Hall-of-Famer Says Treatment is Curing Disabling Effects of Concussions

by Duane Pohlman, WKRC

CINCINNATI (WKRC) – National Football League (NFL) statistics reveal its players suffered nearly 2,000 concussions from 2012 to 2019. Even with new concussion protocols designed to protect today’s players from further damage, neurologists say many of those players could be left with lifelong damage to their brains.

This Spotlight on America report is part of our continuing examination of hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT), which a growing number of players and experts claim can reverse damage to brains caused by concussive blows.

A LEGEND WITH A NEW LEASE ON LIFE

On a field overlooking the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, where his bust is enshrined inside, Dave Robinson, a legendary former linebacker for the Green Bay Packers, talked about the therapy he claims has given him a new lease on life.

“I feel good,” Robinson exclaimed with a smile.

The 79-year-old says he has more energy too. It’s a far cry from the worries Robinson expressed in December at a Pro Football Retired Players Association board meeting in Arlington, Virginia.

“I don’t want to get to that point where I don’t’ recognize my friends,” Robinson said, explaining his memory had become murky while he battled sleeplessness and bouts of agitation.

Robinson blames his brain issues on countless concussions he received while playing in brutal games, including leading his beloved Packers to victory in the first two Super Bowls.

When asked how many concussions he received on the field during his years of glory, Robinson didn’t hesitate with his answer.

“Oh! More than you have fingers and toes,” he exclaimed, noting later that he suffered serious blows to the head in most games.

But now, for the first time in decades, Robinson says his mind is clearing and his memories are coming back, crediting it all to the HBOT he received.

“DIVING” INTO HBOT

Because HBOT was originally developed to treat divers who suffered from a buildup of nitrous oxygen in their blood, commonly referred to as “the bends,” each treatment is called a “dive.”

“I did 40 dives,” Robinson explained, talking about his treatment in May and June in a big purple hyperbaric chamber at Sara’s Garden, a clinic in the small northwestern Ohio city of Wauseon, which is just hours from his home in Akron.

During these dives, Robinson was fitted with an oxygen hood and sat down in the sealed chamber while it delivered100% oxygen under pressure. According to HBOT experts, this simple process delivers pure oxygen through the lungs to all parts of the body, including damaged sections of the brain.

MRI images attached to several studies reveal dormant sections of wounded and damaged brains light up with new brain activity after patients receive HBOT.

IMPLICATIONS FOR TREATING CTE

Forty scientific studies have revealed HBOT does heal wounded brains, which could be a game-changer for former players suffering from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a degenerative brain condition that has plagued former NFL Players.

In 2017, a team of doctors and scientists examined the brains 111 former NFL players, including Junior Seau, Ken Stabler and Frank Gifford, and found 110 of them had CTE.

Yet the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which approves HBOT for 14 conditions, does not approve HBOT for treating brain injuries, citing a lack of rigorous, clinical studies to prove it works, which brings us back to that Pro Football Retired Players Association board meeting in December.

Robinson and some of the greats of the game, Darrel Thompson, Billy Joe Dupree, Mike Haynes, Ron Mix, Mike Singletary, Jackie Slater and Jack Youngblood, all said they were suffering from the effects of concussions they received when they played football. Jim Brown was not in attendance.

Led by PFRPA’s executive director and CEO Bob Schmidt, the board voted to undergo HBOT themselves to truly see if it works.

“We’re going to use our retired players to really bring this issue forward,” Schmidt explained, saying he believes PFRPA can help bring HBOT to all players and even to military veterans who suffer from wounded brains.

Robinson is the first board member to undergo the full treatments and says it truly worked. Now, this Hall-of-Famer, who is already enshrined inside the hallowed hall in Canton, says he has one more run at another legacy: proving HBOT really works at curing the damage from concussions that have long plagued football players.

“I hope when I’m a 100 I still have my memories, I still have my faculties and can still move around and can tell people I owe it all to HBOT,” Robinson said with a smile moving across his face.

Read the original article from Local 12 WKRC HERE and repost from Pro Football Retired Players Association HERE.

No matter what you’ve been told, there is hope… for this and many other conditions. HBOT is treatment without drugs… without surgery… without pain.

2020 #GivingTuesday419

Like so many other things, #GivingTuesday419 this year has gone VIRTUAL!

#GivingTuesday419 is still all about giving back to the community, showing thankfulness and gratitude for what we do have, and sharing with those, who need it the most. That hasn’t changed. What has changed is the format for giving.

