I am the wife of a war wounded soldier. It has been three years since my husband, Bryan, was injured by an IED in Kirkuk, Iraq. After a year spent at WalterReed Army Medical Center to we moved to Knoxville, TN. After completing his Medical Board, I started working as a social worker and Bryan got a job working as a bomb robot technician. Things were moving along fairly well as Bryan continued his care with the local VA and had another surgery on his knee in May

Around September of this year Bryan started spiraling downhill. He was extremely depressed; his PTSD seemed to worsen, as well as his Traumatic Brain Injury. He wasn’t doing well at work as he couldn’t stay focused and complete tasks. I didn’t know what to do as his wife or where to turn for help. We met a lovely couple at an adaptive skiing event in upstate New York in late August and we kept in touch after the event. I was telling the wife about what was going on with Bryan and she stated that her husband was getting hyperbaric treatments in New Orleans for this TBI and PTSD. She stated that she wished that Bryan could participate as it seemed to really help her husband. I was hoping that Bryan could as well, but he had been out of work for two months for his knee surgery. I just didn’t know if his employer would let him take off more work to complete 5 weeks of treatment.

Then Bryan hit rock bottom in early October. Bryan didn’t want to go to work, his supervisor called me concerned. They gave him a couple weeks off and that’s when I told him of this pilot program for TBI/PTSD treatment. Bryan seemed interested in it and researched about the program online. This is the first time that Bryan has taken a real interest in any program to date. I contacted the doctor’s assistant and she discussed that the program was free for returning OIF/OEF veterans with TBI and PTSD. After our conversation Dr. Harch called Bryan and spoke with him for several hours over the phone. He seemed to think that Bryan would be a good fit for the treatment. Bryan left October 17th and is due home November 24th after the completion of 40 hyperbaric sessions.

When Bryan first arrived he had a SPECT brain scan to show the brain damage and PTSD. Bryan was unable to have an MRI at Walter Reed due to shrapnel that is peppered throughout his lower extremities and wrist. Bryan also went through extensive cognitive testing. Bryan had another SPECT scan after the first treatment and he will have another at the conclusion of the therapy. We were excited to finally figure out where his brain damage was located and to see how the oxygen has helped him heal.

Bryan receives two, one hour treatments (or dives as the doctor calls it) of pure oxygen in a pressurized chamber everyday. The treatments are supposed to improve thinking ability and reduce PTSD symptoms. After about two weeks of treatments I noticed Bryan’s voice no longer had the flat monotone that it has had for the past three years. He also answers my phone calls and even calls me with no prompting. He hasn’t gone out and spent large amounts of money which is what he always does when he is away or I am out of town.

These improved behaviors were almost as shocking as they are a vast change from how he has acted post injury. He was caring and was plugging into our conversations. I couldn’t believe the difference I could see already. I went to New Orleans to visit him the first weekend in November. He would grab my hand while walking around and he wanted to do whatever touristy things I wanted during the weekend. Bryan before would withdraw from any physical touch and even avoid eye contact. We had an amazing time visiting all the sites in New Orleans. We even sat in a huge crowd of people to watch some of the local entertainment. For the first time ever he didn’t dart in the corner and panic because of the crowd. When he dropped me off at the airport I walked in, check my bags, and headed towards my terminal. All the sudden a wave of emotion hit me, this is the first time I had seen the man I married since his injury. My Bryan was back to his prior self. I hope that the progress continues and we hope to continue hyperbaric treatments here in Knoxville when he gets home as a maintenance treatment at least once a month. We are hoping that TriCare will approve this treatment so we can continue to see progress. Please check out the website for this program at www.hbot.com