Turtle Comes Out of His Shell

Turtle Comes Out of His Shell

Education and friendship can play a huge role in the life of any child, but they may be even more vital for a child with Autism.

Autistic children differ in the way they perceive things and respond to the world around them. They often have great difficulty making sense of the world as other children see it. Too often, children with Autism are not the preferred partners of typical children. In the worst of cases, they may be bullied because they look, act or sound different than their typical peers. Children with Autism require caring, individualized attention from teachers and intervention specialists. They may also need extra help interpreting friendships, non-verbal communication, using school equipment, paying attention in class or controlling their behaviors.

For Glen (Turtle as his mother affectionately calls him), the first two weeks of school at New Horizons Academy at Sara’s Garden were extremely rough. It represented yet another change in his life. He had struggled in his previous school placements, often acting out and exhibiting behaviors that made it nearly impossible for teachers to control and teach him or peers to get to know and befriend him.

For weeks, Glen’s mother would literally pry him from the car each morning and carry him into the school. Glen would be hitting, screaming, kicking and biting her the entire way into the building. Each morning, the NHA staff would immediately take Glen into the multi-sensory room when he arrived and spend time with him, helping to calm him down and get him ready for the school day ahead. Many times, he would need to be restrained so he would not hurt himself. His sole focus was on his mother. He desperately wanted to stay with her, fearing that she was leaving him at school forever. However, after spending time in the multi-sensory room Glen would calm down and eventually go to his classroom with his peers.

When Glen started school at NHA, we were told that he had Selective Mutism (SM), an anxiety disorder in which a person who is normally capable of speech does not speak in specific situations or to specific people. We learned that Glen had been teased because of his speech impediment at previous schools and had therefore stopped speaking in public. He lacked self-confidence and was terrified to try new things. Glen had no friends. In fact, according to Glen’s mom, he had never had friends before in his life because other children were afraid of him due to his negative behaviors.

While each morning was difficult for Glen those first weeks, the staff began to notice significant changes.

Every morning, Glen’s outbursts became less severe and shorter in duration. Then, during the third week of school an amazing event took place. Glen came rushing into school, not waiting for his mother to bring him! He appeared to be very excited. Our school administrator, Mr. Burkholder, asked his mother what brought about the change. She stated that she had taken him to Wal-Mart to purchase a special toy… not for himself, but for the new friend that he had made at New Horizons Academy. He could not wait to come to school to give his new friend this toy. This began a new pattern. Glen loves coming to school each day and no longer has negative behaviors.

What has developed from this one friendship is a young boy who quickly began developing self-confidence and trust. He began to excel in his academics and the teachers watched him blossom into a special leader. He continually wants more academic challenges. The teachers realized that despite what was written in all of the reports they had received on Glen, he had so much ability and potential. It was not long into the first grading period that Glen had already mastered the goals that had been written on his IEP.

Now, six months later, he has become his classroom’s “Chatty Cathy”. He loves interacting with his classmates and completing his classwork. Learning how to do simple addition has just clicked in Glen’s brain. It was like watching a light bulb come on. He picked up the concept and is exceeding his yearly goal. Now he wants to do his math work first. Reading continues to be difficult for Glen due to his speech impediment, but that doesn’t stop him from trying. He reads with his classmates at his ability level and is always willing to attempt reading new words, which includes weekly spelling words. He has also shown significant improvement when writing letters with the proper formation and always turns in his homework. Once Glen is assigned a task or classroom chore he doesn’t stop. He is the one student that can be given a task and you know it will get done with no supervision. He takes on the responsibility of teaching his classmates how to complete a task or chore with pride.

Glen is now able to receive individualized and differentiated educational instruction. Combined with NHA’s diversity of intervention tools such as Conductive Education, Autism Intervention and Sensory Integration, delivered by a specialized staff that is able to give Glen the necessary focused attention, he continues to excel. He now has many friends. He loves to come to school and you can see him walking around NHA with a smile on his face. When you look at Glen now, as compared to September 2013, you will find a boy full of self-confidence, pride, and happiness.

New Horizons Academy provided Glen with a safe, nurturing environment where he could feel accepted and loved. Once the behaviors were overcome, the teachers no longer have to address bad behaviors, and can focus on his education. Thanks to New Horizons Academy at Sara’s Garden, Turtle has come out of his shell. Glen’s mom gets to see her son’s emerging potential and has renewed dreams for his future.

No matter what you have been told, there is hope. Hope for a child to emerge into the responsible adults we as parents pray for. There is hope for those who were told they would not learn, or walk, or talk. That hope, is rekindled through the work that is happening at New Horizons Academy. The loving, caring and true compassion that is shown to each and every student, no matter how difficult their condition, disability, or behavior might be, is where the success story starts. Come join us and you’ll see what is possible for a child who has been labeled as “different”. New Horizons Academy at Sara’s Garden… Where kids come first!

