Hyperbaric Oxygen Chamber

It started with a phone call from my friend, Lyn.  He was checking to see how I was doing since my surgery last spring.  Lyn and I have been friends for many years, but our bond grew stronger when he heeded my advice about a test.  Now it seems, he thinks I "saved his life", because I encouraged him to get a colonoscopy several years ago.  He had polyps and the doctor told him they could have developed into colon cancer, so he always joked with me about that.  "You saved me, Pat.  I would never have gone and had that done if you hadn't pushed me."

 I was thankful he went and especially thankful that it was in time.  Lyn's a good man and when he called that day, we talked about where we were in our lives now.  He's had a few setbacks since we last talked.  A wound that wouldn't heal on his leg, diabetes, just having a tough time.  "I was afraid I would lose my leg, and I probably would have if my cousin hadn't told me what to do," he said.  Seems his cousin is a doctor up north and stopped by to see him on a visit down south.  "You need to see a vascular surgeon and right away," he told him.  Lyn mentioned it to his doctor but they didn't seem to think it would be of any help, but he persisted and soon he was doing better, but the wound just wasn't healing.  So Lyn talked with his cousin again.  "Tell them to put you in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber, that will do it," his cousin said.  So, Lyn followed his advice.  The wound healed.

That brings me back to his phone call.  I was telling him about my wound not healing.  After my surgery at Johns Hopkins in April, the wound split open and it has been an ongoing problem ever since.   Daily nurse visits to change the dressing, several visits back to Johns Hopkins to be checked.  A wound vac that I had been wearing for over a month to keep constant pressure on the wound to help circulation.  But it just wasn't helping.  My physician in Baltimore seemed to think it was from the radiation I had when I first found out about the tumor.  Radiation is the gift that keeps on giving.  It helped shrink the tumor and worked on the pain, but it also destroys the tissue and causes a lack of blood flow, so, the triangle that was always red and burned after I had radiation was the same place that split open.  Now I was dealing with it.

"Tell them to put you in the chamber, Pat. It will help," Lyn said.  I thanked him and put it on my mental list for the following Monday, when I would be seeing the doctor at the wound center.

I mentioned my conversation with Lyn to the nurse when I went in for my visit.  "Oh you're not illegible, you're not diabetic.  Insurance will only pay if you're diabetic," she said, and left the room.  As I waited for my doctor to come in, I was feeling very frustrated.  In walked Dr. Taft.  It was the first time I had seen him.  My previous physician had moved back to Minnesota and here we were, starting over with someone new.  "Pat, I've read over your notes, but I want you to tell me about your wound."  So, I gave him the 411 on my past history and how I had arrived at this point.  "And my doctor at Johns Hopkins seemed to think the wound isn't healing because of the radiation I had back in 2009," I said.  "I asked the nurse about the hyperbaric oxygen chamber, but she says I'm not eligible because I'm not diabetic."  Dr. Taft continued to look over his notes.  "Let me look at the wound," he said.  So I rolled over and let yet another person look at my butt. The surgery left a scar from midway my back to my butt.  And it split open just below my waist.  Bet I've had more people look at my butt in the past few months than most people do in a life time!

"Let me talk with my colleagues and see if they think the oxygen treatment will work for you," he said. "Radiation damage responds well to that treatment, so once we talk, I'll let you know."  He quickly left the room and I got dressed.

The phone rang a few days later.  It was the nurse.  I'd been approved for the treatment and would start the following week after we had jumped through all the insurance hoops.

I had my 17th treatment today.  Each session consists of 2 1/2 hrs in the chamber.  About 15 minutes taking me down to one atmosphere of pressure with pure oxygen, then after 30 minutes I have an air break and I breath regular air for 3 minutes.  Another 30 minutes and another air break, then at the end I come back up to regular pressure. The pressure stimulates the tissue to produce new blood vessels that feed the damaged tissue.  That's the good part.  But it also takes a toll on your ears and a doctor checks me each time for damaged ear drums.  So far, they done okay but I do have to keep clearing them to get the pressure equalized at the beginning and end.  The chamber's not so bad, I can see the tv and there's enough room to move around some.  Just can't take anything in with me, no glasses, lotions, deodorant, cream...nothing.  So it is a long time to be still, but, it is working.  My wound has gone from 9 cm deep to 3 cm. in just 3 weeks.  So I will continue this treatment till it has closed and hopefully, that will be soon.

Thanks Lyn...if you hadn't told me to ask, I don't know that I would be this far along in my healing.  So maybe we are even now.

PCQ