I want to share with you all about Zainab’s birthday party at VR Therapies. Many people have shown great interest in how the community came together for Zainab and how she is doing, as well as what our centre is all about. The media didn’t quite capture the full magic and it is essential to understand that there was much more to the experience than meets the eye. I have come across articles that oversimplified the event, portraying it as a basic single app, or simply placing her in a headset and calling it a day.
So this is the story of a magical day when a special little girl became a mermaid.
Backstory… Recently, a teacher from our community contacted me regarding a child in their primary school whose 3-year-old sister was given just three weeks to live. The little girl had a dream of becoming a mermaid and her birthday was coming up in a few days; it would also be her last birthday. After discussing with her father, I used social media and local connections to reach out to the VR network and our community to make her dream come true. People all over the responded and worked non-stop for 48 hours. We were all committed to making this little girl’s wish of becoming a mermaid a reality.
Happy Birthday Zainab
As soon as Zainab arrived, she could hear a mermaid singing played by my friend Katie, who quickly set the tone for what would be an unforgettable experience with her music and magic. Our space was transformed into an underwater haven, complete with murals, dolphins, and jellyfish, which helped Zainab feel like she was truly immersed in an aquatic world. To further enhance the experience, we provided her with a mermaid outfit that included a tiara and wand, allowing her to feel like she was part of the underwater world too. We then escorted her to our sensory room, which was transformed into an underwater wonderland, featuring interactive walls and augmented reality features that brought the experience to life.
Zainab had a full sensory experience where her sense of sight, sound, and touch were stimulated as the real and virtual worlds merged together with beautiful colours, sounds, and sights. The sequins and the sparkles mesmerised her as she explored the room. We then showed Zainab our magical goggles. Soon Zainab and her 6-year-old brother were playing with dolphins and other sea creatures in the ocean. Her brother threw hoops in the water and enticed the dolphins over the play with Zainab, letting him take charge and be the one to bring the dolphins to Zainab, to be the one who made her smile.
Zainab then discovered her very own pink mermaid fin and as she held her hand up she looked inside a mirror to see a mermaid looking back, designed look just like her. To make her birthday extra special, we threw a mermaid party, and famous mermaids joined in to wish her a happy birthday! All of these different experiences were made by an amazing VR community around the world, giving Zainab not just one but 5 different magical mermaid moments. With only 2 weeks left on land, she found her forever fins in the sea.
We took Zainab and her family on a tour of the rest of our centre, from the driving simulator where we sang wheels on the bus to the hydrotherapy room where Zainab followed the dolphins projected on the walls. Regrettably, due to Zainab’s medication schedule, we had to end the party. Her family was immensely grateful for the kindness our community showed them. Zainab’s father later texted me expressing their gratitude and how they would cherish the memories and pictures for the rest of their lives.
Zainab’s party was a truly magical and unforgettable experience for everyone involved, and we are thrilled that we could create such a memorable experience for her and her family.
Last night I went to drop off some more presents for Zainab and the family invited me in. Zainab wasn’t having a good day, she was crying and frustrated. She calmed down though when she saw the mermaid toy and gave it a big cuddle. We opened some lovely presents including a mermaid crown made of real seashells and a letter from a mermaid and her unicorn friend. She couldn’t talk but when we asked if she wanted to visit the dolphins again we had a very energetic nodding for yes! I am also arranging to give her a VR headset, so she can swim with dolphins whenever she wants, day or night, when the pain is bad or the world is too much. Her brother can then visit this world whenever he wants to and will always be able to visit his mermaid sister.
Special thank you to: Sylvia Xueni Pan Rebecca Evans Ju Zhang Claire Yuke Pi Tianyuan Zhang Lucas Martinic Clémence Debaig Marco Gillies Brendan Bradley Brandon Rosado Alex Coulombe Katie Paton Gavin Prior Mark Kendrick Matt Fishlock Steve Grubbs Kevin Laibson Llyr ap Cenydd Megan Jones Holly Lomas Linden Wolbert Charlene Alfie Tatnell Carla Watkins Hannah Dunmore Panna Tamas
Thank you to the amazing developers who created all these different wonderful experiences for Zainab (many of the names above and no doubt many more behind the scenes). Here are some snapshots from our magic goggles:
Thank you to the mermaids who donated 360 videos (Linden and Josie)
Thank you to the volunteers who dressed as mermaids, set up headsets, supported the session and even helped distract the baby so mum could have a go! (Katie & Gavin)
Thank you to the students who travelled from London to support us (Claire & Ju)
Thank you to the donations which enabled us to buy decorations and presents (Megan, Holly, Alfie, Panna, Hannah and Carla)
A MASSIVE thank you to our resident mermaid Katie who supported this session throughout and made it an extra magical and wonderful experience for Zainab and her brother.
VR therapies is a social enterprise dedicated to making the therapeutic benefits of VR accessible to all, with a key focus on children with special needs and adults with disabilities or poor mental health. We have a centre which includes a multisensory room, an immersive activity room, wheelchair accessible driving simulator and even hydrotherapy with underwater headsets – so everyone can get in the water and experience swimming with dolphins. We also provide a community outreach service for individual or group sessions, bringing the benefits of VR to you wherever you may be, whether in care homes, hospitals, special schools or at home.
Please do not repost photos of Zainab or her family without express permission from VR Therapies and her family.
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Beautiful post!! Thank you Rebecca for bringing Zainab’s story to the world. All of us in the VR community who were lucky enough to be part of making her birthday special are so very grateful.
Your company is amazing and we look forward to seeing the other magical moments you create.
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