HBOT Delivers a 1-2 Punch

HBOT Delivers a 1-2 Punch

Knee replacements are one of the most commonly performed elective, orthopedic operations. For the majority of patients, knee replacement surgery relieves pain and helps them to live fuller, more active lives. But for some, the opposite occurs.

No surgical procedure is without risks and a small percentage of patients undergoing knee replacement may develop an infection following the operation. Joint replacement infections may occur in the wound or deep around the artificial implants. An infection may develop during the hospital stay or after the return home. Joint replacement infections can even occur years after surgery. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what happened to Bill.

Bill had to have joint replacement surgery in 2006 due to a work related injury he had suffered on his left knee back in 1991. Over the years, his knee gradually deteriorated to the point that it finally had to be replaced. Bill’s surgery went according to plan. Following surgery Bill returned home to begin his recovery. Doctors continued to examine his knee annually to ensure that it was still functioning properly. Everything appeared to be going great.

In December 2011 Bill’s left knee began causing him a lot of pain. When he went in to see the doctor an x-ray showed that fluid was building up around his knee, which had to be drained off. His blood work and an MRI indicated the presence of an infection. By February, Bill was forced to stop working due to the excruciating pain in his knee.

Infections can be caused by a variety of bacteria and viruses that are usually kept in check by the immune system. However, because joint replacements are made of metal and plastic, it is difficult for the immune system to attack bacteria or viruses that make it to these implants. If bacteria or viruses gain access to the implants, they may multiply and cause an unrelenting infection. Despite antibiotics and preventative treatments, patients with infected joint replacements often require surgery in order to cure the infection. Because of the level of the infection and the amount of pain it was causing, the doctors decided on a plan to remove Bill’s artificial knee and implant another one.

However, in March, when doctors opened up Bill’s knee during surgery it was discovered that the replaced knee had worked itself loose. The doctor simply pulled it right out of the bone. A medical spacer was installed instead of a new knee replacement until they could clear up the infection. Bill began receiving antibiotics administered via a peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC or PIC line) to treat the infection. By the end of June, a filter had to be put in due to a blood clot that had formed in the left leg.

Bill had hoped for his new knee to be put in by July, but his blood work indicated that two new types of bacteria were now present. Because of these new infections, the original medical spacer was removed and a new spacer was put in. Bill received ongoing intravenous antibiotics but his blood work continued to show that the infection levels remained unchanged.

Bill was a 65-year-old man who loved working and staying busy. To his dismay, he was now confined to a wheelchair. When Bill arrived at Sara’s Garden to begin HBOT treatments, he had spent nearly six months without a knee. He was unable to bend his leg or bear any weight and was completely dependent on his wife to meet all of his needs.

Following Bill’s first week of HBOT treatments he returned to his doctors to have new blood work done. He was overjoyed to learn that his infection level had been cut in half. After his second week of treatments his infection level was once again cut in half. By the end of Bill’s third week of treatments, the infection level in his knee was virtually non-existent and his doctors were finally willing to allow him to have his knee replacement scheduled. Because Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy is anti-viral, anti-bacterial and anti-fungal, it was able to do in less than a month what a constant supply of IV antibiotics had been unable to affect in months; eliminate Bill’s infection and get him back on the road to recovery.

By the end of September, Bill was able to finally undergo surgery to replace his knee and remove the spacer that he had lived with for almost seven months. After being released from the hospital, Bill continued to receive HBOT treatments to expedite his healing process and help him recover from his physical therapy sessions. Bill was very concerned about this pending recovery process. He knew how hard it had been for him to recover from knee surgery and undergo physical therapy following his first knee surgery. He feared this time was sure to be even more difficult for him due to the amount of time he had just spent confined to a wheelchair, unable to do anything physical in nature.

Bill and his family were thrilled that he experienced the exact opposite this time around. Because of the HBOT treatments Bill continued to receive, the inflammation and swelling in Bill’s knee was reduced more quickly following surgery and physical therapy sessions. He was also able to gain greater flexibility and range of motion more quickly and experienced much less pain than in the past.

HBOT delivered a 1-2 punch for Bill in helping him overcome a debilitating infection and assisting in expediting his recovery process. Thanks to Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy at Sara’s Garden, Bill was finally able to escape from his wheelchair and gain his independence 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.

Desperate for Relief

Desperate for Relief

Almost everyone has experienced a headache at one time in their life, but very few people have lived with a debilitating migraine that lasted over seven straight months.

