Watch the Podcast

In a Special 5-part series with Extivita’s Nurse Practitioner, Elena Schertz, and Safety Director, Tom Fox, we dive into the extraordinary HBOT healing they have witnessed for a variety of conditions.  In Part 1 of 5, we discuss PTSD among the veteran community.

Tom Fox has been involved in the hyperbaric field for 31 years, and is considered an International historian for Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy.  He has extensive experience treating severely injured veterans, with his first experiences dating back to the landmine wounds of the first Persian Gulf War. With his wife, Claudine, by his side they have treated up to 42,000 individuals (for all conditions) with Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy.  He explains that there is nothing quite like getting hugs from veteran family members who have seen their loved ones “come back to life” after having suffered from PTSD for a long period of time. Tom has spent his career educating others on the power of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy, with the veteran community being very near and dear to his heart. Tom explains that during combat these troops see extraordinary pressure changes, especially with primary blast injuries that are not visible. He has written many articles on this subject matter and has been called upon as an expert in governmental presentations relative to the effects of pressure on the human body.

• WOUNDED WARRIORS: BLAST INJURY, PTSD, AND HBOT… WHAT ARE WE REALLY TREATING?
• COMBAT STRESS: HBOT: Brain Healing Hidden in Plain Sight
• SPECIAL OPERATIONS TECHNOLOGY: Hyperbarics
• WHITE PAPER: Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy: A Therapy Capable of Significant Improvements in the care of Veterans with Signature (Silent) Wounding

Elena Schertz, the Nurse Practitioner and clinic manager at Extivita-RTP, is no stranger to HBOT News and has been interviewed on HBOT News previously. She has been a nurse for 25 years, and has a background in primarily Pediatric Oncology, with some experience in the Cardiology field.  13 years ago, Elena became involved with integrative medicine, which eventually landed her at Extivita for the past four years where she has treated over 1,000 patients with Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy.

Both Tom and Elena continue to be heavily involved with the veteran community.  In fact, Extivita treats veterans under a program that funds North Carolina veterans to receive HBOT treatments for free. By using HBOT, they have been successful in treating PTSD, post-concussion symptoms, sleep disorders, quality & quantity of life, cognitive function, executive function, anxiety and depression — all of which are known symptoms that HBOT helps, and has been acknowledged in medical journals. Elena states that probably 99% of the veterans that are treated at their clinic have improved significantly.

Tom and Elena explain how Hyperbaric Oxygen helps veterans overcome PTSD symptoms – allowing them better sleep, improved relationships, and diminished suicidal thoughts. They also stress the importance of family, and how it’s truly critical for a veteran to have a caregiver helping and encouraging them through the entire process of care when they return home from the battlefield.

Tom tells a story of General Patt Maney.  General Maney was injured in an IED explosion that destroyed the entire vehicle, and he suffered severe invisible injuries.  General Maney had a very serious brain injury that left him with almost no short-term memory, and he was at mercy of his wife for almost a year.  He was a laywer on the bench in the state of Florida, but his injury was preventing him from reentering. He was eventually treated by Dr. Eddie Zant with Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy. His recovery was so amazing that he was able to reenter the law practice and sit as a judge!  He established a veterans court system, and remains an integral piece in reforming the legislative approaches to the management of those veterans that have gone astray in the legal world.

PTSD can be completely life-altering for veterans, but Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy is proving that it can and will give them their lives back.  HBOT allows military service members to finally be able to sit at Thanksgiving dinner and not have to leave because the noise and stimulation is too much. Seeing our veterans finally heal has been one of the most rewarding things for Elena and Tom.

If only HBOT could be available to the active warfighter, someone that’s in the field and just got rattled by an IED.  We would not only be sending our troops home with a healthier and clearer mind, we’d be healing the invisible battle wounds of war in a fraction of the time.

Join us next week for Part 2, when Tom and Elena will dive into a discussion about concussions.

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