Dying grandma uses Oculus Rift for one last walk outside, “Absolutely fantastic…”

 
Once heralded as the Messiah of virtual reality, but now a topic of controversy, the Oculus Rift is sure to induce intense emotion one way or another. After a long battle with cancer left Priscilla Firstenberg’s grandma physically disabled, the video game artist turned to Oculus VR, producer of the Rift, for one last shot at helping the older woman venture outside.

Grandma Roberta Firstenberg’s body no longer responded to chemotherapy and radiation therapy, leaving her with one to two months left to live. It was around this time that Priscilla moved in to help comfort and take care of her. Then, one day while debating the merits of the Oculus Rift with colleagues, Priscilla was inspired, suddenly realizing that the Oculus Rift could offer her grandmother some psychological therapy.

A determined Priscilla e-mailed Oculus’ Customer Service department, hoping for the best, but expecting the worst. To her complete and utter surprise, Oculus’ Customer Service Lead responded within a day stating, “I’ll work to get one of these Rifts out the door to you today if I can. Please provide me your address, city, state, and zip. I’ll take care of the rest.” Priscilla’s status and dedication to the game industry entitled her to one of the dev units commonly loaned to game developers.

The unit arrived a short time later, loaded with a demo featuring a seaside in Tuscany, villa and all. “I can’t believe it, I mean, you hear about things, and you think you’re prepared for it, but it’s like dropping straight down into a mirage! It’s beautiful, awe-inspiring. Honey this is fantastic…” exclaimed the awe-stricken grandma. Exploring the villa, she can’t help but notice her newfound virtual mobility: “The stairs! I can climb stairs! Normally when I climb stairs it’s a struggle, but in this you just take off and glide.” Clips from her experience can be viewed below.

Roberta Firstenberg passed away four weeks following her virtual adventure in Tuscany. Her experience with the device may be ahead of its time, but nascent demonstrations such as these are what foster the credibility needed to explore all implications of virtual reality, not just entertainment.

“You could be in pain, like I am in pain, but somehow, when you see a blue butterfly reach out and kiss you, it makes you realize that we are all part of this world, and it’s very precious to us,” reflected Roberta.

Via The Rift Arcade