Brianne had suffered from migraines off and on for over 14 years. She would typically experience burning, throbbing and stabbing pain that resulted in nausea and sensitivity to both light and sound. Despite undergoing countless tests, doctors could never determine what triggered Brianne’s migraines. Even worse, they were never able to find a medication to effectively control them. Brianne’s migraines would leave just as suddenly and mysteriously as they had arrived. That all changed on Mother’s Day in 2012 when a migraine struck violently and didn’t subside for over seven months.

Initially, Brianne’s family took her to the ER for shots in hopes of treating the migraine. Unfortunately, Brianne didn’t experience any relief so she went to see her family’s long time general practitioner who prescribed additional medications. When the pain still didn’t abate after several weeks her next stop was to meet with a neurologist where a CT scan showed no abnormalities. After several additional weeks and even stronger prescriptions, nothing had diminished the pain or eased the effects of the migraine. The neurologist told Brianne’s family that there was nothing more that he could do for her.

By now the non-stop migraine was entering week number nine. The family was referred to Michigan Head Pain and Neurological Institute (MHNI) which is one of the top clinics for head pain in the United States. After an all-day appointment that involved many tests and meetings with several different practitioners, Brianne was diagnosed with chronic migraine pain.

Brianne was admitted into MHNI, which has a 20-bed unit in Chelsea Hospital dedicated to only head pain patients. Each day of Brianne’s two week stay included rounds of IV medications, tests and procedures. Her brain was checked for tumors, lesions and any other abnormalities. She even had a test done on her heart to check for an abnormality that involves a tiny hole in the heart that can induce migraines. Nothing helped.

Months after Brianne’s migraine struck, her life was still on hold. Brianne had to wear darkly tinted lens indoors and a brimmed hat when outdoors. Earplugs would with any loud sounds when she is away from home. Due to the constant migraine pain she was experiencing, Brianne had to drop out of school and quit her part time job. Reading made her so nauseous that she was unable to study despite being on nine different medications. In addition to all the medications, Brianne tried chiropractic treatments, homeopathic remedies, acupuncture, and massage therapy.

Brianne had virtually no social interaction. The pain was so intense that she rarely participated in anything with her family. She slept all the time yet said that she was always tired and had no energy. She kept herself in constant darkness even when she was awake. Brianne and her family were desperate and on the verge of losing all hope for relief when they heard about Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) at Sara’s Garden and learned that it had been successful in treating people who suffer from migraines.

When Brianne first came to Sara’s Garden she was extremely pale and was more than a little apprehensive. She and her family didn’t know what to expect. Her eyes were glazed over and she had a very difficult time conversing with the staff. The light from being out in public was causing her tremendous pain despite the fact that she wore dark sunglasses. Following her first treatment she begged her mom to let her go home to her dark room. Thankfully her mom didn’t acquiesce and Brianne continued to come back each day.

By the middle of her second week of treatments, Brianne had a 20 minute respite from her pain. This was the beginning of the light at the end of the tunnel! From that point on her pain began to recede. Because she had been living with this constant pain for so long she didn’t recognize the changes at first. She began using her hair dryer in the morning after showering. This was a tremendous milestone for her as noise and heat were typically unbearable. She then started to spend time with her family in the living room watching television with the sound loud enough for everyone to hear. Soon after, she was turning the radio on in the car on the way in for treatments.

By the third week of treatments she ventured out shopping with no hat or sunglasses. By the end of the week she was stating that she was pain free and started driving for the first time on over six months! At the end of her treatments Brianne was pain free. She could drive, exercise and even do household chores. Over the past year, Brianne has had several migraines that she refers to as “normal people” migraines. These last only a few hours and have been traced to low blood sugar, fatigue or muscle strain in her neck. She combats this with frequent small meals, yoga, and the occasional nap.

Thanks to Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy at Sara’s Garden, Brianne has her life back. Her family is convinced that without these treatments, none of this would have been possible. 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.

Wheeled In. Walked Out.

Wheeled In. Walked Out.

How many times have you been told not to take your health for granted? We all do though. When you’re a healthy 25 year old mother of three small children you rarely have time to stop and worry about how your life would be different if your health was suddenly taken from you. Yet that’s exactly what happened to Aubree.

On November 17, 2012, Aubree was a passenger in a car that was struck by a pickup truck that had run a red light. The impact from the accident took place on her side of the vehicle. Aubree suffered a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and spent five weeks in the Surgical Trauma Intensive Care Unit (STICU). Doctors in the STICU were very guarded about giving the family too much hope for a promising outcome.

