In June 1997, our son Jacob suffered a near-drowning accident at the age of 16 months. Due to this accident, Jacob is severely brain damaged. He has lost the ability to walk, talk and eat. We are not sure how much he sees. The doctors told us this is the worst they have ever see. Although I believe they did the best they knew how, they gave us little hope. We brought Jake home and did our best to keep him comfortable. This was a momentous job as his brain was always sending the wrong messages to his body, making him stiff as a board, making it very difficult to take care of his daily needs.

About three years after Jake’s accident, we were at a follow-up appointment with the rehabilitation team. They were impressed that his skin looked nice and he didn’t have any bedsores. They said I was doing a great job and to take him home. When I left that appointment, I rode home thinking, “This can’t be it. There must be more. Someone needs to tell me what to do next to make his life better.”

I began researching alternative therapies. I found Hyperbaric Oxygen. We started treatments and Jake became much more calm and alert, and began swallowing. I was able to take him off most of his medications.

Jake has done hours of HBOT and although it is slow he continues to progress. We continue to see a reduction in spasticity. He used to sit in his stroller with his legs straight out. He will now put his legs down when told and sometimes swings them. Jake had an internal Baclofen pump inserted shortly after the accident. His spasticity has decreased to the point that we were able to have the Baclofen pump removed. The problem with spasticity lies in the brain, not the muscles so it makes sense that oxygen to the brain will reduce spasticity. Some of Jake’s dormant neurons do seem to be “waking up”.

His swallow is more frequent and stronger. Jake drools much less. Initially he was diagnosed cortically blind, he now can see and his vision continues to improve. His hearing was so sensitive that he would startle at the normal sounds around the house. He rarely startles now. His attention span has increased and he is beginning to work a switch to operate a laptop. He is bright and alert, more responsive, and his trunk and head control have improved. He will “call” me when his music tapes have ended to let me know he wants more.

I believe HBOT helps Jake continue to progress. The staff is wonderful. They are very caring and do everything possible to make the treatments a pleasant experience.

Donna and Doug