A car wreck in 1983 paralyzed Navy veteran Mike Erbe from the waist down, but he fought to stay positive, stay active. He finished his engineering degree. He got his pilot’s license.
It’s getting harder, though, as he gets older, especially while staring at four hospital walls. A urinary tract infection that became life-threatening landed Erbe, 72, of Alton, in the St. Louis VA Medical Center last fall, where he has since been trying to recover.
But lately, he’s been fly fishing, downhill skiing and floating around in a spacecraft, which is helping a lot.
During Erbe’s recent visit to what patients call the “vet cave” at the Veterans Affairs hospital at Jefferson Barracks — a hangout with adaptive games and exercise equipment — recreational therapist Matt Luitjohan straps large goggles over Erbe’s eyes.
“Are you going to fly with the Blue Angels today?” asks Luitjohan, who specifically works with spinal cord injury patients.
“Yeah, let’s do that,” Erbe answered eagerly.
Last summer, the St. Louis VA began integrating virtual reality into therapy for patients with paralysis. Much more than a cool diversion or entertainment, it’s a useful tool in helping patients cope and encouraging them to lead active lives.
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