While in STICU, Aubree was kept sedated for approximately two and a half weeks. The most intensive part of her recovery involved an ICP drain/probe that saved her from needing a craniotomy in order to relieve the mounting pressure and swelling that had occurred on her brain. At the conclusion of the five weeks in the STICU, Aubree was transferred to a skilled nursing facility in order to prepare her for the intensive therapy she would need to undergo at an acute rehab center. Although Aubree had made great progress to this point, she still had a very long road ahead of her.

Upon arriving at the skilled nursing facility, Aubree was still in a minimally-conscious state. She was only able to move her body involuntarily, often rolling from side to side. She was not able to access her physical motor skills on command and could only sit up with assistance from an aide or family member. She was still on a feeding tube and was not yet able to speak or communicate. Other than family and a few close friends, no one appeared to hold out much hope for Aubree’s improvement.

Aubree’s family knew that they had to try every avenue available that could even remotely give her a greater chance at a full recovery. While they felt blessed that Aubree was still with them, they wanted to give her every opportunity they could for a bright and independent future and to help her return to her role as wife and mother. She had been a happy, fun-loving, and vibrant young woman who had many dreams and aspirations for her future. They wanted to provide that hope for her yet again.

As her family began researching alternative treatment options, they discovered Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy and learned how it had been successful in treating TBI. Research showed that many military troops who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan are returning home with TBI and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). In the past few years there have been numerous Defense Department-led studies looking at the effects of HBOT on troops with TBI. HBOT is an effective and economical treatment for TBI and PTSD, without the very dangerous and negative side effects of antipsychotic medication.

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy has been shown to improve client’s fine and gross motor skills, speech, thinking (cognition), memory and physical healing. First Lady, Michelle Obama has even become involved in the White House’s Joining Forces Initiative. The program could play a significant role in recognizing HBOT as a premier therapy for brain injuries and PTSD. With the White House spearheading this initiative, it could mean that the tide is turning, and FDA’s non-approval of HBOT for the treatment of TBI or PTSD may be crumbling, as well as its refusal to use HBOT for TBI and PTSD because it’s considered “off-label,” while at the same time using antipsychotic drugs completely off-label for treatment of TBI and PTSD.

Aubree started Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy at Sara’s Garden on January 9, 2013, nearly two months after the accident that changed her life so drastically. One week later, on January 15, Aubree started talking, bringing most of the staff to tears. As the month went on she began moving around more. She started getting out of the stretcher between treatments and walking up and down the hall with assistance. By January 30, Aubree was walking with no assistance at all. She was an inspiration to everyone around her and was actively encouraging other clients in their recovery.

Several of the EMTs who had been transporting Aubree to Sara’s Garden the first week did not see her again until her fourth and final week of treatments. They were shocked and elated at the progress she had made in that short time. The young woman that arrived for her first day of treatments on a stretcher walked out the door on her own 40 treatments later.

Thanks to Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy at Sara’s Garden, Aubree once again has dreams and aspirations for a vibrant future. Most importantly, her family has their wife and mother back! Aubree plans on going back to school and finishing her nursing degree so that she can give back by taking care of others in need.

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.

Miracles For Makayla

Miracles For Makayla

Makayla was born a happy, healthy, little girl. Before, during and after birth there were no complications. Her family had no concerns or fears that Makayla’s life was to be anything but typical. However, when she was four months old, the unthinkable happened. Makayla started having seizures. Doctors ordered an MRI but couldn’t find an explanation for the seizures so she was simply put on medication in hopes of controlling the seizure activity.

One month later Makayla experienced a Grade 4 bilateral bleed that resulted in severe damage to her brain and caused her to slip into a coma. Doctors informed her family that Makayla would not survive the trauma of the brain bleed. They were told that even if, by some miracle, she was to recover, Makayla would live in a vegetative state for the rest of her life.

Thankfully, Makayla’s family got their miracle as she did come out of the coma. However, their elation was short lived as doctors informed them that Makayla would never be able to eat or breathe on her own. They went on to say that she would never be able to show emotion, speak, or even have the ability to make noise. Because of the extent of the brain damage they said that she would also be incapable of learning. She was later diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy, Intractable Epilepsy, Cortical Visual Impairment and Hydrocephalus.

The brain injury caused her to have weakness and decreased control of the left side of her body as well as severe developmental, physical, oral, vision and speech delays. Makayla endured countless scans, blood tests and genetic tests but doctors were never able to determine any cause for the brain bleed. They could not find any vascular malformation or sign of anything that might have triggered the bleed.

Since that time, doctors have tried over 10 different seizure medications in hopes of controlling Makayla’s seizures. Each medication caused her to be groggy and slowed her development. As a last resort, she was placed on a very strict Ketogenic diet to try and control seizures. Nothing worked.

