Testimonials
On this page you will find real-life stories of patients and their families we have had the extreme privilege to treat and care for at our Center. We believe these stories and testimonials not only convey the significance of the work we do here, but also underscore the life-changing ‘miracles’ large and small which take place in the lives of each and every patient and those extraordinary loved ones who care for them.
I apologize for taking so long to get in touch with you. You had said to email you to remind you to put us in the schedule for February. I was wondering if you have availability in April or May. If not, whenever you may have an opening, could you consider us to fill a slot? Late in the afternoon appointment times are good for us, but of course, we would take any time that you could offer. We are catching up with appointments for dentist, eye doctor, gastroenterologist, audiologist, etc.
Thanks, again, for the opportunity you have given to Guilianna. She is doing great! She still says “Mum”, not on cue, of course, but she says it :-) Her physical therapist is very impressed with her muscle tone improvement, her joints are unbelievably tighter since the hyperbaric treatments. She is so much more alert and attentive and also so much more interactive with people, which is a huge step for her!! She is standing and taking steps almost perfectly but just needs some work on her balance.
Guilianna had blotchy skin all over her body before the chambers, and it went away completely after having the treatments. I just noticed that it is starting to come back on her back, since we have not been in the chambers. So, I definitely believe that the chambers have helped tremendously for that as well as so many other things…….Thank You!!! Thank You!!! Thank You!!! WE COULD NEVER THANK YOU ENOUGH!!!!!!
We hope that your holidays were filled with family, friends, peace, and happiness! We look forward to hearing from you and when we can see you all again.” — Love, Candace Comito & Guilianna Ghiozzi, xoxo
“Dear Mark, Betsy, Shannon, Bill and the rest of the Angels aboard at the Fowler household,
I hope you all had a Blessed Holiday Season and that this New Year brings you Much Joy and Many More Success Stories thru HBT as it has for Havana. Over the last few months, we have watched her WALK around instead of “SCOOT” around. She is so much more independent and inquisitive. The HBT has turned the “LIGHT ON” inside her little brain. She is able to now put multiple signs together and verbalize some of her needs MUCH better than ever before! She continues to make GREAT progress in her therapies. Her attention span has increased as well as her STRENGTH by leaps and bounds.
We wanted to thank you again for everything that you and your family have done for ours and continue to do for so many people all over the world! God Bless!” — The Greeley Family .
“Dear Mark,
I just wanted to thank you from the bottom of my heart for opening up your home and heart to my daughter, Lydia. She was diagnosed with Aspergers (Autism) in Oct. 2008 and I thought life was over for us all. Although it’s not a death sentence, it felt like one.
After a friend of mine, whose son you’ve also treated, referred you to me, I could see a small light at the end of the tunnel. I quickly called you and got Lydia booked for June 2009 for treatments. It was been such a night/day difference with her!!! Because of your HBT our daughter has become a joy to us! Before the treatments, she had difficulty making eye contact in conversations, became easily frustrated, would shake her hands frantically due to not being able to tell us her needs, she would withdraw inwardly, would have difficulty following oral directions in school, and would let her peers walk all over her. Now, she is calm, talks NON-STOP, gets along well with her classmates, even gives them hugs, has stopped the frantic hand shakes, is able to communicate her needs to us and eye contact has improved a lot!!!! God has answered our prayers through the ministry that you provide to others.
I pray that God would bless you and your family, as you have blessed us. Even though this is a business in your home, we always felt welcomed and the sessions always ran smoothly for us, which is outstanding for a child with autism, because they don’t deal well with change.
Our daughter, who is 5 years old, has become such a delight to us and to those around her. Saying thanks to you is not merely enough! I strongly encourage anyone who has a autistic child in their lives to seek HBT as soon as possible! It’s never too late and gives great HOPE!!! Many, many thank you’s!!!
PS. Lydia still asks me when are we going to go back to St. Petersburg and do “our chamber treatments” because it was so much fun. :)” —- Stacie Bagamery.
