Robot Helps Families See Isolated Loved Ones At Children's Hospital Colorado
AURORA, Colo. (CBS4) - A Wyoming mother of nine is thanking technology and the staff at Children's Hospital Colorado for getting her through one of the toughest times of her life. Amber Boisselle and her husband recently welcomed little Clara into the world.
Clara came four months early and needed to go to Children's Hospital Colorado for an eye surgery. It happened as Coronavirus cases in Colorado were on the rise.
"Just all the unknowns, it was definitely a roller-coaster of emotions," Amber Boisselle told CBS4's Dominic Garcia.
Because of Clara's condition and the threat of Coronavirus, she and Amber had to be isolated in the hospital, not even her siblings could see her.
"It was hard and I think that's when it started getting hard for me was when my children couldn't come see me," said Boisselle.
But Children's Hospital has something special to help people in Amber's situation. It's called the OmniBot Robot, and it was donated by the one and only Garth Brooks. The robot has wheels, a screen, and a camera that allows people outside the hospital to see their friends and family.
"I was sitting in Clara's room in the NICU, holding her in a rocking chair and I looked up and there's like these Segway wheels with a stick with a computer monitor on top with Sam's face driving in," said Boisselle.
Sam is one of Amber's sons and was able to control the robot from their home in Wyoming on his phone. His face appeared on the screen and through a camera he was able to see his baby sister and mom.
"It was cool, yeah. We'd go in there and my mom's holding her and we'd see her face," he told Garcia.
It's a way people can see their loved ones from a safe distance. With Coronavirus still looming, it's likely to help out many more families.
"I felt like just a connection with my family that I hadn't been able to feel in a while, because we had been so isolated from each other," said Boisselle. "It was really fun seeing Sam's face drive in."
