Sixth grader, Cristian, attends class at Splendora Junior High School in Texas using VGo.  This gives “him” freedom to attend class, walk the halls, and even go to the cafeteria with all the other kids. To his classmates, and to Cristian, it’s as if he is really there, despite the fact that he is undergoing another round of chemotherapy.

We all remember the fire drills schools conduct to be sure everyone in the building knows how to get outside quickly and quietly.  Recently, the fire alarm at Splendora went off - and one of the students picked up the VGo and carried it out saying it “wasn’t a robot, it was their friend Cristian!”

It raises the observation that we have seen at many of our school installations; the students really integrate the VGo into their culture more deeply than it would appear at first glance -

It is where a student (virtually) waits at the bottom of the stairs on his or her way to their next class, and a friend picks him/her up and carries them up the fight of stairs.

Or it is the young girl student in South Carolina whose robot reflect’s her princess personality!

No wonder you hear the comment “VGo has changed my child’s life” from a parent… and it’s not just the student with special health needs that is impacted – it’s the whole community.  Time and again we hear teachers and school administrators tell us how the students not only embrace VGo, but learn empathy and compassion through having VGo in the classroom.

It is the power of presence that allows, that student to participate in class, that doctor to be in the room with their patient, or that family member to visit a loved one in a nursing home. 

We all have enough “fire drills” in life to keep us busy, but when a friend wants to make sure that everyone gets out safely that is something different!!!

 PS Kip Robbins at Esc6 in Texas runs a program called Morgan’s Angels where he fundraises to ensure that there are enough VGo’s in the school system to support children like Cristian. Click here for more info.

May 9, 2013: Click here to learn more about Cristian.