Rebuilding the Brain

Angel had been seriously wounded. Not only did he sustain a blast injury, but shrapnel had destroyed part of his skull and damaged areas of his brain. After several reconstructive surgeries, he was transferred to a trauma rehab center in California where he began the arduous task of relearning how to talk, walk, and perform other activities of daily living.

His progress was remarkable. Angel graduated from a wheelchair to a cane to walking on his own. He learned to write and eat with his left hand to compensate for his partially paralyzed right arm. His speech returned, albeit slow and halting, and he regained cognitive function, although he still had some frustrating memory deficits. But after three years of intensive therapy, Angel seemed to hit a wall. So he came to the Whitaker Wellness Institute for hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT).

A Proven Therapy for Brain Injuries 
HBOT should be the treatment of choice for all traumatic brain injuries. When the brain is damaged, a vicious cycle is set into motion. Inflammation, impairments in blood flow and oxygen delivery, and free-radical activity destroy neurons in the immediate area, and damage spreads outward. However, not all brain cells die outright. Some of them simply go into “shock.” And although they’re not functioning normally, they can be revived.

Hyperbaric treatment simply awakens these neurons. When you breathe 100 percent oxygen in a special pressurized chamber, oxygen diffuses into all the body’s fluids, including the cerebrospinal fluid that bathes the brain and spinal column. This allows life-sustaining oxygen to reach damaged neurons and restore their function. Repeat treatments also stimulate the growth of new capillaries that restore blood supply and mobilize stem cells, which regenerate neurons and other cells.

Thousands of clinical studies demonstrate HBOT’s benefits. Particularly revealing are before-and-after SPECT scans. It doesn’t take an expert to see the differences. As metabolic activity returns, previously dark areas with little blood flow or neurological activity literally light up.

After 80 hyperbaric treatments, Angel has made unprecedented progress. He’s quicker, in both his speech and thought processes, and his memory is getting better all the time. Angel reports that he’s texting his friends, something he wasn’t able to do before. He’s feeling more energetic, confident, and in control of his future. He’s also noticed improvements in his right arm. It’s more flexible and feels stronger.

Hope for Injured Veterans
The Pentagon recently announced that an estimated 360,000 of our fighting forces deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan have suffered traumatic brain injuries. Some are caused by open or closed head trauma, but a disturbing number are attributed to blast injuries.