Instead of a single day of giving, the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, this year, #GivingTuesday419 will be a five-day event. From November 29 through December 3, 2020, anyone may log onto Everence’s Giving Tuesday web site, register for the virtual program, and enter their favorite charity into a special giveaway or drawing. Donations may also be made directly to Sara’s Garden with Sara’s Garden tallying the numbers and updating Everence’s Giving Tuesday totals.

Through last year’s Giving Tuesday Event, we had almost reached our fundraising goal for our fully accessible playgrounds and multisensory areas in Wauseon and Springfield, SO OUR KIDS COULD PLAY! We were all SO excited to get the projects started, to expand the roof over our courtyard, pour the latex-vinyl flooring for safe, exploratory play, and create UNBELIEVABLE play areas for physical education, therapy, recreation, and FUN!

And then the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and the world changed for our special needs kids. Our school was forced to close, and our students were lost! They lost their routine, their sense of community, and even their playmates and friends. Online learning was NOT designed for special needs kids! They were MORE than anxious to come back to school, back to their routines, their teachers, and their friends.

But they also came back to coronavirus precautions—masks, social distancing, hand washing, sanitizing, teachers switching classrooms NOT kids, lunch in homerooms, and NO new playgrounds because of coronavirus delays and other required safety precautions. These new requirements were not part of our original plans, but they are NOW necessities to keep our children safe and healthy! So, we need YOUR help.

During this Giving Tuesday, please help our special needs kids to play and play safely by giving of yourself and helping us to finish our long-awaited playgrounds. Through your caring and support, we hope to continue to make a difference in the lives of our special needs children and their families. No gift is too small to help inspire change in Northwest Ohio!

For more information on #GivingTuesday419 or to register for the event, log onto Everence.com/GivingTuesday419.

Special Grounds Project Update ~ Oct. 2020

We wanted to update everyone on the status of our exciting new project, Special Grounds Coffee Shop.

Complications due to the COVID-19 pandemic have made this a challenging project. While these unforeseen factors have caused delays in our progress, we are still excited beyond belief at the amazing opportunities this facility will provide to our students and individuals with disabilities in our community. Walls are starting to go up and equipment is starting to arrive.

In the near future we hope to begin our roasting process which will allow us to master our roasting profiles and provide our customers with amazing blends and recipes.

Please continue to keep an eye out for our Special Grounds Coffee Shop Grand Opening invitation and announcement. We look forward to seeing you and serving you there!

Congratulations 2020 NHA Graduates!

We are so pleased and proud to congratulate our 2020 New Horizons Academy (NHA) graduates! It was a long time in coming, but you DID it!

Congratulations to—

Beaux Barrett
Haley Munday
Ellisha Rodriguez
Zoe Siefker
Luke Zachrich

Even with the COVID school closing, social distancing, masks, and small group graduations, NOTHING could stop our 2020 graduates! The first graduation ceremony honored Haley Munday and her family in May at NHA’s Hope Center with the last held October 3, 2020 at the new Career Center for Luke Zachrich and Beaux Barrett. This was a very memorable graduation season with the MOST graduates NHA has ever had in a single graduating class and hopefully, the most graduation ceremonies that we will ever hold in a single year.

For many our graduates and their parents, this graduation was truly a dream come true! Thank you to all of our graduates’ parents for never giving up on their children, for sticking with it, and for choosing New Horizons Academy.

For more information on our regional special needs schools in Wauseon and Springfield Township, please call Admissions Coordinator Ronda Rupp at 419-335-7272 or email her at rondar@sarasgarden.org.

2020 Classroom Toy Drive

We’re asked all the time for simple ways that families can help support our students and their classrooms.

One such option that is often overlooked, yet incredibly important, is the need for sensory toys that can be used to support the interventions and therapies being provided.

Every child benefits from having toys to play with. Toys help a child develop motor skills, creativity, social skills and other things they will need for growth and development. But for a child with autism or other special needs, toys play an even more vital role. Sensory toys help children with special needs gain a measure of control over their environment. Sensory toys for autism development are important because they help the child to learn problem-solving skills, something that many children with autism struggle to do. What may look like simple play with sensory toys for children with special needs is actually the process of education in action.

Having the right kind of sensory toys for autism education is very important to the development of the children in the classroom. Millions of children are affected by some kind of special need or disability that affects their ability to learn in a conventional way. Because of that, NHA incorporates various sensory related toys into our classrooms for special needs students.

We are holding a classroom toy drive to help collect toys so our kids can play! You can help make Christmas a little merrier for our kids and their classrooms.

BUY A TOY ~ SPONSOR A CLASSROOM

Thank you so much for making a difference at our school.

Merry Christmas!

