06-24-2010

HBOT went well today despite a rough nite of sleeping. I slept everywhere, lol. I woke up once because I crashed into the closet, once into the door, man did those hurt. I ended up this morning with Denise waking me up in my recliner and my right shoulder killing me where I must have slept on it wrong. In a recliner??? John dove with us this morning. Did I spell that right?

I'm at 12mg now and tonight I had to take extra before bed, the pain level went up. I done a lot of talking today. I think I'll do just fine, I just need to get adjusted to this.

My after treatment nap didn't work out too well, actually it didn't happen. I move so slow and I am so behind that before I know it it's bedtime. Have you ever been so behind that it looks like you are ahead, lol. Before my friends ask, it is nothing that is pressing and I do appreciate the offers of help. I have to push myself so that maybe I can rebuild.

Missy, the way the dives work is the Chamber holds 10 people at a time with very comfortable seats and even a TV. It is usually too loud in there to hear so closed caption is used along with audio. We call it diving. Before the dive begins, while we are in the waiting room either and usually as a team Chad, John, or Gary will take each person's blood pressure, temperature, and have a series of questions they ask and then we sign the form. For those that are Diabetic they take a reading by sticking the finger. We are all clothed in scrubs and no metal, glasses if not titanium can be worn, mine are titanium which heat up, and no shoes. We load in the Chamber. The Chamber is pressurized slowly until you at 45 ft of pressure. Like diving 45 ft below the water, henceforth the term Diving. They place two foam pads to take pressure off your legs and feet. Blankets are distributed and they cover up up if you want them like in the Chemo Hut, except the Chemo Hut's were warmed up in a dryer first. They pass out water. Then they had the bottom portions of a hood that fit with latex sealing your neck they put on and attach the air lines, 2, to the bottom of the ring. Once pressure is stabilized a plastic hood is placed over and snaps to the ring and the O2 is turned on inflating it. We look like those bobble head dolls, lol. Each dive is about 2 hours give or take and nobody is compromised, anything goes wrong or even remotely looks like it and the dive stops. After we reach pressurization if anything goes wrong they can depressurize you in the decompression chamber pretty fast, but when you enter Dr Downing is already there waiting for you to enter. The EMT takes care of you until the decompression chamber is pressurized for you to enter. In my case that day Chad, GG's cousin.

There is a small room attached that is an emergency decompression chamber and the the observation room on the other side of it where monitors, cameras, and audio are ran. We are accompanied by one of the EMTs (John, Gary, Chad). They constantly watch and assist and monitor everybody and another EMT, plus either Dr Downing and a lot of times Sherry is in the observation room watching and listening as well, if her other duties are fulfilled. Nothing gets by these people. I would say that ICU or in my case CCU is not watched over as well as here. They pull off a treatment like it is a piece of cake... smooth. They are probably the best team I have ever seen in action. It is nothing short of amazing how observant and compassionate they are, but funny and smart at the same time.

They would have to drug me even more than when I took radiation in one of the single person chambers, probably knock me out, lol. Even though I am extremely claustrophobic, I seldom have a problem with it. The Bulkhead Door seals and still there is plenty of room in there. It almost looks like Portholes in places, but they are fake ones, lol. They do an early dive and a midday dive.