Chamber of hope (Coma patient recovers with hyperbaric oxygen treatments)

Victoria Times Colonist ^ | April 4, 2005 | Cindy E. Harnett

[USFRIENDINVICTORIA]

A horse-riding accident left a vibrant 18-year-old Stephanie Martin comatose, hooked up to feeding and breathing tubes. Doctors didn't give her a chance, but her mother did.

Five years later, after about 300 hyperbaric oxygen treatments in Victoria -- at the Hyperbaric Oxygenation Corporation's centre in Victoria -- the Idaho woman is slowly improving her quality of life.

"She was in a coma. ... As low in a coma and as far as you can go -- right next to death," said Lori Martin.

"They had written her off," said Humphrey Killam, a director of the hyperbaric centre.

Doctors told Lori Martin her daughter probably wouldn't make it through the night. Was removing her from her breathing and eating tubes debated? She can't remember.

She hates to think what might have been, especially now, following the death of Florida resident Terri Schiavo, who after 15 years with severe brain damage and an intense political and family feud was taken off her feeding tube.

more: http://www.canada.com/victoria/timescolonist/news/story.html?id=e11554ac-60a2-41fb-ad50-b9a49f090fae

[USFRIENDINVICTORIA]

"Doctors told Lori Martin her daughter probably wouldn't make it through the night. Was removing her from her breathing and eating tubes debated? She can't remember.

She hates to think what might have been, especially now, following the death of Florida resident Terri Schiavo, who after 15 years with severe brain damage and an intense political and family feud was taken off her feeding tube."

[Fast1]

That is news I like to read thank God she was not in Florida.

[vivabushchick]

I will quote in part a Jerusalem Post editorial: "...our judicial system is right to be wary of an even greater danger, that of granting a license for the elimination of incapacitated people, especially on the say-so of people who can hardly be trusted to have the patients best interests at heart."

[GeekDejure]

WOOOOOO HOOOOOO HOOOOOO !!!

THREECH EARS FOUR STEPHANIE !!!

YOU GO, GIRL !!!

NOW JUMP OUTA BED...

RUN DOWNTA FLORIDA...

AND KICK SOME ASS !!! ;-))

[MD_Willington_1976]

Odd to here of someone from the US going to Canada to get medical treatment...usually the other way around.

Victoria BC I assume?, I am a former Vancouver Island resident.

MD

[JmyBryan]

I am a hyperbaric technologist. The treatment of brain injury with HBOT is truly remarkable. However, very few, if any neurologists will ever mention it.

[my_pointy_head_is_sharp]

However, very few, if any neurologists will ever mention it.

Why is that?

[UnbelievingScumOnTheOtherSide]

It would make Dr. Hammersfahr look good.

[bjs1779]

I am a hyperbaric technologist. The treatment of brain injury with HBOT is truly remarkable. However, very few, if any neurologists will ever mention it.

That is what Dr. Maxfield recommended for Terri Schiavo during the court proceedings. He was ridiculed throughly and it was ruled that hyperbaric oxygen therapy is not "mainstream medicine" and therefore not allowed.

[CyberAnt]

I don't blame Florida - I blame a murderous husband - and you can find them in every state.

[Mrs Zip]

ping

[Fast1]

Agreed !

[JmyBryan]

I can only give you some specualtion. HBOT is not taught in medical schools. Neurologists are generally very intelligent and prone to know it all type attitudes. They deal with brain inury all the time and generally have to deal with the denial of their patients. Because the really know little about HBOT, they see patients who are interested in HBOT as kooks.

Neurologists generally prescribe anti-seizure meds and counsel PT and OT. Hammersfahr(sp) is an advocate of HBOT, but he is not accepted by the "mainstream" neurological community.

I can go on and on, but the bottom line is that neurologists are largely ignorant of HBOT and see it as a waste of time.

See the works of Drs. Richard Neubauer and Paul Harch for more on this. Harch's site is www.hbot.com

[Future Useless Eater]

I was leary of this story at first. The death-mongers frequently create hoax-stories to discredit this type of brain-injury treatment.

It was hard to find other reports of "Stephanie Martin" and "coma" or "idaho", but then finally I DID find this report from 1999 that says she was seeking this treatment. So I'd guess the article in this thread was legit.

---

http://www.horse-previews.com/1299articles/stephaniemartin.html

DECEMBER 1999 BACK ISSUE

Part of Horse Previews Magazine website. Posted on 12/03/99; 2:00:00PM.

Help Make a Miracle for Stephanie Martin

The Inland Northwest Dressage Association has issued a challenge to the horse community to band together and raise $20,000 and help make a miracle happen for 18 year old Stephanie Martin.

Last summer, this Sandpoint High graduate was described as "full of life" as she went off to go horseback riding on Blacktail Mountain, east of Cocolalla, Idaho with some friends. Stephanie told her Mom "I love you" while skipping down the stairs and out the front door.

Later in the day, while resting on her horse in a meadow, she bent down to pick a flower, and when she tried to remount the horse suddenly bolted. She was still struggling to mount as the horse disappeared around a bend.

When her friends caught up to her, Stephanie was found unconcious on the ground. She had suffered severe head injury and brain damage. She was airlifted to the Kootenai Medical Center and underwent brain surgery. Stephanie's prognosis was she would not survive the night. But she did survive and is making definite progress.

She has been undergoing physical and occupational therapy at St. Luke's Hospital, but for any sort of normalcy to be restored to Stephanie's life, she needs hyperbaric oxygen therapy. This therapy involves using a hyperbaric chamber to saturate the brain with oxygen. This increases the blood circulation in order to stimulate idling neurons in the brain. In order to undergo this therapy, Stephanie's family will have to travel to California or Florida, but they do not have the $20,000 that the therapy costs.

This is where the Inland Northwest Dressage Association's challenge comes in. They have donated $100 to the fund which was established to help send Stephanie to receive the hyperbaric therapy. The INDA has challenged all other horse organizations, clubs, breeders, farms and retail outlets to do the same.

This is a young girl with a bright future and with your help, she can obtain this therapy. Last summer, Stephanie was working at a part-time job and saving to travel to Europe this spring. She was also working at Cocolalla Bible Camp as a camp counselor. Today, she is a young woman who must rely upon the generosity of her community to help send her to receive this therapy.

Your contributions can be made to [address deleted]

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[Old Professer]

Leeches rule.