Pittwater Life March 2023 Issue

Upbeat Merissa on a roll
News
Merrisa Wills is capable of landing a
lawn bowl on a jack from 35 metres
away – not a particularly remarkable feat.
Other than she is totally blind.
After losing her sight in a car accident
in Western Sydney 33 years ago, Merrisa,
49, is preparing to compete for Australia
in the International Blind Bowls Association
2023 World Championships in
Tweed Heads from March 6 to 16.
While Merrisa has won a swag of medals
at NSW State and National titles since taking
up lawn bowls in 2015, the worlds will
be her first major, international event.
“It’s scary, bloody scary,” Merrisa said.
“My goal is to come out alive. I don’t care
if I win. I’m doing it for the experience.
I’m just going to enjoy it.”
Eleven days after her 17th birthday
Merrisa was in the passenger seat of a car
that ran into the back of a bobcat trailer
without reflectors, attached to a truck in a
no-parking zone, during a thunderstorm.
Merrisa’s side of the car slid under the
bobcat trailer, the roof “rolling in like a
tin can”, shattering her forehead.
Taken to Westmead Hospital, Merrisa’s
optic nerves died as a result of a lack of
blood. In a coma for 14 days, she spent
five months in hospital, learning to walk
and talk all over again. She still suffers
from hemiparesis, which is characterised
by weakness on the left side of her body.
“It was like being a baby in an adult’s
body,” Merrisa explained.
After living like a recluse for two
years, Merrisa had an epiphany.
“Something went ‘ping’ inside my head,”
she said. “I’ve got a life ahead of me. I
started going to the gym, got a personal
trainer. I rang a friend from school and
asked if they went to nightclubs. That’s
when life started happening again.”
Merrisa worked for the national youth
mental health foundation, Headspace,
part-time, gave talks on road safety and
took up tenpin bowling.
Nine years ago Merrisa moved from
Lidcombe to Narrabeen where she
PHOTOS: Bret Harris
TEAM: Blind lawn bowler Merrisa
Wills with her director Maureen Eves.
lives independently in a unit above her
mother Merril.
It was at a monthly gathering of the
Northern Beaches Vision Impaired
Group at the Dee Why RSL that Merrisa
met Maureen Eves, who runs the Avalon
Vision Impaired Bowls Group, which
started in 2005.
At first, it was difficult to find a club
that would accommodate the blind bowlers,
but Avalon Bowlo, a little club with
a big heart, welcomed them with open
arms, providing the players with free use
of the greens, club shirts and coaching.
Merrisa joined the Avalon Vision
Impaired Bowls Group in 2015. The nine
blind bowlers have a set routine of morning
tea every Tuesday, an hour or so of
bowls and lunch at the nearby Avalon RSL
Club.
“People who are visually impaired
have a tendency to be hermits,” Merrisa
said. “It’s a good social atmosphere, a bit
of a workout, and it’s enjoyable.”
Maureen became Merrisa’s director,
acting as her “eyes” while she is bowling.
She describes Merrisa as “street-smart”.
“I admire Merrisa greatly because she
has lost all of her vision and she gets out
and lives her life in the world,” said Maureen,
who received a Northern Beaches
Australia Day Award for Community
Service. “The loss of vision doesn’t stop
her doing anything.”
Merrisa’s coach Peter Ward, who is
chairman of Mona Vale Bowls Club where
she has been training, believes she will be
competitive in the world championships.
“Merrisa has got very good ball sense,”
Peter said. “She’s got all the shots. She
will hold her own.”
Whether Merrisa wins a medal or not,
she has already demonstrated champion
qualities.
“My life’s a trilogy,” Merrisa said. “The
first one was life before the accident.
The part of the book that’s open now is
the second part. And the third one is my
future and what I make it.” – Bret Harris
18 MARCH 2023
The Local Voice Since 1991