Makayla’s seizures had become a daily part of her family’s lives. Her family would refrain from going out much or doing anything that could possibly overstimulate Makayla as over-stimulation seemed to lead to more seizures. On her best days, Makayla would have only 2-3 seizures a day, each lasting anywhere from 20 seconds to 4 minutes. On her worst days, Makayla would suffer a seizure every five minutes all day long. One week before Makayla and her mom left home to come to Sara’s Garden, Makayla had her longest seizure to date, a 30 minute seizure which resulted in another cerebral hemorrhage.

When Makayla’s family began researching HBOT and CE at Sara’s Garden they talked to all of her doctors and specialists in hopes of receiving positive feedback. Most didn’t know enough about either process to even offer an opinion. Unfortunately some were not on board and strongly discouraged them from doing HBOT. One specialist said that because Makayla’s seizures were uncontrolled by medication, doing HBOT could possibly make her seizures worse and more frequent. This was someone that they trusted and highly respected. Going against his advice was one of the hardest decisions they ever had to make. With a lot of prayer and faith, they decided to try.

Makayla’s first HBOT treatment was April 23rd, 2012. Her very last seizure was hours before going into the chamber. A week later, Makayla looked at her mother and held her gaze for over 20 seconds, something she had never done before. Since completing HBOT and CE at Sara’s Garden, Makayla has made huge improvements. Because her brain is no longer constantly seizing, it has time to do what it’s supposed to do: learn and develop. Her vision has improved and she is able to focus more easily. The muscle tone in her neck and core has improved. Prior to coming to Sara’s Garden, Makayla only used her left arm and leg about 20% of the time. She now is using them over 85% of the time. She can hold things in her left hand as well as transfer a toy from one hand to the other or hold her hands together. She has also been experimenting with making many new noises and sounds. She now enjoys activities that would once have overstimulated her and caused more seizures.

Makayla was not expected to live. Yet three years later, she continues to thrive and progress further than all the doctors ever thought possible! Thanks to Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy and Conductive Education at Sara’s Garden, Makayla’s family experienced yet another miracle. She once had the muscle tone of a wet noodle and would spend most of her day coping with the ravaging effects of seizures. She can now hold her head up, sit independently with the assistance of arm splints, walk with assistance, and most importantly… Makayla has been seizure-free since the day she started treatments. Miracles never cease.

No matter what you’ve been told, there is hope… and Sara’s Garden can help you find it.

An Angel Spreads His Wings

An Angel Spreads His Wings

Solange has always referred to her son Jose as her angel. He was born a healthy, happy baby. However, when Jose was just 18 months old he contracted a virus that led to a multi-organ system failure. He was first diagnosed with Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome and required dialysis, blood products and respiratory assistance.

As time went on Jose began to improve physically but his cognitive abilities seemed uncertain and he still required intensive care. Further complications ensued when Jose began convulsing during a meal. He aspirated milk into his lungs causing him to suffer a stroke. From this moment on, Jose did not develop as he should either physically or cognitively. Jose’s official diagnosis was Cerebral Palsy but he exhibited strong Autistic tendencies and traits.

By the time Jose was eight years old, he was still unable to stand or take steps independently. He crawled everywhere he needed to go. His mother had to walk behind him, holding him around the chest in order to provide the balance and support he needed to take steps. She also had to feed him at every meal as he was unable to grasp utensils or his glass by himself. He had very minimal verbalizations and was not able to follow even simple requests. He displayed almost no emotion and would not notice or acknowledge anyone entering or leaving the room.

Jose’s family was told that he would never walk independently. They were told he would not have the strength or coordination to pedal a bicycle and he would never be able to communicate beyond a few unintelligible syllables. He would spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair and need constant care and supervision.

Thanks to a loving and supportive community, Jose’s family was able to travel to Sara’s Garden from New York City in June 2012 so he could receive Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy and Autism Intervention services. By the end of his initial month of treatments Jose was starting to do things on his own. He started to initiate standing and began taking steps with minimal assistance. At meals he began holding his own drink and started using the utensils to feed himself.

His family was so thrilled at the progress Jose made that first month that they made plans to return again a month later in August. Throughout his second month of treatments Jose continued to make physical and cognitive advancements. He improved with following requests and began expressing personal choices when he needed something. He started showing more emotion and began recognizing when others would come around him. For the first time in his entire life he pedaled a tricycle all by himself and began taking his first independent steps!

