Veterans explore the world from home

In his younger years, 95-year-old veteran John Kirkland traipsed the Bruce Trail, hiked the Rockies, paddled through Algonquin Park and sailed Canada’s east and west coasts.

Unable to travel much these days, he believed Newfoundland would remain an unfulfilled wish on his list of cross-Canada adventures.

Until virtual reality brought the province’s wonders to him:

The rugged Tablelands and the fiords at Gros Morne National Park. Scenic Quidi Vidi at Canada’s easternmost point. Historic L’Anse Aux Meadows, where Vikings once trod.

“Newfoundland is beautiful no matter where you go,” he says, declining to choose a favourite site. “It’s a dream.”

The gift of virtual reality (VR) is a donation from Districts A, B and C of the Ontario Command of the Royal Canadian Legion’s tri-district committee, a donation stewarded through St. Joseph’s Health Care Foundation.

Using special goggles and head- and motion-tracking software, veterans immerse themselves into curated first-person adventures, both the fresh and the familiar.

It’s a 360-degree, three-dimensional, full-colour, motion-simulated, surround-sound experience.

A portal to memory lane

Veteran Arthur Twiner, who recently turned 100, cherishes his recent trips down memory lane in southeast London, England.

“Yes! I can see it clear as anything!” he exclaims as he opens the door of memory and swivels his wheelchair to take in the views around him.

In vivid detail, he describes his childhood home in Greenwich, with its metal gate and brick-walled garden.

Nearby, there’s the playground and, over there, the pond where he and his chums rented paddle boats for tuppence an hour.

He notes that a lot of details have changed in the intervening decades, and he chuckles at the curbside crow tilting its head to look at him. “That wasn’t there when I was a boy.”

Walking with penguins, swimming with dolphins

Some veterans prefer calming experiences to visit with virtual kittens, explore farms or a take in serene dock-side view of a lake. Others pursue concerts, history tours, meditation and virtual yoga.

For one veteran experiencing dementia, VR brought back memories, once believed lost, of her hometown and her childhood friends.

Then there are the thrill-seekers who crave an adrenaline rush. They’ve walked with penguins in the Antarctic and gone swimming with dolphins in the Caribbean.

One recreation therapist had to remind a resident that he needed to stay seated in the real world while parachute-jumping from a hot-air balloon in the virtual world.

“It’s amazing to watch residents interact and be part of that immersive world,” says therapeutic recreation specialist Leah Taplay.

“It’s beautiful to watch, and it’s an honour to be able to provide our residents with experiences that call forth old memories or create new memories.”

It’s also, potentially, a link to greater connection with loved ones far away.

Taplay hopes to expand its use so that families and friends will be able to send in photos and videos and bring special events to veterans unable to venture far from home.

Helping veterans lead fuller lives

Meanwhile, VR brings Kirkland back to his beloved trails. This day, he explores Glacier National Park, to the sound of his boots crunching on shale and birds twittering all around him.

A butterfly settles on the sun-dapple path. A horse unexpectedly clops towards him.

“It’s majestic to be part of what I’m experiencing,” he says, sighing happily. “This is so much like hiking, I can almost feel the chill in the mountains. I really feel like I’m there.”

He wonders aloud whether virtual ziplining might be his next adventure.

Sherry Frizzell, Clinical Director of Veterans Care, says VR technology isn’t just a passive front-row seat or mere entertainment – it helps residents live fuller lives.

“It brings them such joy to experience things that they wouldn’t have otherwise. They can go back in time or experience new adventures. They can take a virtual journey almost anywhere in the world and still be back home in time for lunch with their friends.”