Introducing The Roller Cane

The Story of TheRollerCane.com

In November of 2021, Mr Schilling (the inventor) of therollercane.com had a massive stroke, completely paralyzing his left side (he’s left handed). Mr. Schilling was in the hospital for two months, ten of those days in the ICU. After a month he was moved to a different hospital for their inpatient rehab. There, they would detect the smallest of moves in his hamstring. From that point, they worked on trying to strengthen his left arm and left leg.

Fast forward a couple of months, Mr. Schilling has a friend that showed him tough love. He assisted Mr. Schilling on a scheduled business trip, (using a wheelchair). He says that it was a tough trip but his friend was there to help. His friend helped him on another business trip as he learned the ins and outs of travel and airports, as a handicapped traveller . Soon he was travelling on his own. 

Fast forward a couple of years, Mr. Schilling was walking with assistance, (using a cane). He was going from the parking lot bus to the airport terminal. Pushing his rolling suitcase, he realized that he wasn’t using his cane, he was totally using the suitcase for balance. Mr. Schilling also noticed the glide of walking at steadier pace.

Fast forward to July of 2021, Mr Schilling is 75% recovered and walking pretty well, he’s then diagnosed with cancer. Going through the chemo and radiation routine, everything seemed fine. After his fourth chemotherapy treatment, he could hardly move his stroke affected leg.

Chemo attacks growing cells, good and bad. In his case, the growing cells happened to be in his recovering leg, deadening it. Now, after working to recover from his 2012 stroke, he’s having to start all over. He’s healed from cancer and his left arm is fine but his leg is not working.

Fast forward to December 2023, Mr.Schilling loses complete vision in his right eye, (plaque blocked a key artery, blocking blood flow to the eye). This affected Mr. Schilling’s balance further.

This is when he thought back to the rolling suitcase, and his use of it for balance while walking. Mr. Schilling got together with an engineer friend and they were off to create TheRollerCane. They started with the same wheels used for the suitcase which were too small. They then tried larger wheels and a larger base and it worked.

Now Mr. Schilling had his concept come to life, Next Step by TheRollerCane.com. They then thought about TheRollerCane helping others and immediately thought of getting a patent. They met with a patent attorney and his first piece of advice was to not use TheRollerCane in public until they received a patent pending.

Months went by and Mr. Scilling wasn’t able to use his most dependable mobility device in public. That didn’t stop him from using it at home.

Now that they have the patent pending he uses it everywhere. TheRollerCane has allowed him to get out and run errands, which he sees as a blessing, yes he says, going to Kroger, the Post Office, the doctor’s office and out to get ice cream is a blessing. He was having to lug his rolling walker to many of these places, which caused him to avoid doing many things, becoming a homebody.

His engineer said it best, “whether you sell these or not, you’ll be able to enjoy yours for a long time”. – Daniel Bratcher – Engineer

Did you know?

795,000 people in the U.S. suffer a stroke, annually.
2,000,000 (approx.) knee surgeries in the U.S. annually
800,000+ hip surgeries in the U.S. annually

TheRollerCane.com company was founded by Dennis Schilling, the inventor of TheRollerCane. As a stroke and cancer survivor he needed a device to help his mobility, with more convienience than a rolling walker and more stability than a basic walking cane.

He came to the thought of RollerCane while pushing a rolling suitcase, using it for stability while walking and realizing that he was carrying his cane instead of using it. At that time he began thinking of TheRollerCane concept.

Mr. Schilling began assembling a team, first talking with an engineer, Daniel Bratcher. Testing various size bases, weights and wheels, they found a great combination for weight and balance of this new mobility device, and the first prototype was made.

Next, Mr. Schilling discussed the project with his son Neil, a design and quality control minded person. Neil was a great addition to the team. Neil oversees manufacturing, quality control and improvements to TheRollerCane.

The final and very important member of the team, Nick Holman. Nick has several successful businesses, including manufacturing, storage, design and shipping. Nick is an advisor and an important part of the growth and development of TheRollerCane. Nick will help oversee and advise on all issues regarding organization, manufacturing and marketing. 

Our mission is to help improve the quality of life for those affected with orthotic and neurological mobility issues. Mr. Schilling understands these issues deeply. After a major stroke in 2012, he had reached 75% recovery, with hard work and fight. Then he suffered cancer in 2021. The chemo affected his stroke affected leg, deadening it. He started recovery all over again. As if this wasn’t enough, Mr. Schilling lost complete vision in his right eye in 2023, affecting his balance further.

After creating TheRollerCane, Mr Scilling was advised to not use it in public until he received a patent pending. During these months of not being able to use TheRollerCane outside of his house he realized how much he needed it. Not being able to trust a cane and not wanting to deal with the hassle of loading and unloading his rolling walker in and out of his car, he was becoming a homebody. Now being able to use TheRollerCan in public, he is back to running errands and a life with mobility.

Mr. Schilling feels that the rough road he’s had, has helped produce a wonderful mobility device, by the grace of God. He hopes you find it as helpful as he does.

While these aren’t the only potential beneficiaries of TheRollerCane, many of these survivors will progress from a wheelchair to a walker with the next option typically being a quad cane or a regular cane. We think that TheRollerCane is a much better option than a quad cane or regular cane.

Giving back: The executive team donates to; Tunnel to Towers, Wounded Warriors, various Missionary sponsorships, St. Jude Children’s Hospital and the Nashville Union Mission Homeless Shelter.

“He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the LORD; and that which he hath given will he pay him again.”
Proverbs 19:17