Solange has said that she feels like she is living a miracle after being told for years all of the things that Jose would never be able to do. Upon returning home to New York, Jose’s mom took him back to his school to show them his progress. They were amazed at what they saw and commented that they had never before seen a child improve as fast as Jose had. Instead of being confined to a wheelchair the entire day, Jose is now in a more advanced classroom with higher functioning peers. Teachers and friends alike are now trying to keep up with Jose and his newfound freedom!

Jose continues to make gains. He is showing much more interest in the world around him. He is now able to focus on activities at home and school. Instead of eating every meal at Jose’s side, Solange is able to sit across from him and enjoy their meal together. For the first time they are able to have family movie nights as Jose is now able to watch the movie and focus on what is taking place. It brings them so much joy to hear him laugh when he sees or hears something funny. He is no longer a little boy who is constantly told all of the things he will never do.

Before coming to Sara’s Garden Jose depended on his mother for everything. That is no longer the case. Every day he becomes less and less dependent on her and for some that could be a scary thought. Thanks to Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy and Autism Intervention services at Sara’s Garden, Jose is learning what it is like to be an independent young man. Solange wouldn’t have it any other way.

No matter what you’ve been told, there is hope… and Sara’s Garden can help you find it.

What If Nobody Knows What’s Wrong?

What If Nobody Knows What’s Wrong?

Taylor became ill at the end of her sophomore year in high school when she was fifteen and a half years old. Over the course of the next year she would suffer from intense fevers, rashes all over her body and debilitating pain in her head, joints and neck.

In May 2005 Taylor was hospitalized while countless doctors and specialists attempted to diagnose her condition. Unfortunately, no one could give her an answer as to what was wrong with her. She was treated for a variety of conditions but nothing seemed to provide any relief. Taylor limped through the next year seeing specialist after specialist, making emergency room visits and missing school. She had to quit all of her activities and things she loved the most… dance, horseback riding and running.

By the following spring Taylor was so weak and wracked with fever and pain that she was hospitalized once again. For over a month a team of neurologists experimented, drugged and tested her for everything imaginable but were still unable to determine the cause of her suffering. In June 2006 Taylor was given a spinal tap which indicated a serious, deep tissue infection. Based on all of their clinical findings, doctors diagnosed Taylor with Lyme disease. Left untreated, Lyme disease can progress to more serious symptoms involving the heart and central nervous system which can be debilitating, difficult to treat and even fatal.

Lyme disease is the most common tick-borne disease in the Northern Hemisphere and is transmitted to humans by the bite of infected ticks. The disease is named after the town of Lyme, Connecticut, where a number of cases were first identified. It has long been speculated that Lyme disease was created and accidentally spread from a US biological warfare laboratory at Plum Island, just off the coast of Connecticut, by Nazi scientists recruited by the US for post-war purposes. These scientists had specialized in using ticks and mosquitoes to spread diseases in Nazi Germany during World War II.

Lyme disease is incredibly hard to diagnose due to the fact that its signs and symptoms mimic those of numerous other diseases. The flu-like symptoms which often accompany the onset of Lyme disease can easily be mistaken for viral infections, such as influenza or infectious mononucleosis. Other symptoms of Lyme disease such as joint pain can be mistaken for types of arthritis. The clinical diagnosis of Lyme disease is most often based on the patient’s personal history, as well as recent admittance of exposure to possible tick-infested areas.

For the next two years, Taylor underwent every imaginable Lyme disease treatment available. Nothing helped. By the end of 2008 Taylor was incredibly weak and had virtually no energy to do anything. She could not work and was forced to drop out of college. It was during this time Taylor’s family discovered Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT). This treatment was instrumental in turning her health and life around.

After much research Taylor’s family contacted Sara’s Garden in Wauseon, Ohio regarding possible treatment options. While receiving HBOT at Sara’s Garden, Taylor finally turned a corner in her recovery. The pain that she had lived with for so long was was diminishing with each treatment and her energy had returned. She was now able to complete college, started a job at a hospital as a phlebotomist, got married and began a whole new life.

In January 2012, Taylor and her husband became concerned when she skipped a menstrual cycle and started hot flashing severely. Five different doctors diagnosed Taylor with premature ovarian failure and told her she would never be able to get pregnant and have children without an egg donor. She was devastated. Her dreams of starting her own family were now suddenly taken away.

While waiting to see a reproductive endocrinologist Taylor again contacted Sara’s Garden. Given Taylor’s medical history of Lyme disease it was suggested that HBOT could assist in eradicating any remaining active Lyme bacteria present and that the treatments could also help rejuvenate hormone levels and functionality. Taylor again began receiving Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy. Soon after, Taylor went to her appointment with the reproductive specialist. He couldn’t explain it, but Taylor’s uterus and ovaries were now very healthy and she was deemed fertile. Several months later Taylor was overjoyed to learn that she was now pregnant and she had not needed any drugs or medical assistance in order to conceive!

