Special Report – Veterans and HBOT
The unfortunate truth is that countless veterans, just like Simon, repeatedly battle suicidal thoughts. They struggle from their battle wounds and PTSD with each passing minute.
These brave souls protected our country, and it’s beyond time that we protect their future. Thankfully there is hope in HBOT.
Watch the 30 Minute Special Report
Veterans are at especially high risk for suicide due to the injuries they’ve endured and the horrific images they’ve seen. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury (TBI) rank high among the reasons why veterans are choosing death over living. But there is hope for new beginnings. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) is helping war veterans turn their lives around.
In this Special Report, Edward diGirolamo, host of the HBOT News Network, dives into HBOT and what the state of North Carolina is doing to help get veterans this life saving therapy. We hear from Melissa Spain, CEO of the Community Foundation of NC East, as she discusses their involvement to get NC Senate Bill 442 passed; a bill that has appropriated funds to provide HBOT to NC veterans who suffer from TBI and PTSD.
We are also greeted by Elena Schertz, Nurse Practitioner at Extivita-RTP in Durham, NC. Elena gives us a tour of their state-of-the-art clinic where soldiers are receiving HBOT. One of their veteran patients, Simon LeMay, agreed to share his story with us to help spread the hope that exists within the world of hyperbaric oxygen therapy.
Meet a true American Hero, Simon LeMay, retired Sergeant Major with 25-years in the US Marine Corps. LeMay was deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan five times during a ten year period. He lost his best friend in battle and witnessed horrific incidents of violence and injury among his Marine bothers. Although LeMay was blessed to avoid serious physical injury to himself, he did come home with an invisible wound of war.
IED exposures left him with a TBI and visions of war and death haunted him with PTSD. Simon turned to alcohol and pain pills to ease the emotional and physical pain, leading him down a dark tunnel of depression and suicidal thoughts that almost ended in demise.
After hearing about it from friends, his loving family talked him into trying hyperbaric oxygen therapy to help heal his brain injuries. LeMay received treatment at Extivita- RTP in Durham, NC and states after 20-30 treatments he started realizing that he was once again “starting to feel emotion,” with the sense of worthlessness disappearing and the suicidal ideation being no more.
“I started looking forward to the next day,” Simon exclaims.
Also included in this Special Report is a raw and personal interview with Cate, Simon’s wife. Today she is thrilled with Simon’s progress, even calling hyperbaric oxygen therapy “God sent.”
Guest
Organizations
For more information about the guest organizations featured in this special, please click on the links.
North Carolina Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Clinic
Extivita RTP
NC HBOT for Veterans Program
The Community Foundation of NC East
Subscribe Now, It’s Free!
Recent HBOT News
[Cerebral injury induced by heat stroke and the therapeutic effect of hyperbaric oxygen therapy].
Abstract: With the global warming, the incidence of heat stroke was significantly higher than before. Severe heat stroke has a high mortality, high morbidity and consolidated central nervous system injury characteristics. The main features of severe heat stroke...
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy for children with autism spectrum disorder.
As autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a multifactorial condition, with genetic and environmental risk factors contributing to children’s unique presentation and symptom severity, a range of treatments have been suggested. Parents of children with ASD in my clinic are asking me about alternative therapies to improve their children’s condition. One of those therapies is hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT); commercial advertisement in the past has suggested good results with this approach. Should I recommend the use of HBOT for children with ASD? Answer Hyperbaric oxygen therapy provides a higher concentration of oxygen delivered in a chamber or tube containing higher than sea level atmospheric pressure.
Massive Ischemic Stroke Due to Pulmonary Barotrauma and Cerebral Artery Air Embolism During Commercial Air Travel.
Abstract: BACKGROUND Air embolism into the systemic arterial circulation secondary to pulmonary barotrauma has rarely been reported. Herein, we report the clinical course of an extremely rare presentation of cerebral air embolism likely due to ruptured pulmonary...