Students and Teachers at New Horizons Academy

NHA COVID Update

New Horizons Academy (NHA) is committed to the safety and health of our students and staff, and we will do everything in our power to keep them safe! Unfortunately, not everything is within our control. As coronavirus cases continue to grow in Northwest Ohio, NHA had to confront its first positive COVID-19 result.

One of our staff members in Wauseon tested positive on October 29. Students and staff, who came into contact with that staff member, were quickly sent home from school, and cleaning and disinfecting were promptly begun. We are working closely with our local health department, and anyone identified as a close contact will be notified by them as a part of COVID-19 contact tracing.

How You Can Help
Be proactive about reducing the number of interactions that students and staff have with one another by practicing social distancing (staying at least 6 feet apart) to limit the spread of COVID-19. In addition to physical distancing, these important tools help to prevent the spread of COVID-19:

Stay home when you are sick.
Wear a mask or face covering while in public places or if people who don’t live with you must visit your home.
Avoid unnecessary gatherings with people who don’t live in your home.
Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. Sing the Happy Birthday song twice to help know when it has been 20 seconds. If soap and water are not available, use alcohol-based hand sanitizers that contain at least 60% alcohol.
Cover your coughs and sneezes with a tissue, and then dispose of the tissue and wash your hands immediately. If you do not have a tissue, use your sleeve, not your hands, to cover coughs and sneezes. If you are experiencing cough or congestion, consider staying home and seeking medical care.
Regularly clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces using a regular household cleaning spray or wipes. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends cleaning of frequently touched surfaces with household cleaners and EPA-registered disinfectants that are appropriate for the surface, following label instructions. A simple bleach solution may also be utilized.

For answers to your COVID-19 questions, call 1-833-4-ASK-ODH (1-833-427-5634) or visit coronavirus.ohio.gov.

Your mental health is just as important as your physical health. If you or a loved one are experiencing anxiety related to the coronavirus pandemic, help is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Call the COVID-19 CareLine at 1-800-720-9616.

If you have any other questions, please feel free to call the school office at 419-335-7272. Thank you for helping to keep people safe and to slow the spread of COVID-19 in our community and school.

Protect Parent Rights For Students With Disabilities!

Parents,

Help School Choice Ohio and the Ohio Scholarship Providers Association protect your rights!

A proposed rule change being considered by the Ohio Department of Education in the Ohio Administrative Code (OAC) may allow school districts to make a placement change for a child with disabilities without obtaining parental consent. The rule change needs to be revised to prevent this from happening without proper safeguards.

Your voice needs to be heard. Please download and use the template letter below to express your opposition. You simply need to sign your name and email it to rulecomments@education.ohio.gov or edit the letter as you see fit and then send it.

Opposition Letter: DOWNLOAD HERE

The deadline for comments is July 31st so please don’t delay!

More info can be found at this link: http://education.ohio.gov/About/Ohio-Administrative-Code-OAC-Rule-Comments

Burn Relief Through HBOT

Would you run into a burning building when every instinct and impulse firing in your brain is telling you something else? There are many times that people are presented with this seemingly unanswerable question… a conflict between what we can possibly save and what we are risking to lose.

Sunday, March 29th is a day that Clayton and his family will never forget. Clayton noticed smoke coming from the barn that housed dairy goats his daughters were raising for their 4H projects. Upon seeing the smoke, he ran to the barn to investigate. Unfortunately, when he opened the barn door, the rush of air caused the smoldering straw to ignite.

Despite the potential danger, Clayton ran into the burning barn multiple times in an attempt to save as many of the goats as possible. He was able to save three baby and two adult goats before deciding it was too dangerous to continue going back into the barn. Unfortunately, other than the five goats he was able to save, the barn, the remaining goats and all of its contents were a complete loss.

When the paramedics arrived on the scene, they determined that Clayton was in urgent need of medical attention. Because he had inhaled smoke and breathed in the heat of the fire, the paramedics proceeded to sedate and intubate him for fear that the damage to his trachea and lungs would cause severe swelling and restrict his breathing, causing his airway to fail. They also determined that he had sustained numerous 2nd and 3rd degree burns on his face, neck, head, fingers, hands and right knee. Life Flight was called to the scene and Clayton was rushed to the hospital.

The burns were so severe that Clayton was unable to perform any daily activities or care for himself. His wife became his caregiver following his return home from the hospital. Twice a day, the burns required scraping, cleaning and dressing changes to avoid contracting any infections. The injuries were extremely painful and required special compression garments.

