Hyperbaric Chamber Therapy

Oklahoma Army National Guard Lieutenant Colonel Brad Dean joined the military in 1995. He recalls a helicopter crash in 2018 that left him suffering from both physical pain and mental trauma. 

"I was in the hospital for about 28 days. Right. Collapsed lung. Had three chest tubes in my lung, trying to keep my lung from collapsing. Got out of that and recovered from it. Physically, a whole lot of pain after that, but however, the brain injury still caused a lot of problems,” says Lt. Col. Dean.

Dean says his mental trauma was a bigger struggle than managing bodily pain.

“I just didn't really understand the cognitive stuff that would happen as far as depression, anxiety, things like that, that come from traumatic brain or short-term memory loss or brain fog,” says Dean. "I had nowhere else to go. And it took that, it took me getting my head knocked in to go, you know what, maybe it's time for me to get help. After all my family members have told me, my children, I still have text messages from my kids saying, Dad, you need to get help.”

Dean says he found help at Hyberbarics for Heroes, a non-profit organization located in Oklahoma City. They treat military veterans and first responders through hyperbaric treatment. 

Co-founder of Hyberbarics for Heroes, Paul Conrady says the chamber functions differently from isolated single-person chambers. 

“You're locked in the chamber for an hour, an hour, and 20 minutes depending on which dive profile we're doing. And this gives those with like situations, like stories to talk about what they've been through. And it's amazing what being able to communicate in the chamber what, what that'll do,” says Conrady.

The chamber creates the same environment as scuba diving, with some important differences. 

“We're doing hyperbaric air, so there's no hood or mask. And you're in here able to talk,” says Conrady.

The hyperbaric chamber adds pressured air progressively at each dive level. 

Health Promotion Specialist and military veteran Guy Stinnett operates the chamber from the inside. 

“We do a 52-foot dive protocol and then we also do a 60-foot dive protocol and each one has its benefits. We do them different times throughout the day and then depending on which one you want to do that works,” says Stinnett.

Hyberbarics for Heroes go easy on most first-time divers.

“We like to do that five days a week and once you've finished your 40, we do like for the veterans and first responders to take a break because we do wanna see if there's any regression or if you maintain what has happened throughout your healing process,” says Stinnett.

Conrady says the chamber greatly improves blood flow, improving healing conditions for both the body and brain.

“If you're in the chamber with oxygen and you constrict the blood vessels, the blood has to go somewhere. So, it's creating new blood vessels to go around impingements or defects that we might be dealing with, injuries that we're dealing with,” says Conrady.

Former first responder and nursing advocate for 23 years Wes Bledsoe says the chamber helps the body produce more stem cells fighting off infections and diseases. 

“There are people in there with like mold toxicity or Lyme disease or stroke victims or have renal failure, liver problems and so on. And everybody is being helped because of the same thing because we have that compressed oxygen,” says Bledsoe.

Bledsoe says he struggled with his first dive because of his own PTSD. 

“I’d broken one eardrum three times. So, my brain was telling me, you know, here's a good excuse on why it's gonna fail. You're not gonna be able to get down, you're not gonna be able to equalize pressure, you're gonna ruin the experience for everybody else.,” says Bledsoe.

By the way, there are safety protocols before and during the "dive." 

“We'll prep everybody on what we do before we go in. And then once we're in, we go over a safety protocol and then we get started after that, usually we get everybody to clear their ears. That's, that's really the main thing we try to focus on. We don't ever, we don't want anybody to hurt their ears,” says Stinnett.

Bledsoe’s PTSD occurred during childhood and carried over to adulthood. 

“A lot of people with PTSD just are overwhelmed. They avoid, and so, for example, I’ve had mail that has stacked up for years that I haven't opened because it's just too much to even open your mail,” says Bledsoe.

Bledsoe overcame his initial fear and is well past his 40th dive in the hyperbaric chamber. He says he sees light at the end of the tunnel. 

“I have hope this is a place that, that maybe I’m not a hundred percent yet, but if I just keep coming back, if I keep coming back, if I keep showing up, I’m gonna get better,” says Bledsoe.

Conrady says he started the organization to help veterans and first responders. So far, they've had 20 military veterans enter the chamber.

“If 17 veterans are taking their lives per day and this will help them, if it helps, one, is it not worth getting them into the chamber?" says Conrady.

Dean says Hyperbaric for Heroes gave him a new purpose after overcoming his own mental trauma. 

“The peace of mind that's given me the peace and serenity that I, that I found through the hyperbaric chamber has been something I can use in my personal life. A lot of people we see that come through here. That's why I volunteer. I get to watch people get better,” says Dean.

Bledsoe says the camaraderie at Hyperbaric for Heroes helps too because there's always someone who understands your situation. 

"Whether you're a veteran, whether you're a first responder, whether you're a sexual assault victim, whether you're a child who's abused, whatever it may be,” says Bledsoe.

Paul Conrad says they are taking applications on a person-to-person basis. Those that are interested in hyperbarics should go to hyperbaricsforheroes.org.