MMD Newswire - When Kuhldeep Grewall woke one morning in November of 2007, she knew immediately that something was wrong. Her Husband Harbhajan, 72, was lying on the living room floor, seemingly paralyzed, unable to speak.
The massive stroke would lead to a three year uphill battle to regain Mr. Grewall's quality of life. "We went to many therapy sessions," said Kuhldeep,"but not a lot of progress was made. And it was very difficult to get Harbhajan to go."
Once a proud leader of the bay area Sikh community, Mr. Grewall was now less than willing to commit to rehab routines that exposed his frailties. It wasn't long before Kuhldeep began to feel that they needed something more to drive Harbhajan's recovery.
Enter Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy and the San Francisco Institute for Hyperbaric Medicine. Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy, in which patients breathe 100% oxygen in a pressurized environment, was first introduced to the Grewalls via a friend, who told them that local doctors were employing the treatment to facilitate post-stroke recovery. Kuhldeep made an appointment with the San Francisco Institute for Hyperbaric Medicine the next day.
For the next two months, Mr. Grewall underwent daily treatments at the institute. It wasn't long before they had reason to hope. At 30 treatments Harbhajan, previously unable to walk, had regained enough function in his right leg to make two full laps of the clinic floor. By 60 treatments, he was making four laps, moving his right arm and speaking a few simple words.
"The change in him was really amazing", said Mrs. Grewall."His headaches lessened, and the right side of his face stopped being slack. He began smiling and laughing... he's a totally new person."
Dr. Stoller, Medical Director at the SF Hyperbaric Institute, says that administering oxygen at hyperbaric pressures reduces brain swelling and aids in new blood vessel formation, restoring circulation of oxygen to damaged parts of the brain such that "idling" brain cells "wake back up again", restoring functionality.
However, according to Gayle Link, Nursing Director at the San Francisco Hyperbaric Institute, it is for more than these benefits alone that the Institute is quickly becoming a go-to destination for brain damage patients like Mr. Grewall. "We're the only hyperbaric clinic in the area that assists with our patient's physi- cal therapy in-clinic. We began pursuing this integrative approach a few months ago, and we're seeing great results".
To see Mr. Grewall walking at the hyperbaric clinic where he was treated go to
youtube.com/watch?v=cpTbIDW3TbA
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