Fortunately, Clayton was able to begin hyperbaric treatments at Sara’s Garden immediately following his release from the hospital. Initially, the treatments were very painful and Clayton questioned whether he would be able to do a full series of treatments. The severity of his burns made him extremely sensitive to temperature changes and heat intolerance. Being in the chamber for extended periods of time was difficult for him to tolerate. Clayton was very thankful at how much effort the staff made to help him relieve his pain and discomfort by packing him with ice bags to cool him down.

Within several weeks of treatment, new skin growth began to appear. The doctors at the burn clinic would comment about how quickly Clayton was healing and remark that he was progressing much more rapidly than they would have anticipated. They were thrilled that Clayton was displaying an accelerated healing process, had a reduction in noticeable scar tissue, and was seeing a quicker return to more normal skin pigment.

Clayton often hears comments from people who saw him at my worst right after the accident. They marvel at how well his healing went. When he tells his story and explains his burns and everything he went through, many people say that his scars and burns are not very noticeable and that if he hadn’t said anything they would not have even noticed.

Clayton and his family are extremely thankful for all the prayers and support they received following his accident. They are eternally grateful that their community of friends and church stepped up to assist with the costs of treatment. They know that God works things out according to his plan and believe he used the great staff and facility of Sara’s Garden to provide the healing he so desperately needed during that time. They know it would be impossible to thank everyone who played a role in providing care and support to their family during that time.

Thanks to the healing power of the great physician, Jesus Christ and Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy at Sara’s Garden, Clayton has his life back. No matter what you’ve been told, there is hope… for this and many other conditions. HBOT is treatment without drugs… without surgery… without pain.

NHA is Still Accepting Students for the 2020-2021 School Year

With so many schools affected by the coronavirus pandemic and reducing the number of in-person, instructional days, if you are still looking for a 5-day a week school program for your special needs child, New Horizons Academy is STILL accepting new student applications for the 2020-2021 school year for both its Wauseon and Springfield/Holland campuses, as well as for its new Career Center in Wauseon. Call TODAY to begin the enrollment process for August’s classes. School starts on August 19.

We are so excited to be accepting applications for NEW special education students for the 2020-2021 school year for our preschool to high school classes (up to age 21). If you are looking for the right special education placement, a place where your child feels like he or she fits in, consider New Horizons Academy (NHA) in Wauseon or Springfield/Holland.

At NHA, kids come first. We exist for our students; our students do not exist for the school. Students don’t have to fit into the classes. The class and program are made to meet the individual student’s needs. Please visit us, and see if we are the right fit for your special needs student.

NHA’s Wauseon & Springfield/Holland Campuses:

Are regional preschool to 12th grade special education schools.
Have less than a 1:2—staff to student ratio.
Specialize in individualized, personalized education.
Provide strong academics, community involvement, life skills classes, vocational skills, work site placements, and job coaches.
Offer early intervention, conductive education (CE), sensory integration, occupational therapy, speech/language pathology & music instruction.
Participate in the College Credit Plus (CCP) Program.
Are Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA)-Based Schools.
Accept both the Autism & Jon Peterson Scholarships as payment in full.
Serve students from over 9 counties and 37 different school districts.

Our mission is to help your child achieve the greatest independence possible through early intervention programs, classes, community activities, life skills training, vocational placements, and job coaching.

Steps to Enrollment:

Call the school for more information.
Submit a copy of your child’s IEP & ETR for review.
Schedule a school tour, interview, and student assessment.
If accepted, complete student enrollment paperwork, and provide proof of residency.
Complete and accept the Autism or Jon Peterson Scholarship.

For more information on New Horizons Academy or to schedule a tour, call Admissions Coordinator Ronda Rupp at 419-335-7272, email rondar@sarasgarden.org, or log onto newhorizonsacademy.org.

NHA Heading Back to School 5 Days a Week Safely!

The health and safety of our students is our top priority! We take their physical and emotional well-being very seriously. During this COVID-19 pandemic, New Horizons Academy (NHA) will do everything in its power to serve your children and keep them safe.

As a regional special needs school, New Horizons Academy is a very special place, serving students from 37 different school districts from over 9 different counties across 3 different campuses. With Ohio’s county-by-county approach to reopening schools, NHA will work with all of Northwest Ohio’s health departments to meet the individual needs of our students under a variety of risk levels.

Since the March 2020 school closure, education has been very challenging for our special needs students. Our students thrive in small groups with individualized, hands-on instruction, which is why many struggled with at-home, online learning. NHA believes that our students’ special education and social needs are best met through face-to-face, hands-on instruction. With our small class sizes, NHA is able to meet the social distancing guidelines to bring our students back to school five days a week from 8:15 a.m.-2:45 p.m. for the 2020-2021 school year!

