Since visits to a clinic are expensive, two Tampa Bay families are choosing to use Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) at home.
Kaleb Schwade suffered a severe head injury as a result of shaken baby syndrome at the hands of a daycare provider. His parents were told, if he made it, he would have a poor quality of life.
Tyler struggles with autism and seizure disorders.
The families of both children have shared hope that treatment using the HBOT will heal their children. The chambers most commonly used at home are called 'soft chambers'. The chamber takes air from the room, runs it through a concentrator, then pumps it into the portable pressurized airbag.
Dr. Christopher Morrison from St. Joseph's hospital says these 'soft chambers' don't deliver the same pressure as the hospital grade 'hard chambers', but that research is promising all the way around.
Many families opt for at-home chambers because of the cost. Tyler actually gets in for one hour a day, every day. That adds up.
You can buy a soft chamber for around $20,000, whereas, hard chamber dives can run anywhere from $100-$500 per session in clinics...more in hospitals.
HBOT is being used for cerebral palsy, autism, stroke and non-healing wounds.
http://www.hbot.com/frontpage.htm
http://www.hbotoday.com/treatment/cp.shtml
