August 9, 2007 @ 12:41 - Ali

The value of Nintendo's Wii to sick and injured people on the road to recovery was recognized long ago, but Minnesota Tennis Hall of Fame member, Jerry Pope, is the first to use it as a part of stroke recovery.

The 77-year-old who suffered the stroke in June said he's not a video game player. "This is the only one I've ever played," he said of Wii Sports, in fact, during a recent rehab session at the hospital he attends in the US.

"Because of the interaction of the game, I get the physical sensation of playing tennis," Pope said. "It really works. It can fool me into thinking that I'm doing what's happening on the screen."

Pope's therapist, Matthew White, said Wii not only helps patients rehabilitate - it motivates them in the first place. The only thing it doesn't offer is resistance, though. "It's not as real as we can get it, but it's a step toward it being more real," White said.

At the end of the day, Pope insisted he's happy. "I'm getting a lot out of it because I'm putting a lot into it," he said. "I want to get back onto the real court."