A gentleman who had a stroke came to our
facility to see if Hyperbaric Oxygen could assist his quality of life. He
was walking with the aid of a cane and was not communicating (although he
could speak) with his family. He had one session. He was helped into the
chamber by the Dive Master.
During the session when he started
breathing the 100% oxygen (using the hood) he suddenly started chatting with
the hyperbaric assistant and then picked up and read a magazine. His wife
(who was viewing the session from the outside) could not believe her ears
(and eyes). She was absolutely stunned. She said "but he has not been
talking to us at all!".
When the session was over, the Dive Master
went to help him out of the chamber and he said "no! I can do this alone"
and stepped out of the chamber and went off to the bathroom on his own
without his cane.
That was the only session he had and his
wife says he's doing fine now, communicating as he did before his stroke and
walking fine on his own without a cane.
What you must understand here is
that everyone is different and will respond to hyperbaric oxygen differently
depending on the extent of the damage done to the brain. This gentleman was
lucky that it took only one session to help him. Others may have to have
more sessions.
