Emerson and I went and did her first two HBOT dives this last week 🤍 We kept it short the first time—about 30–40 minutes—just to see how she would tolerate it. Yesterday we went to a full hour.  It went by really fast. We stayed at 1.3 atmospheric pressure.

When the pressure builds and again when it comes back down, your ears pop just like being on an airplane during takeoff and landing. She did really well, and it only seemed to bother her for a couple of minutes. I packed lots of activities to help distract her while we were inside, and she handled it like a champ.

HBOT works by having the patient breathe 100% oxygen under increased pressure, allowing much more oxygen to dissolve directly into the blood plasma. For kids with cerebral palsy, this increased oxygen delivery may help:

✨️Increase oxygen to injured brain tissue
✨️Reduce inflammation in the brain
✨️Improve blood flow and support new blood vessel growth
✨️Stimulate neuroplasticity (the brain’s ability to form new connections)
✨️Help “wake up” hibernating but still viable neurons

Many families report improvements in things like muscle tone, attention and alertness, speech attempts, and motor control. We’re hopeful and grateful to be taking this next step for her 💛