28 of 40

Good evening all.


To date we have completed 28 of the initial 40 HBOT sessions that were planned. We can say at this point that there are definite differences which have been seen by all who work with Shawna and her close friends and relatives. We are so extremely thankful to God for giving us this blessing.

The treatments have not been without some difficulty though. Shawna has been able to get to the maximum pressure (2.88 ATM) now for the last 9 treatments. This has definitely assisted in getting rid of the thrush. There is only a small skim left on her tongue which we are now able to treat also with Nyastat along with the HBOT. Deb meanwhile is not able to continue to be in the chamber as it is affecting her eyes because of a stigma behind her left eye. She has been getting headaches as well and thus has to stop. This leaves me and aunt Ruth to be the ones to accompany Shawna on her journey. Twice also Shawna has been able to do the chamber solo. When I go in with her, aside from being very cozy, my metabolism is very fast and I generally produce a lot of surface skin heat. Combined with pure oxygen this process speeds up even more and the tube starts to get very humid and fogged up. When this happens Shawna begins to cough a lot and causes her some discomfort towards the last 15 mins of treatment.


We are hoping to get a SPECT scan next week on Wednesday in Newmarket. This will show us in colour which areas of Shawna's brain are functioning and combined with another scan after another 40 sessions will show if there is continued improvement. In September we are scheduled to speak in a volunteer panel to Toronto ABI association about our experiences with HBOT, and hopefully be able to assist with the advancement of this therapy so it can be readily available for TBI/ABI patients through OHIP.

Please continue to pray for Shawna's recovery using this therapy because we know that all blessings flow from God's hands only.


Al, Deb, Shawna Bethlehem and family