“Hey guys, i just wanted to say hey and we miss you guys a bunch. I wanted to give you a update on Tyler. Tyler hasn’t had not one seizure since our last treatments of HBOT. Tyler is used to having a seizure around once or twice a month. Tyler learned how to click his mouth to let me know he is thirsty. I taught Tyler to communicate in ways i knew what he meant. Tyler picked up quickly. He seems to understand me a lot more since his last HBOT treatments. I just wanted so much to thank you so much for helping my son. Thank You!” — Celina Crenshaw.
“Dear Mark and Betsy,
People are often asked to name their Hero or Heroes. I always had a mambo jumbo of heroes until I met the real ones. In that I mean Mark, Betsy and the team working diligently every day of the week in your home.
We always knew that Oxygen Therapy will help Daniel because of recommendations from Doctors, but how to afford that on top of all the therapy and medical bills. Had we known just how profound Daniel’s reaction to the Oxygen Therapy would be, we would have started this therapy way before any of the other therapies. If we fixed his “plumbing” first, which is with the diet (GFCF and Keto Diet – seizures) together with the Oxygen Therapy way back when he was first diagnosed at 18 months, can you imagine where he could have been now?
I wish every parent would follow this path first! I don’t care who you are, even the Queen of England won’t respond to therapy if she doesn’t feel well, and these kids just don’t feel welL Their brains are foggy and scrambled and their guts are upset. Mark you have said in one of the interviews on Morning News that you do this because it is an obsession. To me, it also became an obsession to tell parents to clean out their kids plumbing and do OXYGEN THERAPY, and then yes absolutely, behavioral therapy after the brain has being flushed with oxygen. We see this with Daniel, he responds fantastic in his ABA therapy sessions and this is due to the fog that has been lifted.
Never in my wildest dreams had I thought I will see the day that Daniel will be teasing me and actually be mischievous. This was a kid that at 18 months didn’t know if I am Arthur of Martha. He was drugged out of his mind and his behavior was out of control so was his seizures in spite of 2 AED’s used simultaneously. After countless medications and millions of tears we met a Neurologist (Dr Nancy Rogers) that diagnosed Daniel with Doose Syndrome (seizures that are resistant to AED’s) and slowly weaned us ofall AED’s, introduced us to the Keto Diet and she mentioned Oxygen Therapy’s healing capabilities. His Pediatrician at the time (Dr David Berger) also pushed Oxygen Therapy, so we read about it and were really excited until we realized that our Bank account was way too thin to carry this Therapy.
During this time, my brother in Canada also mentioned during one of our phone conversations about this couple in St. Petersburg that does Hyperbaric therapy at no cost (when Daniel was 3), my thoughts, yea right who would do this kind of therapy at no cost! I ignored it and just tried everything else but always had that nagging feeling about HBOT. Around Daniel’s fourth birthday, I was invited to a health seminar and there I met Dr Susan Windgate and she once again talked about HBOT and gave us the number for Dr William Harnmesfahr that does vasodilation and he now is covered by Health Insurance which previously was very costly. We started with the treatment and
saw positive results right away, but he also recommended HBOT. With the blood vessels enlarged, more blood flows to the brain and also more oxygen, but Dr Harnmesfahr really pushed HBOT because together with vasodilation, there are massive healing capabilities.
This was in June 2009 and then in September while having a casual conversation with my daughter’s Teacher’s Aid about her niece’s treatment she gave me your web address. I emailed you on September 2nd and really didn’t expect anything but Friday September 4th the phone rang. After only a few weeks in the chamber our lives changed.
From this point on Daniel started showing interest in new things and experiences. He shows interest in TV shows that a typical 4 year old should be interested in. He would initiate games. He wants to go outside and walk on the grass (with no shoes). He is trying so hard to string words together to make up sentences. He is selecting new games on his computer. He request for objects out of sight. Shows interest in toys in Store. Sings songs. Sense of humor, choose to disobey, and answers yes and no questions. Daniel follows instruction, when he actually chooses to obey! In therapy he has made such enormous strides in the last couple months that he moved on to prepositions, community helpers and categories.
