HBOT Conversations:
Elena Schertz & Tom Fox
(Part 5) – COVID

Elena Schertz, NP and Tom Fox of Extivita-RTP in Raleigh, NC join us in a 5-part series to discuss the extraordinary healing they’ve witnessed through the God-given natural therapy of HBOT. This is Part 2, with a focus on how Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy is helping people of all ages heal from concussions.

Elena Schetz, NP is the nurse practitioner, and Tom Fox is the Safety Director at Extivita-RTP. Extivita-RTP offers a positive environment for healing, and they encourage anyone seeking a better quality of life to come visit them and experience for themselves the wonder of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy.

Subscribe. Join the discussion. Share the hope.

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 powers of HBOT, and the healing they have witnessed for a variety of conditions. The following segments prelude this episode:

Part 1 – HBOT for PTSD (veteran focus)
Part 2 – Concussions & HBOT
Part 3 – Healing Heart Disease with HBOT
Part 4 – Cancer & Cerebral Palsy

In this final episode, we discuss COVID, and how long-haulers are finally finding relief in Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy.

Host di Girolamo starts the conversation explaining that people who suffer from brain fog, oxygen shortages, and fatigue are discovering that HBOT is providing them relief.  Tom chimes in that early oxygen delivery and pre-hospitalization was something the Italians saw in COVID as it progressed, and they discovered the role of HBOT in the acute care stage of COVID.  The Italians witnessed patients who were heading in the wrong direction being released from the hospital after only 5 hyperbaric oxygen therapy treatments. The role of hyperbaric oxygen in COVID cases is incredible. Tom reminds us that only about 1,400 of the 6,500 hospital in the US have HBOT chambers, meaning that it is not a standard of care.

Studies out of Britain state ten HBOT treatments are ideal for COVID patients to witness a complete turn-around, and they get their lives back in two weeks.  Tom explains that 40% of their patients are long-haul COVID and they’re coming to a HBOT clinic because there’s no other option. Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy DOES return a COVID patient back to their baseline.

Chronic, or long-haul COVID patients (someone who has been dealing with symptoms for months or years) will likely need more treatments, but there is still so much hope.  Elena says that the long-haul COVID patients who have come to see her have all improved. Elena has seen some long-haul COVID patients get better in as little as 4 treatments, and then there are some patients who need 40 treatments.  Just like how everyone responds to COVID differently,  the same goes for HBOT to treat COVID. There’s no magic number; but if you get in quicker then it’s more likely you won’t need as many treatments.  In the end, it’s important to simply know that HBOT hands-down does help COVID patients, and it’s worth a try.

“Elena states, “I want to say it’s kind of easily fixed, you know, the fatigue. I’ve seen it over and over again. Until somebody comes in and disputes that or I see that, then I’ll keep saying, yeah, it really is very effective. I’ve seen it 100% of the time. It really is 100%”

And then there are the vaccine injuries. Tom stresses that he believes in the power of vaccines, he his definitely not an anti-vaxxer.  But, when he looks at what’s going on in the world today it’s concerning. If you were to document a vaccine injury right now, it’s almost like the kiss of death to anybody that reaches out to challenge vaccines.

“We’re downplaying the VAER system. You know, in the current vaccine, with the number of reactions that we’ve seen with the current vaccine, previous vaccines would have been taken off the market.

HBOT News appreciates Tom and Elena joining us in our Conversations podcast and invites you to check out their clinic, Extivita-RTP if you are ever in the Raleigh, NC area.

 

 

Guests

Elena Schertz, NP

Elena Schertz, NP - Clinic Manager at Extivita RTP

Elena attained her Bachelors of Science in Nursing from Michigan State University and received her Masters of Science in Nursing from Simmons University in Boston, MA. She has been practicing integrative medicine since 2010 and is currently working on her certification in functional medicine from the Institute of Functional Medicine.

Elena worked as a nurse in the pediatric oncology, cardiac, and surgical units at UNC hospitals for 15 years before deciding to work in integrative medicine. After years of working as a nurse, she decided to pursue her graduate degree, completing her masters with honors. She is board certified as a Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) through the American Nurses Credentialing Center.

Elena’s passion for integrative medicine comes from her knowledge that the mind, body and psych/social/spiritual systems are not separate. The focus of Elena’s practice is to approach each of her patient’s healing process from the perspective of the whole, supported and grounded in safety and evidence-based medicine. She also maintains close consultative relationships with experts in the field to promote and enhance wellness for her patients. Elena joined the wonderful Extivita team in March 2019 and is thrilled to be a part of advancing health and wellness through hyperbaric medicine.