Thanks to Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy at Sara’s Garden, Taylor’s life has been changed forever. Her health, her life and her dreams of starting a family have been restored. 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.

Concussion puts NHL Dreams on Ice

Concussion puts NHL Dreams on Ice

There can be no denying that hockey is Canada’s national game. It is on television and radio all day… every day. Virtually every young Canadian dreams of playing in the National Hockey League when they grow up. Stratford, Ontario’s Joey Hishon was no exception. In June 2010 those dreams were on their way to becoming a reality as Joey was selected by the Colorado Avalanche in the first round of the NHL Entry Draft. As he donned the Avalanche jersey and stood there on the stage of the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, it began to sink in that all of the hard work and late night skates had finally paid off.

Joey went on to play his final season of Canadian junior ice hockey. He led the Owen Sound Attack in scoring with 87 points (37 goals, 50 assists) averaging an impressive 1.74 points per game. He was instrumental in guiding the Attack to the J. Ross Robertson Cup as the 2010-11 Ontario Hockey League Champions.

Everything was going according to plan. Joey was to compete in one final Memorial Cup tournament before heading to Colorado for training camp to fulfill his dreams of playing in the NHL. The Memorial Cup is awarded annually to the Canadian Hockey League champion. It is a four-team tournament between a host team and the champions of the Ontario Hockey League, Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and Western Hockey League and is the pinnacle of junior hockey success.

On May 21, 2011 Joey’s dreams of playing in the NHL were in danger of being put on ice as he sustained a violent, illegal elbow to his head in his team’s first game of the Memorial Cup. Blood dripped from his face as he lay on the ice before being helped off by staff and teammates. Joey was diagnosed with a concussion and was forced to sit out the remainder of the tournament. Little did he know that this was just the beginning of a long break from the game he loved.

Nearly four months after he was knocked out of the Memorial Cup, Joey was still not able to take part in on-ice activities at Colorado’s fall training camp. Daily headaches kept him from participating in any physical activity. As more time went by, headaches continued to provide an ongoing reminder of the injury he had received to his brain. Even on days when he would not have a headache, Joey felt like his mind was clouded, as if he were walking around in a constant fog. Any physical exertion would cause him to experience painful pressure in his head.

Doctors refused to clear Joey for play until all of his headaches and concussion symptoms had subsided. The only remedy that they would prescribe to him was rest. Before he knew it, four more months had passed and half the season was lost as his condition did not improve. Then a friend told Joey about Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy and explained how it had helped him overcome a similar injury. Unfortunately, Joey was asked not to pursue treatments and told that while there was evidence HBOT would aid in post-concussion recovery, there was no proof that it would help in the relief from headaches.

Joey was forced to continue waiting. Three more months passed and the entire 2011-12 season was lost. He could wait no longer. Joey arrived at Sara’s Garden a mere 14 days shy of the one year anniversary of his concussion. As he progressed through his round of treatments he became hopeful as the frequency of his headaches began diminishing. He started working out in his hotel’s gym and noticed that he was not experiencing the pressure in his head as he had in the past.

After completing a round of 40 HBOT treatments, Joey is now on the path to recovery and working towards becoming an NHL player like he has always dreamed of. Thanks to Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy at Sara’s Garden, Joey is back on the ice and his dream of a career in the NHL is no longer on hold.

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.

Life Can Change in a Flash

Life Can Change in a Flash

Many families gather in the kitchen to spend time together. Rarely do we consider that the kitchen might be the most dangerous room in the house. According to the U.S. Fire Administration cooking equipment, most often a range or stovetop, is the leading cause of reported home fires and home fire injuries in the United States. Aron had made French fries for his family more times than he could count and had never had an issue… until a summer day in August that changed his life.

This time started out like any other… Aron poured some fresh vegetable oil from a brand new bottle into the pan on his glass top stove. As he began to slowly heat the oil he covered the pan. A few minutes later he lifted the lid to check on his oil and noticed that it was beginning to smoke. Not wanting to burn his new oil he began to move the pan across the stove. As he was moving the pan over to the cool side of the stove it flashed out and burst into flames.

Oil erupted from the pan and covered both of his hands. He heard sizzling sounds as his hands began to burn. Aron’s skin began bubbling up and melting off his hands as the oil ate its way all the way down to his tendons. He immediately ran both hands under cold water and called for help.

Aron’s surgeons said that the burns on his hands were quite severe. They commented that the extent of the grafting that needed to be done to repair the damage was extreme and very rare. Aron spent a full two weeks in the hospital burn unit until his hands were even able to be operated on. Following the grafting procedure to repair his hands Aron spent another two weeks in the burn unit recovering from the surgery.