His therapist is blown away. We are successfully potty training and he requests to go to the potty – he is almost there. He rides his big bike and has become quite a force to keep up with. Any parent with an autistic child (and one with all the odds against him because of the doose syndrome diagnoses) will know that all of the skills he acquired in the last 3 months are nothing short of a miracle. Daniel also had eye rolling which was so tough to get rid of (type of seizure), and we haven’t noticed any of those recently. Yes, all children react differently to any therapy, but our kid had a huge leap towards recovery because of you. How do I thank you for treating our son, in effect you treat whole families by giving them back their loved ones. Thank you, With Love, The Putters.
PS: This year for Christmas, Daniel will actually receive toys wrapped in gift paper and not therapy material, as was the case the previous two Christmases.”
“Dear Mark, Betsy, Shannon, Bill, David, Cruz, Cyriz, Skye and everyone!
Hello from Missouri!!! I am sooo sorry that we haven’t been in contact lately! I hope everyone id doing well in Florida! I miss all of you too much.
I am writing to thank you for what you have done for Mara and our family. I have never met people that give so much to others. What you do for people in need is so amazing. I hope that all you have done comes back to you tenfold.
We have our chamber and were able to use it for a couple of months, but Mara started having some ear trouble and we had to give it a break for a while. The ear trouble was not from the chamber, she has always had problems with her ears that come and go. She is doing better now and we are going to start treatment again.
She has made some wonderful changes though this whole process that began when we were in Florida. She is so much more able to understand what we say to her and respond. She is so alert to her surroundings. It is awesome to see!!! She is trying to TALK!!! She is moving her mouth to make different sounds. WOW! She is able to look into my eyes when I talk to her — she has NEVER done that. What a personality she has! Her brain is working and you can almost see the wheels turning. Thank you for allowing us the chance to meet the REAL Mara!
Well I just wanted to give you an update and let you all know that I think of you daily. I really hope you can come visit us sometime. :-) I love you all like family. Thank you again for your kindness, generosity, and friendship. Sincerely, — Ashlie Lee, Mara, Jason & Perrie. “
“Gaby was a beautiful child born into a loving family, our first child. We were so excited to welcome her, but her delivery quickly became an emergency. She was stuck, with the cord around her neck and a plummeting heart rate. Drastic action got her out quick enough to save her, but it was touch and go for the first minutes of her life.
For eight months, we struggled with a severe case of colic; at nine months, her seizures started. By one year, we had our first of several stays at All Children’s Hospital. By age three, Gaby wasn’t interested in toys or imaginative play, could not focus her attention, she was extremely hyperactive and she only had 15 words of language used infrequently.
We started HBOT in March of 2009. By the end of 30 treatments, Gaby’s seizures had improved, she could focus on tasks for 10-15 minutes, was much less hyperactive and was starting to mimic sounds. She “discovered” her baby doll and fed and kissed it. She also started interacting with other children.
Six months later, we continue to see incredible improvements. Her hyperactivity is essentially gone. The “wall” that used to keep her from the world has shattered. She has 165 spontaneous words and she talks non-stop. She loves butterflies and flowers and showing off new clothes to her family. She loves having her hair done and showing everyone how “pretty” she is. She is such a girl, we are finally getting to know our daughter for the first time in her life.
I have no doubt in my mind that HBOT is responsible for the changes in Gaby. And due to the cost, there is no way she would have gotten this therapy if it hadn’t been for Mark and his family. I cannot thank the Fowlers enough for the incredible gift they have given us. God gave us a child – Mark gave us our daughter.” — Ashley Epstein.
“Dear Mark and Betsy (and Princess):
It’s been a few months now since Ryan was lucky enough to receive the gift of your services. As you have witnessed, Ryan made many positive changes while going to your home and spending time in your chambers. Initially when Ryan’s treatments ended, we saw some regression in behavior as if he were going through withdrawal. School started within days of his last HBOT session and we were concerned. As it turns out, our Autistic son is showing dramatic growth in many areas which include social, academic, attention, and communication. This itself is amazing as his classroom was in chaos with three different teachers since school started. We are forever grateful to you and the Masons for giving us so much more of our son. When we first came to your center, Ryan would only speak in short phrases, nor would he engage with people. His reading was okay, but attention, comprehension and retention were poor. As for Math, Ryan could recognize numbers, but could not grasp the basics of simple addition. Now he proudly comes home with 100% on his spelling tests, has mastered simple math… addition, subtraction, multiplication.. Ryan loves to read and is enjoying telling us about what he has read. The changes we’ve seen are nothing short of miraculous. Ryan is functioning on his grade level. Many of the characteristics of his Autistic behaviors have diminished greatly. There was a time when we could not go into a department store, supermarket, or public gathering without some sort of behavioral issue. That is behind us now and we are doing more things as a family outside of the home without fear of meltdowns. We know Ryan still has many obstacles ahead of him, but his progress in these past few months has shown us a HUGE light at the end of the tunnel. Thank you so much.” — Lou & Kelly Copp.
