Ever since Facebook scooped up Oculus Rift, the virtual reality headset designed for gamers which raised R26m on Kickstarter, there’s been some concern over where the company’s ethical heart will lie. Many have promised to boycott the headset because they fear allowing Facebook’s privacy defying algorithms into their virtual worlds, and they’re annoyed that the crowdfunded company sold out for R21bn before it ever released a product.

All is not lost for OR-VR, however. Engadget recently posted a video about a terminally-ill woman who donned an Oculus Rift headset in order to things her illness prevented. By simply strapping on an Oculus Rift headset and jacking into a virtual 3D world, she was able to go outside, walk up stairs and visit places her physical body could no longer take her.

It’s a touching, incredible video that shows just how important a technology virtual reality is, in ways we’re only now beginning to explore.

In other Oculus Rift news that we missed at the end of last month, Valve’s Michael Abrash has also joined the company as chief scientist. Abrash joined Valve in 2009, apparently after being repeatedly approached by founder Gabe Newell, in order to spearhead a virtual reality program at the games developer. His occasional blog, Ramblings in Realtime, suggested that Valve was taking the VR question very seriously and that his research there was progressing well.