MILTON – Amy Craig has seen how 360-degree virtual reality headsets enlivened the day for her mother and father. Now she hopes to bring the immersive experience to other seniors.
“After witnessing the REAL system on my parents, I am excited to put it on anyone who wants to see what it is like,” she said. “Virtual reality, or VR, is not something you can explain with words. It needs to be experienced.”
Craig’s mother, 83-year-old Barbara, used to love to travel and was very active with her husband, 84-year-old Jack. Over the past few years, that all changed due to medical problems.
“My parents are fairly isolated now in their home, particularly my mother,” Amy Craig said. “They stopped traveling and going out when she started struggling with chronic pain that has made mobility a challenge . . . I thought that if my mom can’t physically get to the places she loves, why not take her on a virtual trip?”
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Craig was in a good position to do that.
A graduate of Milton High School and the University of New Hampshire, she is an occupational therapist with experience in home and senior care. For the past 12 years, she has specialized in rehabilitation technology. She works for Penumbra Inc. of California as an account executive for the REAL Immersive Systems i-Series.
On a recent visit to her parents, she brought a virtual reality headset, one of the newest tools she is using in her work. Virtual reality headsets completely immerse the user in a game or simulator using sound, video and motion-tracking sensors.
“They were looking for distraction, adventure, escape, ways to get out of their physical space,” Craig said. “My mother often would say, ‘I miss the beach.’ “
One of the VR programs Craig brought to her parents is called Beach Retreat, which simulates being on islands in the South Pacific.
When her mother put on the headset, she could no longer see her daughter or husband in the room. Instead, she was surrounded by ocean waves and stretches of sand in French Polynesia.
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“She immediately began sharing stories about her memories of the beaches on Cape Cod, where we used to go as children,” Amy Craig said. “She even started lifting her legs (as if walking).”
“It was just like being at the beach on the sand,” Barbara said.
For about half an hour she was distracted from her pain, reminiscing about past summers on Cape Cod and tasting gelato in Rome, her daughter said.
On the same visit, Craig’s father, Jack, put on the headset to use a program called Wildlife Adventures. The views of foxes kept him entertained for 20 minutes as he recalled the baby foxes that showed up one summer on the porch of their Cape cottage.
The headsets also have a feature called REAL Connect which allows people to share their visual experience as they are watching with someone else through a computer.
“My sister lives in Florida, and she and I have been on underwater explorations together without leaving our homes,” Amy said.
A chance to give virtual reality a try
Craig will be at the Milton Council on Aging at 10 Walnut St. from 10 am to 1 pm Tuesday, Feb. 15 for a virtual reality demonstration. Seniors from all communities are welcome. She is also working with Hebrew Senior Life to introduce the technology at Newbridge on the Charles in Dedham.
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“Many seniors are fearful of new technology and my parents are no exception,” Amy said. “Virtual reality, or VR, is something you’ll see soon in hospitals, retirement communities, senior centers, oncology and diagnostic centers.”
She is hoping seniors who go to the Milton demo will walk away feeling that new technology is not something to fear, but a way to boost physical and mental health.
“I’m eager to share this with others who want to be temporarily transported – for relaxation, a trip down memory lane or to experience something from their bucket list,” she said.
Participants can register for the event by calling 617-898-4893.
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For more information, you can email Amy at acraig@penumbrainc.com.
Voices from the past recall Blizzard of 1978
In 2008, on the 30th anniversary of the Blizzard of ’78, South Shore seniors shared vivid memories in an audio slide show, which you can watch here. Monday was the 44th anniversary of the day the blizzard broke.
Listening to their voices is even more meaningful now, because some are no longer here: Elmer Poole, who was the Scituate harbor master; George and Ruth Kelly, of Scituate; Jane Flavell Collins, of Duxbury. Thankfully, others — Betty Tufankjian, of Scituate, Lois Murphy and Peg O’Connor, of Scituate and Tina Watson, of Cohasset — are. Thank you all.
Reach Sue Scheible at sscheible@patriotledger.com.
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