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
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Clinical Trial – Hyperbaric Oxygenation (HBO) in Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury. (EOS) – Pilot Study
Hypothesis of the Study:
Based on the presented results, the investigator hypothesises that HBO preserves neurons that
are not irreversibly damaged (i.e. severed) during initial trauma, thus enabling regain of
their function. The investigator predicts that HBO treatment protects and enhances motor
function in initially paralysed regions, including improvement in function of the extremities
as well as recovery of urinary bladder control and bowel function.
Outline of the Proposed Study:
Within a prospective "proof of principle" trial, a total of 100 patients will be included.
Fifty patients will be recruited at the Division of Thoracic and Hyperbaric Surgery, Medical
University of Graz. In parallel, 50 control patients will be included at the Department of
Orthopaedics and Trauma, Paracelsus University Salzburg, Salzburger Landeskliniken (SALK),
Austria. Thereby, all patients that are admitted at the Medical University of Graz can be
treated and the enrolment of 50 patients into the treatment group can be implemented within
the outlined time frame. The active recruitment period is planned for three years. Both HBO
treated and control patients will undergo the same surgical and nonsurgical procedures. HBO
treatment will be started within 24 hours after the injury. A total of 21 consecutive daily
sessions will be applied, followed by routine rehabilitation programmes. By matching control
and HBO-treated patients, an evaluation of the treatment effect of HBO is possible. The
outcome will be evaluated by implementing the American Spinal Injury Association
(ASIA)-scores and magnet resonance (MR) imaging. Additionally, inflammatory and regenerative
blood markers will be analysed (neuroendocrine markers/neuro-transmitters: S100beta, Brain
Derived Neurotrophic Growth Factor [BDNF], Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein [GFAP], Reactive
Oxygen Species (ROS), norepinephrine; array of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines and
chemokines).