Bill Ashpole Ministries: FW:

From: Bill Ashpole [mailto:williambonnie@frontier.com]
Sent: Saturday, June 19, 2010 8:44 AM

My son sent this to me by Email and thought it would be of interest to you for your Newspaper because of Father’s Day is on June 20^th. My son Brent was born in Hawaii and now lives in De Pere, WI. The article speaks for itself. The attached photo was taken just a week ago while we were with them on my Birthday on June 3^rd. I am now 81 years of age. The other attachment is me after I had Polio in Wells High. Let me know if you can place this in your Newspaper.

Reflection Paper of Bill Ashpole

By Brent Ashpole

University of Phoenix

Recently, I was asked to write a reflection paper describing my family members with challenges and disabilities. I described a couple of family members and choose not to share about others. The thought of my father, Bill Ashpole, never came up because I never think of him as having a disability. He has had polio since age 16, and this has changed all facets of his life. After receiving polio, he is in the hospital dealing with his initial challenges. Bill’s timeline of academics and how he can continue his education has to be adjusted because of his stay in the hospital and his energy. If a student like Bill Ashpole attended my classroom, I would ensure his time in the class would be as comfortable as possible and accessible. The way Bill Ashpole interacts with his peers is at times a direct reflection of how they see him. Even though Bill has this disability, he has chosen to live his life above his challenges. One cannot cover every detail of this great man’s life, but I will highlight some of the aspects that pertain to him who chooses to overcome his challenges.

A polio epidemic went through Wells High School in November 1945, and the twenty-fifth of 25 students infected is Bill Ashpole. Polio is life threatening for him and the doctor tells his father that Bill has a fifty-fifty chance to live. The first two weeks in the hospital, he is in the intensive care where he is unable to keep any food in his stomach. He is in the hospital, Sister Kenny Institute, which specialized in polio patients. Ultimately, they believe that healing would come from God. After being in the hospital for a couple of months, it is suggested that surgery would not be done, instead they try hot packs. The hot packs were supposed to loosen the muscles, but it made them tighten up. At this point, the hospital is unsure if he will walk again. Bill is bed stricken for his entire five and a half month stay in the hospital. He was only allowed to leave his bed for therapy, which happened twice a week. After five and a half months in the hospital, Bill is released from the hospital to go home.

Bill’s educational experience has to be adjusted in order for him to continue his schooling. He would have liked to have had a tutor like one of the patients in the hospital. During Bill’s recovery time at the hospital, he is in a room full of 50 patients. The patient next to him, a son of a wealthy farmer, received one on one tutoring from a teacher. This particular patient was the only one in the room that received one on one instruction. Bill’s family was not able to afford one on one education. Also, the state board of education did not offer any education for the patients in the recovery room. Because of Bill's hospital stay he missed a whole year of school. The following school year he attends a full schedule of classes redoing his sophomore year. He gets around school with crutches that have extensions to his elbows. Bill passes out a couple of times at school in the afternoon due to exhaustion. His typing teacher sees him faint and arranges for him to attend half days until he graduates from school at age 19. Later he attends North Central Bible College for one semester. Bill thinks he has enough Bible education so he stops going to school. He gets married and on his honeymoon, he starts preaching at his first church. After a year, he figures out that he needs more Bible education. He goes back to North Central Bible College for 3 more years. At that time, they did not have a four-year degree, so he completed all of the available college courses offered. Soon after age 40, his college that he attended offers a four-year degree. He does 17 credit hours of home study courses, so Bill receives his BA in Theology at age 45.

If a child like Bill came to my class, it would be an easy decision to accommodate him in the classroom. Personally, I would go through each area of the classroom eliminating all obstacles. Further, I would imagine myself as that child with pretend crutches that would expand the width of the child’s crutches. I would go through the room with the crutches to cover each section of the classroom to see if it was accessible and that the floors would be smooth with no potential hazards. I would be sensitive to the needs of the child’s health and well being. If it was necessary for this child to attend school half days, I would speak to the principal and his parents to make it happen. Since the child has a stutter, I would track down the speech pathologist for direct help in correcting his speech. It seems that adjusting my lesson instruction would not be necessary for this student.

Bill Ashpole’s interaction with his peers varies based on how people choose to look at his disability. In high school, some of the other students would take away his crutches and tease him. As a preacher, one of the more negative comments was, you’re a man of faith, and you can’t preach the gospel, because you are not wholly healed. A preacher from Minnesota eluded that Bill looked like a cowboy from the movies that had a limp. One of the patrons of his church speaking of his driving called him “lead foot” partly for speeding and the other referring to his condition. A local book store owner who has cerebral palsy, would joke with Bill saying they would open a stir-fry restaurant called “Watch Me Wok.” The majority of people look to him as a leader, a pastor, a mentor, and a friend that they choose not to ponder on the disability.

Bill Ashpole chooses to live above his challenges. He goes by the motto that his mother had on a plaque. “Only one life will soon be past, only what’s done for Christ will last (Anonymous).” Even though his challenges take a toll on his energy and abilities he still chooses to rise above them. If he exerts himself by doing a project, the next day his body tells him to stay in bed and rest, instead he chooses to get up and make his day productive. There are some days that his polio leg is not cooperative, yet he literally wills his leg and body to do what he chooses. Bill has been a pastor for more than 50 years. During the last 24 years of preaching he was the Assistant Superintendent of the Assemblies of God for the state of Hawaii. He has been on several trips to the islands of the Pacific and Atlantic as a Missionary never allowing his disability to slow him down.

Most of the time, I did not notice Bill’s challenges. He endured a lot since he got polio and how it affected his education. It would be easy to make adjustments for a student like him in my classroom. Bill stands strong when dealing with other people and with life’s challenges. I don’t know Bill Ashpole as the man who has a disability, I just know him as Dad.