P.S.: “We know how busy your center is and how many people use and need your services. If you ever come up with the time for a maintenance program of maybe once or twice a week, please keep Ryan in mind.”
“Hey Mark, Betsy, Dawn, and others;
Thank you for the wonderful tour of the finest treatment facility I have ever been in in my 35 years of medical/psychiatric practice. I put a post about my visit on our web site, www.americanaspergersassociation.net and I am sure we will be working together, hand in hand, as time passes.
Of course the main impact of my visit is the confirmation that HBOT is a highly effective treatment for those in the Autistic Spectrum Disorders as well as many other illnesses; thus my decision to give free HBOT to children in the ASD group is firmly fixated in my being. Mark, I was also impressed that you have a ukulele, hey anyone with a ukulele is a friend of mine. My only disappointment of the day is that I did not get to go for a ride on that John Deere Tractor in the driveway. … Great job everyone. Thanks again.” — Ron Knaus.
“Dear Mark and Betsy,
I first want to thank you both very much for letting me and my family in your home and giving my son the therapy he needed.
I would like to share with you what happened to Joshua. The day Joshua was born when my water broke the umbilical cord came out and was exposed, the ambulance was called and I thought we would be safe and they had no clue. They took us to a hospital that did not even deliver babies and then we had to go to a hospital even further from where we were. The cord was exposed which then started to harden. We finally arrived at the hospital and they had him out in eight minutes but the damage was already done it had been over an hour since my water broke and the oxygen supply was cut short because of the exposure.
Joshua was lifeless when they got him out they brought him back. I was told he would not make it and here we are today they also told me he would never do anything never laugh, never cry, never walk or talk. Well I never forget the first time he smiled and laughed. I had fought for seven years trying to get oxygen therapy but was told it would not help. I could not afford to take him to a program and we came to Florida in June for fifty days and we then decided to move here in November. Joshua has suffered from severe seizures for the last two years so in January he had one that kept us in the hospital for two weeks.
I met this wonderful women at the Doctor’s office for the follow up from our hospital stay she came up to us and said here is my dad’s number and call him to get Joshua in therapy. I couldn’t believe it, this therapy free of charge. We started our therapy and the first thing I noticed was he was more relaxed and then I noticed he wanted stand and try very hard to walk. I was very excited then I noticed he was using his hands to reach and grab things on purpose and could keep a hold of them. This was even better because he was not able to grab and hold things and actually feeling with them. He started using his fingers to tickle his belly when he was tired so very cute to see him do. Then the most amazing thing happened one day out of the clear blue he said it I LOVE YOU I just cried all these years I prayed that one day he could tell me that he loved me and now he says it everyday. The most amazing words I ever heard when your children say I love you especially since they were not ever to do any of this. I will never be able to thank you enough for this wonderful therapy that gave my son the ability to stand and the use of his hands and to say I love you. I will not be able to repay you for this wonderful gift and I will never forget how welcome we were and how wonderful everyone was. The other gift we have been given we have been seizure free since January that alone is a miracle. I remember saying if it stops the seizures I don’t care about anything else. We got so much more and I am so thankful. I will always have a special place in my heart for all of you and will never forget and hope to one day repay you somehow. My whole family thanks you and we hope that one day you will have all the money you need for all of this and more. You all are angels and deserve only the best life can offer. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU.” — Love always, Melissa and Joshua.
“I want to start off by thanking you and your family for giving my son, Tyler, an opportunity to have Hyperbarric Therapy . I had searched for 4 yrs to find the most affordable way for him to get the HBOT.
