Quadriplegics
bowl over children
Wheelchair-bound bowlers use locally invented
ramps to enjoy sport
The Villages
DAILY SUN
By GLENDA SANDERS
Five years ago this week, Wendell
Howell was hit head-on by a drunk driver. On
July 4, 2000, Jennifer Harman performed a beautifully
executed dive into water 3 feet deep.
Today, Howell and Harman, both
quadriplegics, are on the bowling team - the
Quad Squad.
“I’m still not good
at it, but, hey- I’ll get better,”
Harman said. “This is something I get
to do that I’ve never thought I’d
get to try.”
Howell and Harman are two of
fewer than a dozen quadriplegics who have had
the opportunity to bowl, thanks to a special
device that mounts on the front of their wheelchairs.
The ramp allows them to participate in a competitive
sport in which they actually control the action.
The sense of empowerment they
feel at being able to compete, not only with
each other, but with able-bodied bowlers as
well, goes beyond just being able to compete
in a game.
“It’s great,”
Howell said. “It gives you a sense of
freedom.” “I cannot describe it,”
said Quad squad bowler Rhonda Reese who was
injured in an automobile accident. “It’s
given me a real feeling of independence to participate
in a sport for the first time in 12 years.”
Thanks to a group of pupils at
The Villages Elementary of Lady Lake, Howell
and Harman will be able to bowl more often now.
The 15 fifth-graders and 17 fourthgraders collected
pledges to raise money to purchase ramps for
Howell and Harman. Pledges were either to pay
a set amount when the student bowled against
the Quad Squad bowlers or to contribute 10 cents
for each point the student scored when bowling.
“These are all super kids,”
said Trish Miller, liaison between the Lady
Lake
Rotary Club and the Early Act
Club at the school. The Early Act Club is sponsored
by Rotary to make children aware of community
service and instill in them the tradition of
volunteerism.
“They raised about $2,000
and the Rotary matched that. The kids were able
to purchase two of these, and that’s pretty
good for fourth and fifth-graders.” Miller
said.
Howell, of Eustis, and Harman,
of Altamonte Springs were given their ramps
Saturday following the big match-up between
The Villages Elementary of Lady Lake pupils
and the Quad Squad at Spanish Springs Lanes.
“I’m just blown away,”
Harman said. “It’s awesome. I’m
just grateful to all the kids to spend their
time to help us.”
In addition to raising money
for the purchase of the ramps, the bowling match
between the children and the quadriplegic bowlers
allowed the pupils a glimpse into the world
of the quadriplegic, demystifying it.
They had already learned about
the significance of the independence the ramps
had to offer the paralyzed bowlers.
“It’s cool. It helps
these people get out and enjoy themselves,”
said Sommer Mims, a fifth-grader in Fran Carajohn’s
class.
“I think it’s cool
because it’s like a new world for them,”
said Tsahi Brown, a student in Joanne Applewhite’s
fifth-grade class.
The ramp was developed by Claude
Giguere, a retired General Motors engineer from
Leesburg in a response to an appeal from Judge
Donna Miller, whose stepson, Bill Miller, is
a quadriplegic as the result of a fall.
Giguere was a volunteer bailiff
in Miller’s courtroom when she made a
general appeal for help in developing a way
to enable her stepson to bowl in his wheelchair.
“I went to everybody I
could think of for help,” Miller said.
“One day I threw it out in the courtroom
and Claude said, “I was an engineer. I’ll
work on it.”
Giguere teamed up with marketing
consultant Vincent Tifer, and with Miller’s
stepson, to develop the ramp, which is now patented.
Giguere said watching the quad
Squad bowlers in action was a “dream come
true”.
“We are so excited about
the outcome of this today,” Tifer’s
wife, Angelika, said. “To see everyone
smiling and having a good time is a great reward.
For most people in a wheelchair, the isolation
is the worst thing.”
Spanish Springs Lanes donated
the bowling lanes for the match and the pro
shop gave each recipient bowling balls to use
with their ramps.
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