From the time I turned 20 I have been chasing my dad on countless duathlons, triathlons, half marathons, and adventure races. In every race or training run he always stayed 10 feet ahead of me. I never understood why he didn’t wait for me and I was always annoyed that I could never catch him. Now I realize he was showing me how to never give up, never quit, how to put you head down and fight harder. Now we are in a different kind of race. A race against Parkinson’s Disease. I will never forget the day in 2010 when I was told about his diagnosis. How could this happen to him? A former college football player and coach- no one loves the gift of movement and being active more than him. On top of that he is a really good human. It seemed so unfair and like a slap in the face. After 11 years of what I would call typical treatment for Parkinson’s we had reached a critical point in time. My dad is a fighter, he takes his medication, goes to boxing classes for PD and walks 5 miles a day. But I was noticing changes in him and I knew we had to do something to intervene quickly or Parkinson’s was going to win and take his quality of life from him. Enter HBOT (Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy). My husband had undergone HBOT for hearing loss at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester so we were familiar with the concept. I contacted my Dad’s Neurologist to inquire about possibly trying HBOT for Parkinson’s Disease. I was told that HBOT was only for wound care and the answer was No. I was thrilled when an option for HBOT became available to my dad through the Restoration Station. Conquering his own claustrophobia my dad began his HBOT treatments. We set up an iPad for him to watch The World’s Toughest Race with Bear Grylls and The Amazing Race for motivation during treatments and we said HBOT was our next training challenge. Our race for time against Parkinson’s is on! We did not expect to see any results or improvements until about the 20th treatment. Almost immediately my dad’s restless legs during sleep improved and he is able to get a good night’s rest. We are only 12 treatments in and my dad’s good sense of humor has returned. Sometimes he would withdraw from a crowd and tend to be very quiet. I kid you not, he just planned and surprised my mom with a birthday party for 16 people. His gait or Parkinson’s shuffle has greatly improved. He walks more upright, smoother, and will take off in a jog like he used to. We still see the occasional tremor or body movements but not as often. Difficulty swallowing, called dysphagia, can happen at any stage of Parkinson Disease. My dad used to carry a handkerchief with him at all times and now he no longer needs to. And did I mention the strength of his voice has improved too? His back also bothered him in the mornings and that is improving as well. Let me reiterate- we are only 12 treatments in. Leave it to my dad to be ahead in this race! I am so grateful for the time we are winning back from Parkinson’s Disease and to know that we are fighting it with everything we can. My dad is feeling so good he has been asking when we are going to sign up for the next Amazing Race. I share our story to help one more, is it you?
Britt and Fred
On March 19, 2013, my husband, Tom suffered a life altering farming accident. It left him with a traumatic brain injury followed by a stroke. He spent over a month in a medically induced coma and had to relearn many things.
Last year his vision rehabilitation doctor suggested we try hyperbaric chamber treatments to help with his vision.
Not only has it helped improve his vision, his overall general health is better, his cognition and fine motor skills have improved as well as the tone of his voice. He is much more verbal. He still has good days and bad days but his bad days are much less frequent and milder.
His new primary care physician told us that if this therapy had been available to him right after his accident, even at his age, he may have made greater and faster progress in his recovery. He is showing some signs of beginning dementia but his doctor feels the treatments will slow the progression.
I would highly recommend this therapy. The key is not to be impatient. Tom was more than halfway through his course of 40 treatments before we began to see significant improvement. While different people respond differently to any given course of treatment, this therapy has been wonderful for him. For us, it has been well worth the cost and effort.
Dear Doctor Williams,
Thank you for the opportunity to take part in your study of the Hyperbaric Chamber to treat my illness. I must tell you as a retired Asst. Fire Chief/ Paramedic I was a bit skeptical. In order to tell you the story, we must go back to the beginning. On July 9, 2019 I failed my DOT physical due to my balance. I was unable to walk a straight line I guess as required by law. I had not given balance issues much thought before that. After losing my job as tour bus operator, I went to my Neurologist in Branson, MO who had been treating me for Neuropathy. I then decided to get a second opinion.
On November 19, 2009, I saw Dr. Steven Otto MD for a second opinion. These are the exact words he used. “I can’t tell you what is wrong, but you aren’t right” He ordered numerous tests that day which consisted of EMG, MRI, ENT DatScan, Swallow Test, PT, other therapies and a third opinion to rule out ALS. After months they finally came up, with the diagnosis of Atypical Parkinsonism. They came up with that because I did not have all the markers to diagnose as one of the diagnoses that fall under the umbrella Atypical Parkinsonism. He put me on Carbidopa-Levodopa.
I was declining fast, health wise. I was falling more often, to include stiches after a fall. Then one day out of the blue, Dr. Williams called me. I met with her, and she asked me if I would be interested in a program that may or may not help me. She explained the pro’s and cons. The study would require 80, 1.5hr sessions. Having nothing to lose I said yes.
On September 17, 2020, I began my Hyperbaric Chamber treatments. Then on November 6, 2020 my life would change forever. My wife would fall and suffer a subdural and sub-arachnoid bleed then died on November 13, 2020. After taking some time away from everything, On November 24, 2020 I began me treatments again. l must say getting back into the Hyperbaric Chamber felt good. What I noticed right away was my handwriting. I was at the point I could not read my own writing. I was able to stand still without swaying from side to side. I just generally feel better.
Last week I went back to my Neurologist. He noticed throughout the appointment changes. I told him what I had done different as far as the Hyperbaric Chamber. He performed his neurological tests on me in which I did good. He had me walk, he said look at you go! He said keep up the good work! He even changed my appointment to six months rather than three.