 

Elena Schertz, NP

Thomas M. Fox, MAS,MS, CHT - Safety Director at Extivita RTP

Tom is the Research Physiologist for the Hyperbaric Institute for Research and Training, a division of Island Hyperbaric Centre in Pincourt QC. He has worked in the field of Clinical Hyperbaric Oxygen for the last 30 years. During this time, he has been intimately involved with the implementation and the development of the US Army’s Clinical Hyperbaric Service at Dwight David Eisenhower Army Medical Center. He has provided contract hyperbaric services since 1997. Prior to accepting his current position in Quebec, Canada, Mr. Fox served as the Chief of the Atmospherics Branch of the U.S. Army School of Aviation Medicine, Fort Rucker Alabama. In this capacity, he was responsible for hyperbaric/ hypobaric operations and training of US and NATO aviators, flight surgeons and flight medics. Mr. Fox is a senior army aviator and flew twelve years as a Medical Evacuation Pilot for the US Army.

Tom joined the Extivita team in 2022 as the Safety Director, helping Extivita to maintain a healthy and safe environment for exceptional patient care.

 

Extivita-RTP – Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Clinic

2012-D TW Alexander Drive
Durham, NC 27709
919-354-3775
919-354-3776
contact@extivita.org
https://www.extivita.org/

Subscribe Now, It’s Free!

[contact-form-7 id="65934" title="Subscribe"]

Recent HBOT News

Clinical Trial – The Effects of Intrathecal Dexmedetomidine on Spinal Anesthesia Using Diluted Low-Dose Bupivacaine for Transurethral Resection of Prostate in Elderly

Spinal block is the most common anesthetic technique for transurethral resection of
prostatectomy (TURP). Most patients undergoing TURP are elderly and frequently present with
cardiopulmonary and endocrine diseases. Low-dose local anesthetic is commonly administer to
limit the block level to minimize the hemodynamic changes. However, sometimes it may not
provide an adequate level of sensory block. Thus, intrathecal additive is frequently
administer with local anesthetic to improve analgesic effect.

Dexmedetomidine(DXM), a selective 2-adrenoreceptor agonist, has been used in the epidural
space in humans without any reports of neurological deficits. Previous clinical studies
showed that intravenous dexmedetomidine administration prolonged the sensory and motor blocks
of bupivacaine spinal analgesia. But clinical studies about the use of intrathecal DXM with
local anesthesia in humans are scarce in the literature. Kanazi et al. found that 3μg DXM
added to 12 mg spinal bupivacaine produced the significant short onset of sensory and motor
block as well as significantly longer duration of sensory and motor block than bupivacaine.
And Al-Mustafa et al. reported that intrathecal dexmedetomidine as an adjuvant to 12.5mg
bupivacaine in spinal anesthesia has a dose dependant effect on the onset and regression of
sensory and motor block.

In our previous study, low-dose diluted bupivacaine 5 mg provided sufficient anesthetic level
when opioid was added with local anesthetic. However, opioid-induced side effects, such as
pruritus, nausea, or vomiting, could be an obstacle in common use. The aim of this study is
to evaluate whether DXM-low-dose bupivacaine spinal anesthesia can provide the effective
spinal anesthesia and postoperative analgesia with minimal side effect compare to the local
anesthetic only group.

This study was conducted in a randomized, double-blind, controlled fashion. Patients were
randomly allocated to DXM group or Saline group. DMT group received hyperbaric bupivacaine
0.5% (1.2 ml) (6 mg) in dextrose 8% solution + DMT 0.3 ml (3 µg)-in total, bupivacaine 0.4%
(1.5 ml) intrathecally and Saline group received hyperbaric bupivacaine 0.5% (1.2 ml) (6 mg)
in dextrose 8% solution + normal saline 0.3 ml -in total, bupivacaine 0.4% (1.5 ml)
intrathecally. After spinal block, the level of sensory block, defined as the dermatomal
segment with loss of pain sensation to pin-prick with a 22 G hypodermic needle and cold
sensation to alcohol swab was measured every 2 min after intrathecal injection. The
investigators recorded the peak sensory block level, time to peak block level from
intrathecal injection, blood pressure and heart rate, and analgesic supplementation during
operation. The maximum motor block level was assessed according to the modified Bromage
scale. During postoperative period, the frequency of analgesic requirement, time to the first
analgesic request, and pain scores were evaluated by blind investigator.