Monday's visit to HBOT and Researcher

On Monday, I visited with a medical researcher, Dr. B, in eastern Idaho. She is working with a local HBOT center to provide HBOT for patients with PTSD and TBI at this time. The patients must be able to take care of themselves or have a family member with them who can take care of them. They can come from anywhere in the United States. They have 10 apartments (2 queen beds, LR, kitchen, bath, and laundry. During the study, the HBOT is at no cost to the patient. The apartments are $25/night and she hopes to find a foundation to offset that cost for families.   

Dr. B and her team blocked off their entire afternoon to be with us. Then we all went to dinner where their spouses joined us. We spent the evening talking about other ideas for research. We brainstormed ideas. When I mentioned things to her that would make caring for a patient easier, her eyes lit up. 

We talked about Brenna and her anoxic injury and they understand my personal concern that HBOT be given to hypoxic-anoxics in the early stages. I learned a bit about what is being done in other countries with HBOT. It made my head swim to know how much other countries are embracing HBOT for many health issues that aren't being allowed in the US. 

The HBOT center itself was such a wonderful place to be. The room was painted as an under-the-sea experience. Books for patients to read while in the chamber. TV to watch. I stood in the chamber and felt in awe that such a piece of equipment could be used to help so many people. 

I heard so much of what has gone on behind the scenes that we have never heard before. In England, a person with MS can use HBOT. England has over 60 HBOT units for MS alone. One European country is using HBOT to shrink tumors. They didn't feel I was out of line to suggest HBOT for hypoxic-anoxics as early as possible. I am going to track down a Scottish doctor they told me about to get his opinion. 

They agreed with me that HBOT is underutilized because too many physicians do not know the 14 indications that DO allow its use.

I learned that even with the sores on Brenna’s tailbone from the first nursing home, according to the criteria, she couldn’t have qualified for HBOT as a diabetic because the sore was not on a foot or leg,  hadn’t been there are least 30 days, and wasn’t deep enough to show bone or muscle. What kind of criteria wants an injury to be this far gone for a patient before allowing a treatment that has been proven to help? It doesn’t make sense to me. 

We need to do our best to get HBOT accepted for brain injuries, all brain injuries. No longer accept the negatives from doctors who profit on illness and intimidate us into believing they really do know best. One thing each of us should have learned through this journey, few doctors have a clue about the rehabilitation of the brain and the new frontier of research that needs to happen to ensure that every one with a brain injury has a chance to live and recover.