The most successful treatments were Chiropractic, Homeopathy and Orthomolecular. and Gerontology. I have also added a very remarkable discovery regarding HBOT aka Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy.
There were many other therapies and modalities that I either underwent or looked into. I underwent “Rolfing” an intense form of restructuring massage, acupuncture, crystals, use of herbs, ginseng, hydrotherapy, electrotherapy… the list is so long I forget after so much time has passed. Just suffice to say, there was no stone unturned in my quest to redeem myself, and it took years of research, discovery, dedication, discipline, implementation, reflection, assessment and reassessment to find a way back to what I would call a life.
Chiropractic is largely based on neurology and how manipulation stimulates the nervous system to regain movement, alleviate pain, and improve circulation. I regained a lot of vital movement after many sessions, it was like getting the power turned back on to my arms and legs as well as being able to bend my neck and rotate my head again.
Homeopathy played a a key role in my ability to handle the tremendous chronic pain known as neuritis. Some remedies also help eliminate the intense cramping I would experience after learning how to walk again. One remedy shot through me like a lightning bolt in a matter of 12 hours and allowed my right hand to close and grip three times stronger than it previously was capable of!
Orthomolecular is a lofty term for Nutrition. After my body had crashed and burned, it became apparent to me that I had the opportunity to rebuild my body by choosing to focus on putting high quality nutrients in it. Like Chemotherapy is to cancer… a delivery system, FOOD is the ultimate delivery system. Unlike Chemo, which purpose is to destroy errant cells, food’s purpose is to nourish existing cells, maintain the body, and provide energy through the uptake and utilization of micro and macronutrients. All food can be broken down into Fats, Protein and Carbohydrates. A good example of how powerful a cure food can be is to recall how scurvy was eliminated on early day sailing vessels by the consumption of oranges or other fruit offering Vitamin C. I believe we are only on the threshold of how important a role food plays in an individual’s total health.
Dirk Pearson & Sandy Shaw’s book “Life Extension”, a biomedical approach to aging, impressed me as it spoke of the importance of “ANTIOXIDANTS” TEN YEARS BEFORE the term became commonplace in health oriented circles. Their research also addressed what they termed “smart drinks” whose components focus on the ‘blood brain barriers’ between hemispheres of the brain, our ability to increase mental acuity and the role that neurotransmitters play in many aspects of cognitive thinking as well as short and long term memory. As gerontologist, Shaw and Pearson were exploring ways for humans to live a fuller more productive life rather than falling into decline then merely waiting out their time or going through the motions of fruitless daily living before expiring.
Hyperbaric Oxygenation or HBOT, also netted strong results for me. After undergoing 52 sessions in a small one man hyperbaric chamber that was originally owned by the Australian Navy. The chamber would be airlifted by helicopter to boats offshore of Australia making distress calls for seriously affected divers experiencing “the bends”. HBOT became a study and was used on stroke victims that had experienced compromised speech and mobility due to the disruption of blood flow to the brain. “TBI” aka Traumatic Brain Injury, is very similar to stroke events because it also disrupts blood flow to the brain.
Both Stroke and TBI patients suffer a loss of mental and ambulatory abilities due to what was believed to be irreversible brain damage. The damaged area in the brain can be envisioned as a crater of dead cells that can never be recovered. Stoke events are commonly a chain of events involving an initial stroke, then a succession of mini strokes thereafter. The usual protocol is to administer blood thinners, make the patient as comfortable as possible with close monitoring until the strokes subside. An assessment of the damage follows with physical and occupational therapy modalities applied after the event has concluded.
For many years it was commonly believed that the damage caused by strokes were largely irreversible…
However, as doctors began to explore HBOT as a viable therapy, their research began to show some promise in addressing vascular related events. A few doctors began to conduct tests with stroke victims. The premise was that Hyperbaric Oxygenation, at different atmospheres, allows oxygen to permeate oxygen into every cell of the body.
Previously, and still to this day, the traditional use of blood thinners was used to improve circulation in an attempt to reach the damaged areas of the brain.
HBOT far exceeds the benefit that a blood thinner can impart in the cases of serious stroke or serious TBI. There are still appropriate times to use blood thinners vs. HBOT, but rather incredible results were discovered after stroke patients underwent 30 to 50 sessions of HBOT while be subjected to deeper atmospheres in hyperbaric chambers. A significant number of stroke victims started to show a regained ability in ambulatory skills! Even stroke patients that had had events 10 to 15 years prior, were showing improved abilities in speech, cognitive thinking and ambulatory skills!
As I researched this, I found that the explanation for these results dealt with what super saturation of oxygen does to the damaged area of the brain. The surrounding cells around the damaged area is known as the “Ischemic Penumbra” - loosely translated, this means an area restricted from blood, and red blood cells are what carries oxygen throughout your body. So this ischemic penumbra is a perimeter of ‘idling neurons’ around the crater so to speak. These idling neurons are starved of oxygen which leaves them with the inability of synapse; the firing of nerves allowing the body to perform ambulation including muscle contraction of flexor and extensor muscles among other things. HBOT’s ability to super saturate oxygen into the Ischemic Penumbra revives the idling neurons giving them the ability to ‘come back online’. I realized that HBOT made sense for me to seek treatment, because of the close similarities that Traumatic Brain Injury shares with victims of Stroke. Both are vascular events where the brain has been starved of oxygen (hypoxemia).
After undergoing 52 sessions, I had regained enough ambulatory skill to go snow skiing for the first time in years since my ill fated accident. I wasn’t the top dog on the mountain anymore, but it showed me what my tenacious seeking could net, and fueled my drive with hope and ambition for continued success in reclaiming the life I had previously enjoyed.