But returning to school will look a little different than it did before. Thank you to the parents and staff who have shared their questions and concerns with us! Some parents are worried that the state’s guidelines are not stringent enough to protect their children while others are concerned that the health and safety guidelines are too strict for their children and their family. All of us, NHA staff, students, and parents, will need to be flexible and understanding of each other as we return to school. We have tried to take a common sense approach, which incorporates and modifies the federal, state, and local guidelines for our special needs students. Through our summer camps, we were able to pilot this approach and gain a great deal of experience and understanding on successfully implementing these health and safety guidelines.

Returning to School 5 Days a Week!

Our teachers and staff have really missed your children and are so excited about welcoming them back to school!
Our first day of school will be August 19 with our regular school day from 8:15 a.m.-2:45 p.m.
With all of our students on individual education plans (IEPs), NHA will continue to provide personalized, individualized education to meet the diverse learning needs of our students.
Classes will be held in and students spread out across our Wauseon and Springfield/Holland Campuses, Sara’s Garden building, and our new NHA Career Center in Wauseon.

Heading Back to School Safely To protect your children and our medically fragile students, NHA is planning on:

Daily symptom and temperature checks for both staff and students with anyone exhibiting symptoms or with a fever of 100 degrees or greater immediately sent home to isolate,
Social distancing as much as possible,
Teachers rather than students rotating classrooms,
Frequent hand washing and liberal use of hand sanitizer,
Meeting students at the car or lobby door to limit parental exposure,
Utilizing water bottles with snacks and lunch in the classroom,
Sanitizing high-traffic areas throughout the day and intensive building cleanings,
Ongoing staff training.

Face Coverings

All staff will wear face coverings.
Students will be encouraged, but not mandated, to wear face coverings (bandanna, scarf, mask, etc.) as a part of their behavioral plans. We want to help them build up their ability and tolerance in case they need to wear them on the bus, for appointments, during a group outing, etc.
Be imaginative, creative, and fun like wearing a favorite team’s bandanna, playing dress up with a special scarf, playing pretend with a mask, or choosing a favorite ball cap with an attached plastic sheet or shield.

Online Learning

Just being in school or any public area carries some risk of exposure.
For parents who are not ready to send back and/or do not feel comfortable sending their children back to school yet, NHA will offer a full-time, online learning option, which may be accessed through any smart phone or device.

Communications

Keeping parents updated and informed is critical!
NHA will reach parents by posting updates on our web site and Facebook page, texting and/or emailing out critical announcements, making phone calls, sending home letters, leaving notes in students’ communications folders, etc.
Additional information about how day-to-day school operations like pick up, drop off, and classroom schedules may be impacted will be sent out over the summer.
If you have any questions or concerns, please call the school offices at 419-335-7272 (Wauseon) or 567-703-1322 (Springfield/Holland). We would be happy to hear from you!

Visitors

To reduce exposure risk, NHA will try to limit entrance to its buildings.
Parents will be asked to wait in their cars with staff coming out to escort students into and out of the school buildings.
Anyone, entering the buildings, will be asked to wear a face covering and will undergo a symptom and temperature check.

Transportation

Bussing is up to the home school district. If you are planning on your home school district providing transportation for your child to school this year, please contact them right away.
If you are transporting your child to and from school, please look for additional information from NHA on drop off and pick up locations and procedures.

Social, Emotional & Behavioral Support

With children feeling afraid, angry, sad, anxious, and depressed during this pandemic, their negative or disruptive behaviors may increase.
As an Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA)-based school system, NHA’s behavioral specialists are here to help.
This year, NHA will also have a part-time school counselor available for mental health support.

Blended Education

During a coronavirus outbreak which causes the Ohio Department of Health and/or the local health department to classify a county or counties as Level 3-Red, NHA will follow the health department’s guidance.
This may include utilizing remote learning (electronic or online coursework through smart phones or other technology, interactive bins or bags sent home with the students, and/or hands-on activities posted on the web site or Facebook page).
If due to a Level 3-Red alert, students from a specific county are unable to physically attend school or if either of NHA’s Wauseon or Springfield/Holland Campuses are forced to close for an extended period of time, NHA will continue instruction remotely until the health department drops the county down to a Level 2-Orange designation with instruction then physically returning back to the classroom.
During that time, NHA will provide telehealth or online therapy services.
NHA will also give first priority to and will try to offer one-on-one, in-person interventions and therapies to our most needy students, who struggled the most with online learning, when it can be offered and scheduled safely using all of the health guidelines previously discussed.

COVID Exposure

If any student or staff member would test positive for COVID-19, NHA is committed to working with the local health departments and public health officials on contact tracing while still maintaining individual privacy.