By Laurie Whittier
THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE

“Wii” made a world of difference this season for a local Highlands Ranch man suffering the effects of a stroke.

School visit
When middle school students from Cherry Hills Christian School visited Wind Crest last fall, Community Resources Manager Sharon Prouse surprised them by reporting that residents of the Highlands Ranch community often compete on the Nintendo Wii interactive gaming system in the clubhouse.

Breanna Splawn, 13, said that her father recently suffered a stroke and had been told that playing Wii would complement his therapy. But the game was so popular that it was nearly impossible to find. Prouse told Splawn that she would make sure her father got a Wii for the holidays.

A promise is a promise
“I wasn’t sure how I was going to find one, but her father was going to get his Wii,” says Prouse. Delighted, Splawn went home and told her father what a lady at Wind Crest was going to do for him.

“I was grateful for her intention, but I didn’t expect she’d actually get me a  Wii,” Don Splawn says. “And I didn’t want Breanna to be disappointed if it didn’t happen.”

Several weeks later, Prouse called to ask when she could deliver his Wii. “I was very surprised that she had actually done this for me,” he says.

Dogged determination
Finding the game wasn’t easy, but Prouse was determined to come through. “I went to six stores on Black Friday with no luck,” she says. “Then I went to Sam’s Club, but was told that without an advance ticket [which they’d handed out before sunrise], there was no hope.”

Prouse approached the manager and explained the situation, but was informed there  was no way. Then—a glimmer of hope—the manager informed Prouse that the only way she might get one was if one of the ticket holders didn’t claim his or her Wii. So Prouse decided to stick around.  Nearly two hours later, one Wii remained unclaimed.