.
Just being able to bowl legitimately is fun, and I tell new IKAN users that having fun and striving to bowl personal best games are what I would try to do each time out. I happen to have co-invented the IKAN Bowler, so I've bowled with it quite a bit, and my personal best is 255, which happens to be the overall world record for dynamic wheelchair bowling. I'd love to break 255, but that's a really high score, and my goal each time out is to have a 500 series (three games with roughly a 167 average) because that's not easy, and takes quite a bit of quality bowling for IKAN users.
Our ball speed averages about 6 mph so we don't get nearly the "pin action" that most able-bodied bowlers do, so it takes excellent placement (and some luck) to get quite a few strikes in one game. It takes at least a few consecutive strikes to give a person a good opportunity to break 200. My average is about 155-160, so bowling 200 or better is fairly rare and special, which is why I keep track of the number of times I do it.
All glory to God and God bless all!
Bill Miller :-)
C1-2 Quadriplegic with a 255 High Bowling Game
Co-founder of Manufacturing Genuine Thrills Inc. d/b/a MGT
Business website: http://www.ikanbowler.com
Personal website: http://www.lookmomnohands.net
My blog is about empowering wheelchair users, and I hope that by sharing that I recently graduated with a Masters of Entrepreneurship from Western Carolina University, perhaps others will be encouraged to pursue additional education or whatever they desire. I finished my Bachelor's degree and earned my Master's online in accredited degree programs. If it helps to provide further encouragement, in every course since becoming paralyzed, I earned an A grade.
Lori Carter, a freelance writer for the Orlando Sentinel, did a story on my graduation and some of my activities. The story was fairly long and the Sentinel chose to break it up into two smaller articles. Here are the titles and links...
Overcoming disability, Leesburg resident Bill Miller earns master's degree:
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/lake/os-lk-bill-miller-quadriplegic-graduation-20130529,0,6799500.story
Quadriplegic Bill Miller doesn't let disability slow him down:
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/lake/os-lk-sidebar-bill-miller-quadriplegic-graduation-20130529,0,5074569.story
Philippians 4:13 (NIV) "I can do all this through him who gives me strength."
All glory to God, and God bless all!
Bill Miller :-)
C1-2 Quadriplegic with a 255 High Bowling Game
Co-founder of Manufacturing Genuine Thrills Inc. d/b/a MGT
Business website: http://www.ikanbowler.com
Personal website: http://www.lookmomnohands.net
A graduate student at the University of Florida, Belinda Post, asked if she could do a video story on me and our efforts to get wheelchair users (back) in the game of life, especially power wheelchair users. I agreed, although for several months my voice has been unusually soft, so I'm hard to hear in the video (we're still trying to determine the cause and solution).
My Stepmom just watched it and thought it was "wonderful" and she and my Dad said I should share it, so I am. I think the video is very well done, however the on-screen name for my friend should read Lilian Strandlund. No worries.
Here's the video on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Txpw6Vla5RY
God bless all!
Bill Miller :-)
C1-2 Quadriplegic with a 255 High Bowling Game
Co-founder of Manufacturing Genuine Thrills Inc. d/b/a MGT
Business website: http://www.ikanbowler.com
Personal website: http://www.lookmomnohands.net
My friend Aaron Parker bowled a 209 on March 23rd, 2013. Many people have bowled that well before, but not many — if any — who have lived with paralysis for more than 31 years.
Aaron has been a C7 quadriplegic since July 1st, 1981. He is paralyzed from his chest down and thus uses a power wheelchair. That doesn’t sound like a typical description for someone who just set a personal bowling record of 209, but adding an IKAN Bowler to a wheelchair allows its user to bowl in a way that is equivalent to how able-bodied people bowl (so says the USBC). For an explanation and video example, checkout WheelchairBowlingRecords.com.
I personally find it amazing that someone who has been paralyzed for over 31 years can compete in a sport on a level “playing field” and do so very well.
For Aaron’s scoresheet and more, click here:
http://www.wheelchairbowlingrecords.com/Aaron_Parker_209.htm
CONGRATULATIONS Aaron!
Bill Miller :-)
C1-2 Quadriplegic with a 255 High Bowling Game
Co-founder of Manufacturing Genuine Thrills Inc. d/b/a MGT
Business website: http://www.ikanbowler.com
Personal website: http://www.lookmomnohands.net
On February 6th, I "introduced" myself (via email) to Steve Kettenhoven, a Wisconsin man who was awaiting delivery of his IKAN Bowler. I just wanted to offer tips or help to make his IKAN experience as fun and successful as possible, since I'm the co-inventor and overall world record holder (this is something I just started doing with customers; if any existing customers have any questions or want tips, please contact me here, as I should've started emailing customers from the beginning and I apologize for not doing so).
Little did I know just how eager Steve was to receive his IKAN Bowler. It turns out, Steve has bowled a 248 with a stationary ramp, but said he wanted to bowl in a more "realistic and quicker" fashion with an IKAN Bowler. Plus, he wanted to learn quickly and start using his IKAN in a league right away.
To make a long story shorter, Steve received his IKAN Bowler on Friday, February 8th, and started practicing that weekend (and some during the week also). The following weekend, on Sunday, February 17th, he went out and bowled a FANTASTIC 598 series -- 205, 211, and 182 -- just nine days after receiving his IKAN Bowler! In doing so, he became just the 7th IKAN user to join the "200 Club" (the other six are listed and linked in the write-up about the 6th member HERE).
Steve also set the wheelchair bowling record for a male with cerebral palsy.
For Steve's scoresheet, commentary, and YouTube clip of him, click HERE!
CONGRATULATIONS and THANK YOU for sharing Steve! Keep it up!
Bill Miller :-)
C1-2 Quadriplegic with a 255 High Bowling Game
Co-founder of Manufacturing Genuine Thrills Inc. d/b/a MGT
Business website: http://www.ikanbowler.com
Personal website: http://www.lookmomnohands.net
On January 26th, 2013, my friend and fellow Central Florida Quad Squad Bowler Aaron Parker bowled a 202 and became the 6th IKAN Bowler user to bowl 200 or better (to our knowledge; if you know another IKAN user who has broken 200, please contact me).
The 200-Club now consists of these wheelchair & IKAN users: Aaron Parker, Alex McDonald, Anthony (a Veteran who called us about breaking 200, but he passed away before we got his last name or scoresheet), Jon Musgrave, Lilian Strandlund, and me (Bill Miller).
CLICK HERE for more details on Aaron's big day and links for the people mentioned above.
CONGRATULATIONS and WELCOME to the 200-Club Aaron! :-)
Bill Miller :-)
C1-2 Quadriplegic with a 255 High Bowling Game
Co-founder of Manufacturing Genuine Thrills Inc. d/b/a MGT
Business website: http://www.ikanbowler.com
Personal website: http://www.lookmomnohands.net
