Trying to Diiv.... Hyperbarics Oxygen Therapy
So Josie and I attempted to start hyperbarics oxygen therapy this week. Ummmm, it's not going so well. The first day we made it through the 70 minute dive, but the next 2 times didn't work out. Basically, we lie down on a single person stretcher and go into a clear tube. We can't have anything on us that can cause static and potentially a fire - so no lotion, nail polish, makeup, deodorant - nothing. Back to the birthday suit. In the first few minutes while they increase the pressure, you can feel it in your ears like on an airplane. Once you're at the right level, it stabilizes.
Yesterday, I gave Josie a bottle during that time to get her to swallow and prevent her ears from hurting; it worked for that reason, but then backfired. Typically, while she drinks her bottles she gets a lot of air and as it turns out, the oxygen mixed with extra air in your belly is bad news. They warn you not to drink carbonated beverages before, so it's a similar effect. At just about 25 minutes, Jojo was screaming crying - red face, boogers flying. I told the guy there to get us out. It takes a few minutes to decompress the oxygen and get you out of the chamber. And if they do it too fast you run the risk of a collapsed lung - sweet. On our way out Josie started throwing up. It was a pretty traumatic experience -for both of us. She threw up again later that night.
We decided to try again today, but with just a pacifier to help her suck in those first few minutes instead of a bottle. It didn't work. She's not a big paci baby and after about 1 minute my ears were really hurting so I was praying she wasn't feeling what I was feeling. She was. She started crying very hard again and I knew if I just kept us in there she would cry so hard that she'd throw up. So we got out. We're planning on trying again in 4 days.
Why hyperbarics oxygen therapy? The short answer is that Dr. Palevsky and Dr. Sherr are recommending Josie do HBOT as it should bring more oxygen to her brain as well as throughout her body, which should help her develop. We have done a lot of reasearch on it since, and after reading so many incredible stories, we agree it is worth the try. More information here.
And here is a blog from a mom who has seen great results from hbot on her son who suffered a bad brain injury.
Music reference: Diiv is an indie band from Brooklyn with that hazy dreamy pop sound I'm always attracted to. Here's a review of their 2012 album Oshin.
Yesterday, I gave Josie a bottle during that time to get her to swallow and prevent her ears from hurting; it worked for that reason, but then backfired. Typically, while she drinks her bottles she gets a lot of air and as it turns out, the oxygen mixed with extra air in your belly is bad news. They warn you not to drink carbonated beverages before, so it's a similar effect. At just about 25 minutes, Jojo was screaming crying - red face, boogers flying. I told the guy there to get us out. It takes a few minutes to decompress the oxygen and get you out of the chamber. And if they do it too fast you run the risk of a collapsed lung - sweet. On our way out Josie started throwing up. It was a pretty traumatic experience -for both of us. She threw up again later that night.
We decided to try again today, but with just a pacifier to help her suck in those first few minutes instead of a bottle. It didn't work. She's not a big paci baby and after about 1 minute my ears were really hurting so I was praying she wasn't feeling what I was feeling. She was. She started crying very hard again and I knew if I just kept us in there she would cry so hard that she'd throw up. So we got out. We're planning on trying again in 4 days.
Why hyperbarics oxygen therapy? The short answer is that Dr. Palevsky and Dr. Sherr are recommending Josie do HBOT as it should bring more oxygen to her brain as well as throughout her body, which should help her develop. We have done a lot of reasearch on it since, and after reading so many incredible stories, we agree it is worth the try. More information here.
And here is a blog from a mom who has seen great results from hbot on her son who suffered a bad brain injury.
Music reference: Diiv is an indie band from Brooklyn with that hazy dreamy pop sound I'm always attracted to. Here's a review of their 2012 album Oshin.
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