There are many top selling books written on brain injury rehabilitation and recovery. We had many people recommending books to us to read but only a few of these books lived up to their images.

We read them all and learned alot .

Our first experience began when a well known psychologist recommended two books which would prove to be instrumental in our son’s recovery.

One of our top selling books called “The Power of Intention” by Wayne Dyer leads us to believe in the law of attraction. “Change the way you look at things, and the things you look at change.”

Perhaps the most important and significant book I’ve read in the past ten years, this book “Power Vs. Force” by David R. Hawkins, MD attempts to explain how attractor patterns. In chapter 18 it goes on to discuss wellness and the disease process. A must read!!

In “Esential Reiki” Diane Stein explains that healing is too desperately needed for it to be kept secret or exclusive any longer. She speaks in depth
about hands on healing and expels any myths related to Reiki. This book tells many long kept secrets and helps everyone find the healer in themselves.

Wayne Dyer is perhaps the best author out there and has years of meditation practice. Being a positive speaker he has written many fantastic books. “Getting in the Gap” teaches you how to meditate and even offers a cd to practice with. I highly recommend this book.

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is designed to boost the supply of oxygen to ischemic tissue or to diseased tissues that respond to increased oxygen levels.

Our son had been progressing nicely but at a very slow pace when I ran into a physician at the hospital who spoke of hyperbaric oxygen treatment. He had claimed that his father had suffered a severe stroke and after conventional intervention had been returned home to his family.

He lay motionless for over three years. Dr. Baker had heard that there was a center in Fort Lauderdale that used hyperbaric oxygen to treat brain injury and he was all for flying his father across the country in hopes of helping him recover some of the losses he had suffered since the stroke.

The trip was planned and Dr. Baker flew with his father to Florida. There they stayed for three months receiving oxygen with a oxygen mask every other day for the duration.

Our conversation ended with Dr. Baker telling me that his father had recovered so well that he could now interact with his grandchildren. That was all I had to hear.

As quick as I could I began learning about HBOT and putting into action a plan for my son to begin his therapy. I spoke to his doctor’s about the treatment and of course they demanded case studies which I produced. I then was permitted to take my son out. I found several alarming factors:

By placing someone in a 3 psi pressure environment, the increase in atmospheric pressure at sea level goes from 760 mm Hg to 915 mm Hg.

This increase in gas pressure, increases the partial pressure of the oxygen gas and thus forces more oxygen to be dissolved in the plasma. This saturation of oxygen in the blood allows the extra oxygen to be transported to the surrounding body tissues. Thus, oxygen transport by plasma is significantly increased under HBOT. At three atmospheres pressure, enough oxygen can be dissolved in the plasma to support the oxygen demands of the body at rest in the absence of hemoglobin!

After many due diligence calls and finding a convenient center I arranged for our first of many sessions. We were charged a very decent rate of $70.00 per 1/2 hour compared to some quotes of $230.00 per 1/2 hour.

The first session went well as we squeezed our son into a mono chamber with a oxygen mask loosely fitting against his trach.

His spasticity seemed less after hyperbaric oxygen therapy.

No other real changes were noticeable. We continued taking him three times a week for 120 sessions. He slowly improved. “Was this due to hyperbaric oxygen or just progress?” We questioned.

We found more concerns but realize that the different centers and their chambers, methods of administration all play in the role of treatment.

Did it work? Our son continued to progress and the brain activity when measured with neurofeedback did display more brain wave activity. After each session he seemed to experience more energy and cognition.

As for my opinion of hyperbaric oxygen therapy. I’d probably do it again if faced with the decision.

Going through cognitive behavioral therapy is not an overnight process for the brain injured population. Even after patients learn to recognize when and where their mental processes go awry, it still takes considerable time and effort to replace a dysfunctional cognitive behavioral process.

Our family was not prepared to comprehend the full magnitude of the life changes that would occur once our son returned home full time. We were among the fortunate to have a loved one well enough to return home but were unprepared for what would come.