So, after hearing I was doing good, and hearing your other patients tell me they have seen improvements, my Neurologist and me seeing improvements, I have to say I am sold on the Hyperbaric Chamber. So, THANK YOU for the opportunity to participate in the study program.
Rina Fournier
1-25-2021
I started the chamber in early September of 2020 at a time I was dealing with a great amount of stress in my life. Now that I am at the end of my 40 sessions, I feel more relaxed. Most of my sessions were spent napping and started off by consciously relaxing (which I am not good at). The oxygen flow was a plus in helping me relax and unwind. It is a sensation I am able to achieve easier now. I find that a tremendous benefit as I deal with chronic pain due to spinal cord damage.
For the first five or so sessions, my ears bothered me with the pressure and I was tempted to give up as I saw no immediate change. I was not sure what to expect from my time in the chamber.
I stuck with it and somewhere around week 25 I noticed that I looked forward to my time as I totally relaxed and went to sleep undisturbed under pressure. My ears were no longer plugged as long.
I was dealing with a foot injury at that time also and it seemed to mend faster than I normally heal.
Overall, I feel much better than before. I even felt as if I was more fit because my muscles felt tighter. My mind seems sharper and I have been using that acuity to accomplish everyday tasks to completion. I am going to miss my weekly sessions.
I used the early morning time slots to my advantage as I am an early riser. I looked forward to sessions and it gave me a good start to the day. It was not an obstacle in my daily routine because it was so early and because it energized me.
ERG test came back in the green! Thanks for letting me be a part of your program.
Testimonial for HBOT
I enjoyed being in the Hyperbaric Chamber.
My doctor referred us to Restoration Station due to complications after COVID vaccine and
the neuropathy in my feet because of diabetes.
It helped me improve my shoulder movement (over my head) and helped my hands feel better.
I am 87 years old and my wife said it helped my brain as well. Thank you all. You were so kind!
CL 3/2022
The Hyperbaric Chamber has had a phenomenal impact on my life. For years, my life was regulated by chronic, long-term, debilitating migraines. Countless visits to neurologist and countless prescription medications had no impact on the headaches, which often persisted for months. After 40 sessions in the Hyperbaric Chamber, I am virtually free of migraines. When I have an occasional migraine, it lasts less than 2 days. Truly miraculous results!
Dr. Karen S
I was diagnosed in October 2016 with stage 2 Breast Cancer at the age of 33. I went through neoadjuvant chemotherapy for four months, then a bi-lateral mastectomy with delayed implant reconstruction. I had a recurrence in May 2019 with the cancer metastasizing to the sacrum bone and several lymph nodes. Immediately after, I went through 42 rounds of Radiation; a combined drug treatment, which is highly toxic and forces me into menopause.
Sarah Stetson 01/24/22 – 04/03/22
After radiation I had nothing but problems with my quality of life; capsule contractions and cellulitis were an ongoing thing in my right breast. Repeated breast reconstructions were administered to reduce pain, manage infections and aesthetically reposition my breasts. After several surgeries and months of antibiotics, the consequences of radiation gave me no choice but to remove my right breast implant in October 2021. Just shortly after, I was hospitalized with an abscess that had me on the verge of death. It was removed and I was pumped with intravenous antibiotics for days. I was left with an open half dollar sized wound to wick every day until closing.
On Thanksgiving 2021, barely a month after the hospital stay, I had a grand-mal seizure. This was a new thing and none of my doctors wanted to link it to years of treatments, surgeries and copious amounts of antibiotics. The seizures kept coming back about every week. It took months of medication changes to try reaching equilibrium. I was still having daily tremors and convulsions regardless of the medication which was barely suppressing the seizures. My brain was fried. My body felt beyond repair.
Not long after, I learned my bone density had loss of nine percent from the cancer treatments. On average people lose two to four percent bone density a year after the age of fifty. So not only was I feeling like a faulty electrical circuit, my bones were deteriorating at a high rate. I needed some serious TLC at this point, it was mid-January 2022 by now and my body had to find some type of balance.
The open wound in my chest was slow to heal; it was nerve wrecking bandaging it every day. I called Fred Engel who helped alleviate my pain with massage therapy a couple years back. He evaluated my health concerns and suggested Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy. Fred and his work associates at Positive touch explained HBOT and gave me plenty of time to learn how it works. They started me with a thermograph session, an ERG, and a memory test. My oncologist, neurologist, and PCP were checking my progress throughout the sessions. The plan was to complete forty, ninety minute dives.
My chest wound started healing more rapidly within the first couple weeks; the skin and redness went down significantly throughout the treatments. My cognition started becoming sharper and I was more energetic the more I dived. My hair, skin and endurance improved at a faster rate than before I started HBOT. I was sleeping better and my seizures did not return. My bone density increased by over three percent. The thermograph showed much improvement in not just my chest but the rest of my body. I have not taken the “After” ERG or memory test yet but I wouldn’t be surprised if that criterion improved significantly as well. I plan on doing preventative maintenance using HBOT after the health improvements I experienced from my sessions on 01/24/22 – 04/03/22
I had cataract surgery in my right eye on 1/11/2022. The vision was good immediately after surgery and slowly it was getting worse day by day. (about 3-4 weeks after my surgery my vision started changing). It seemed worse than before I had surgery. I went to see my eye doctor and she said I had cystoid macular edema (swelling in the center of my vision). This is generally a rare complication, but it scared me.
Pastor
She told me how a hyperbaric chamber could help reduce the swelling faster. She also put me on eyedrops to help the swelling decrease as well. I got in the chamber 10 sessions 90 minutes each time and over about 14 day period, I could see that my vision was getting better. I would recommend hyperbaric oxygen therapy to anyone who wants to get better faster and get back to living life without reduced vision.
March 2022
Jim Cantrell