Doctors cautioned Aron that he would probably not regain the full range of motion back in his fingers and that his hands would most likely function like two claws.

After being discharged from the hospital, Aron went home to begin the painful road to recovery. The medications he was given did little to mask the pain that he felt from the damaged nerves in his hands. Only a few days after returning home, Aron was in excruciating pain. His family brought him to Sara’s Garden to see if Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy would aid him in his recovery.

As the family explained what had happened to Aron, he rocked back and forth and looked as if he would pass out. The pain and nerve damage was so severe that Aron’s brain began sending messages all over his body that his feet were in pain as well. It got to the point that he could not walk without shoes on his feet. He even had to go to bed and sleep with his shoes on.

Shortly after that, Aron began HBOT treatments at Sara’s Garden. Each time he received a treatment he commented that his pain level had diminished. After completing only 17 HBOT treatments, Aron is beginning to feel like himself again. The graft sites are growing hair and are demonstrating intact skin integrity. His hands are able to perform near normal opening and closing grasps and all of his open wounds have healed.

Each time Aron would return to the hospital for his routine checkups his therapists were amazed at how fast his burns and grafts were healing. They claimed that his recovery was in the top 1% of the cases they had seen.

As he met and talked to other clients in the burn center’s waiting room, they marveled at his progress compared to that of their own. Patients who had been burned over a year prior to Aron lamented the fact that they had not experienced the level of healing that Aron had received in only one short month. Even more, the other burn patients envied his lack of pain.

Thanks to Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy at Sara’s Garden, Aron 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.

‘Never’ Should be a 4 Letter Word

‘Never’ Should be a 4 Letter Word

Joshua was born at only 26 weeks. Doctors were unable to determine any cause for the premature delivery. Shortly after his birth, he experienced a Grade 4 intraventricular hemorrhage. This prolonged internal bleeding resulted in severe trauma and damage to his brain. According to the doctors, Joshua would never survive.

In what would mark the first in a long list of overcoming ‘nevers’ placed on him by others, Joshua lived. Due to issues with his biological parents’ home life, Joshua became a ward of the state, placing further uncertainty on his long term survival. Following Joshua’s successful fight to recover from his traumatic birth, the foster care system was told that he would be a vegetable for the rest of his life. They needed to understand that there were no positive expectations for Joshua’s life. Any prospective foster parents would need to realize the severity of his condition and come to terms with what his life most certainly would and would not be.

Joshua was given a list of ‘nevers’… things he could not, and would not ever accomplish. He would never walk. He would never talk. He would never eat on his own. He would never be able to take care of himself. He would need drugs to control his condition for the rest of his life. He would spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair. As he grew, no one would be able to take care of him on their own. He should be put in a home that would be equipped to meet his countless needs.

What a sad, limiting prediction for life. Thankfully, Joshua’s story doesn’t end with the ‘nevers’.

Joshua’s condition has since been diagnosed as Hemiplegia, a severe form of Cerebral Palsy. The damage to his brain caused him to have weakness and decreased control of the right side of his body as well as obvious developmental, physical and speech delays. Joshua has been in occupational, physical and speech therapy for most of his young life. At the age of 3, Joshua was adopted. By this time he was able to speak. While he had a limited vocabulary, he was able to accomplish one more thing that he had been told he would never do.

Just prior to his 4th birthday, Joshua began taking Conductive Education classes at Sara’s Garden. He was still unable to walk without the assistance of another person, wheelchair, or walker. After spending six months in the CE program at Sara’s Garden, Joshua was walking and playing with his brothers and friends. Through much hard work he has been able to overcome more and more of the hurdles that were originally said to be impossible!

At 4½ years of age, Joshua began having seizures. According to the doctors, his test results showed that the seizures were coming from the area of his brain that had been most damaged at birth. After spending 3 long days in the hospital, his family was told that there was nothing more that could be done for Josh except to medicate him. Not wanting to accept this fate, Joshua began receiving Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy treatments at Sara’s Garden.

His family noticed changes taking place in Joshua immediately. This shy, quiet little boy was emerging out of his shell. After completing a round of 40 HBOT treatments Joshua is seizure free. Additionally, his focus and awareness has improved, his vocabulary has expanded and the use of the right side of his body has increased.

Thanks to Conductive Education and Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy at Sara’s Garden, Joshua has a much brighter future. The list of ‘nevers’ that he was given is gone. He has successfully checked off each and every limitation that was placed on him at birth.

No matter what you’ve been told, there is hope… and Sara’s Garden can help you find it.