Senior Citizens Skydived, Without Having to Leave the Ground

JACKSON, Tenn. - Floral Cakes bakery and the Salvation Army partnered to host a lunch for a group called S.A.L.T., it stands for senior citizens living triumphantly.

The seniors enjoyed a free lunch with a side of a virtual reality tour.

“People who are in the nursing homes, who are in assisted living, they can’t go out anymore.

They’re socially isolated, especially with this pandemic, but now they’re going to whatever places that they want to go to.”

Doctor Michael Chua uses virtual reality for his physical therapy patients.

VR is streamed on the tablet, while the seniors wear the VR headset.

They can choose from skydiving, traveling to cities and countries, or visiting their childhood home.

“It’s actually huge for people, we’ve done it a couple of times, a couple of test runs, and people loved it. We’ve taken people to Spain… and it allows these people to experience the things they have the trouble getting out and doing it allows them to go to these places they could never dream of going.”

Physical therapist Chase Sanders has seen how beneficial virtual reality has been to some of their patients.

And not only did the seniors get to skydive or scuba dive, but they also enjoyed just sitting and having lunch with friends and other community members.

They also got to learn more about the Salvation Army and Floral Cakes bakery.

“Fellowship with the ladies from church, and then see what’s going on here, what kind of ministry they have here, what they’re doing, just seeing what’s going on here.”

Mary Gwyn Bowen tells 39 news it was great to spend time with members of her church, and for the first time ever get to skydive from her table.