Day 2: Beautiful Weather and Biking!

Naomi:  Blue skies, sunny, and slightly windy was on the menu for today's weather. In my eyes, the perfect day. It was a fantastic day for riding your bikes. Speaking of bikes, today was also the day of biking to Hbot from were we are staying we found a nice trail called the "Galloping Goose".  Riding on it was quite delightful, if I do say so myself. Day two of the Hbot was better I can now breath through my nose a lot better than my mouth still, but I still sound like Darth Vader--who wouldn't want a little Darth Vader action? Anyways that's the report from Naomi, on the second day here. :)

A view of Naomi in the tank breathing through the Darth Vader oxygen delivery device while watching Harry Potter....

Look how gorgeous it was out today!  This is our view from our strata (condo).  We are on the 4th floor and get to look at the Olympic Mountains from a different side.


Marna:  Yeah!  It was 17 degrees C out today, and clear blue skies.  I only got lost once trying to navigate to the HBOT center.  At home, if I walk to Safeway, I might pass one person on the way (its 3 blocks from my house).  Here, the store is 1k away, and the sidewalk is dotted with SO MANY pedestrians!  Given that Victoria is a small city, I am always amazed by how many people walk or ride places.  It is a bit unnerving to be passed by grannies with their groceries moving so much faster than I though....

Making new remembering the old.

Naomi:  Today we started the process of HBOT.  It was a little longer than I expected, but effective never the less. Sitting in the tank brought back a lot of memory's yet today I started making new ones for example last time I had on a continues flow mask on. This time I had what I call the Darth Vader mask you make a great impression of him with it on as I found out tried the Darth Vader stand by "Luke I'm you father." I'm  quite proud of myself. I forgot what the diving was like. You know how your ears pop when you dive underwater because of the pressure? Same thing here when they put more pressure in the tank the more your ears pop pretty simple. Anyways that is the report from about old memory's and new ones.  

Marna:  Here is Naomi after two dives, climbing on top of rocks on the way to the market.  Today was good, yet exhausting.  Breathing oxygen under pressure is just plain exhausting; as is getting used to the Darth Vader masks.  I know we will get used to it all AND have energy, but for now we are all exhausted.  Looking forward to tomorrow, and riding our bikes to the clinic.

BACK AGAIN!

Naomi:  We arrived in Canada at 5:15.  Unloaded all are stuff, and....  I was fried. But its totally worth it. After I was settled in all I could think about is "I'm here again and ready to go." I'm totally ready to dive once again and come back bigger, better than ever. I'm back again and ready to role!

Marna:  What an easy boarder crossing!  We made our 3:00 PM sailing from Tsawwassen and had a beautiful voyage.  What a lovely day!  We explored riding our bikes to the HOC instead of driving every day.  It's about 2 miles to hook up with the Galloping Goose (think SRT), and that takes us directly to the HBOT center.  We are going to drive the first day, but then take our bikes 2x/day whenever it isn't raining.  We are both happy to be back in Canada!!

A New Beginning....

Starting June 4th, my now 13-1/2 year old daughter is going to start Round 2 of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy, at her request.

After The Last Post, we noticed a significant cognitive leap with Naomi.  Her use of her right hand has improved tremendously (although she still does not have independent finger movement).  Since this time, it's Naomi's choice to do HBOT, we plan on doing more active exercises while diving in the HBOT tank, and look forward to even more muscular and cognitive gains.

The Last Post

I have been waiting to get all of the exact measurement data to write this last post, but alas, have misplaced some of the data.

Here is what we gained over one month of HBOT Therapy:

Naomi: Her affected foot grew 1/2" in that month (wowsers!). Her left foot not at all.
She gained several degrees for passive and active dorsal flexion in her right foot.
Naomi's ability to write a coherent/sequential sentence improved.

A month after HBOT, Naomi continues more bilateral use of her right hand, AND, sometimes reaches for objects with her right hand. I believe that she would have been a righty had she not had the stroke.

Other gains that we have listed before, increased active suppination, improved skin on her right arm and hand, and her scar on her right ankle almost diappeared.

I believe that while we didn't get all of the gains we had hoped for (independent finger movement and more use of the wrist), overall the therapy was worth the time and money.

Mom Gains: After having tendonitis in my foot for over a year, I have been painfree for almost 3 months now. I am still amazed.

We would definitely recommend HBOT to other people with stroke and brain injuries.

Good-night and Good Bye!