Cognitive Behavior therapy is based on the idea that our thoughts cause our feelings and behaviors not things like people or situations and events. The benefit of this fact is that we can change the way we think to feel and act better even if the situation does not change.

This therapy may not be beneficial as denial of disability is standard post brain injury. There are lists of words that describe abnormal behavior as a “”sequelae” of TBI.

The causes of vertigo are virtually unknown and often occur for no reason. Webster’s definition of vertigo is “a disordered state in which the individual or the individual’s surroundings seem to whirl dizzily; a dizzy state of mind.

The aftermath of brain injury in our son produced symptoms of vertigo or dizziness that he felt when rolling over in bed, moving the head to one side or reaching for something. It seemed that specific head movements may have triggered it. The causes of vertigo is associated with abnormalities in the semicircular canals or damage to the vestibulocochlear nerve. It is caused by a physiological conflict that ditorts sensory data, resulting in a series of misperceptions that evoke dizziness, spinning sensations, nausea, vomiting and a host of other maladies.

There are four major types of dizziness:

It is believed that benign paroxysmal positional vertigo the most common form of vertigo with attacks lasting 30 to 60 seconds. It is caused by loose calcium carbonate crystals that move in the sensing tubes of the inner ear. Symptoms can be distressing but they fade in a few seconds.

Central vestibular disorders that may be the causes of vertigo include

Treatment of vertigo and exercises for vertigo depends on the diagnosis. The guideline says many cases of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo can be treated using a simple series of head and body movements performed by a doctor.

There are several maneuvers that can be used to treat vertigo.

Canalith repositioning procedure is safe and effective for patients of all ages. Basically the manuever is used to redistribute the clumps of particles in the inner ear.

The Brandt-Daroff Exercise is also safe.

Conventional methods of brain injury rehabilitation result in certain mainstay methods and steps.

For us transitioning from ICU to a sub-acute facility was painful and difficult. Fully not understanding what brain trauma and brain damage really encompasses we stumbled our way through. I can honestly say that many of the accepted establishments were far from acceptable as they were unsanitary and often smelled of urine. We were left with the challenge of finding a facility that could care for our son, who had experienced a severe head injury ,the way that we would. The search for brain injury rehab would begin. After the must needed visit to over 10 so-called high ranked establishments we finally decided on a hospital based home for our son. They had extensive experience with cognitive rehabilitation and brain tbi.

Entering the 5th floor and exiting to your right you come upon two hallways, each with a two patient room on either side, right or left. The nurses station can be found central to all the patients rooms so that they can monitor the patients who have experienced extensive and severe brain injury. You see, no one really knows what it is like until they’ve experienced it for themselves.  Hopefully they never will.

Alternative medicine research is composed of distinct elements or qualities. Many foundations support research aimed at controlling aging and death.

Killers such as Heart disease, Stroke, Cancer, and Parkinson’s disease are caused by the progressive decline in structure and function during aging and disease.

Based upon studies and clinical experience of physicians our search continues. Healing practices we tried and used successfully include:

which involves unblocking the energy flow by stimulating specific points on the body by inserting very fine needles into the skin.

forces more oxygen into the brain by using pressure and the use of oxygen masks a firm oxygen network

can prevent many degenerative diseases, while improving feelings of well-being and alleviating depression.

The list of supplements is long and vast and extremely instrumental in the rehabilitation process of brain injury.

uses herbs, massage, yoga and internal cleansing to restore balance within the body and with nature.

emphasizes prevention and treatment of disease through a healthy lifestyle.

Where a person is put into state of relaxation where he becomes absorbed in the images presented by the hypnotherapist. There are many cd’s available to help with positive thinking.

involves the use of electronic devices that measure heart rate, blood pressure and muscle tension.

Alternative medicine research led to different approaches and many were successful. We tried them all!!