Only after receiving an email informing me about free therapy in St. Petersburg, FL, gave us hope of finally being able to receive HBOT for our son. Coming to your home and meeting your family and seeing how excited you were to help my child encouraged us. After Tylers 3rd session i noticed an ulcer on his ear that had been there for about 6 months almost healed completely. We recieved a total of about 50 treatments in the month of May.
Tyler was very pasty and his skin tone was kinda clammy . Now he has pretty olive tone clear skin . Also, after returning home to see his spasticity Dr to have his Baclophen pump refilled, he was amazed at how limber and loose his muscle tone was. Before, when it was time to refill his pump he would get stiff, but he was so limber after our treatments that his Doctor lowered his dosage. He also reduced his zanaflex which is also for spaticity.
Although i chose to increase his pump because taking him off two different meds at one time didn’t go to well for him, but we are still looking to completely get him off all medications. I have advised every parent with special needs children to look into HBOT. Tyler is vocalizing a whole lot more and even when i pick him up now i can feel him actually using his own strength to hold his self up while in my arms. He now has started to pucker his lips and blow me a kiss. Another thing we noticed was telling him to give you a hug he puts his arms up to hug you. He never before did that. We are truly grateful for your time and effort to improve my child’s life. We are to return to your home in September and we are very excited to see the new things he will be doing afterwards. Tell Ms Betsy, Shannon, kids and the volunteers we truly appreciate them also. God Bless and thank you so very much.” — Celina Bailes Crenshaw.
“Dear Dear Mark and Betsy, Hi there!!!!!!!!!
This is Jillian Moore’s mommy, Tami Moore, from Alabama, USA. You opened your home to me and my daughter during the whole month of January so I could bring her for HBOT, which, without your generousity, we would NEVER have been able to do for her, period. She would not have had this opportunity without you!!!
THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU from the bottom of this mom’s heart for the gift you gave us. You open your home to strangers from around the country, for free, every day, not only giving this free gift of HBOT that family’s wouldn’t otherwise have, you also give of yourself on a personal, caring level. I’ve seen that with my own eyes.
I hope this letter reaches the eyes and ears of whatever agency, governmental or otherwise, that would grant financial help to you for this gigantic endeavor you’ve undertaken to help special-needs children. You do this from the kindness of your heart, unselfishly, because you know that HBOT can literally change the lives of children (and their families too) that have been affected by life-altering events which were unexpected (like in my child’s case, brain injury), and you’re changing the world by giving some spark back to these kids that wouldn’t have otherwise had the opportunity because their parents just don’t have the money to do it.
And what do parents like me do? You hear that there is this wonderful family that opens their home, spends a lot of their own personal money each month on, just for one example, a huge electric bill to run two chambers, every day, in their HOME. And you hate taking advantage of people, asking for hand-outs. You know that your brain-injured child will benefit from HBOT, but you don’t have the means to obtain it for them. So you bow your head and you call this family and ask if you can bring your little girl to their house, and they always say yes to everyone. So you go. And you take what this family is unselfishly offering, because you want to help your child. And what’s amazing is, so do they….they want to help your child, and they don’t even know you or your child.
You go, and you see the reality of their endeavor to help, the scope of what they do. And you see that THEY need help, financially. You want to do your part, give them some money, anything, for what they’ve given you. But then you have the reality of the financial aspect of being parents of a handicapped child, and your offer to help doesn’t pan out, and in the end you give them nothing but a thank-you card and some toilet paper.
You NEED and DESERVE help from some form of Governmental entity in order to keep doing this humanitarian deed!!!
Please allow me to brag about the gains we’ve seen in our Jillian since we’ve brought her to you for HBOT! Well, first, some quick background on Jillian, alkla Jillie Bean. She was born prematurely at 27 weeks because of complications with an identical twin pregnancy and she is the surviving twin… Due to her prematurity she had a Grade IV intraventricular hemorrhage. basically bleeding In her brain, which resulted in cerebral palsy. She is 4 years old. the love of my life (and Daddy too). with long blonde curly hair and bright blue eyes, and the cutest unique laugh you can imagine.
I was able to take Jillie Bean to China for stem cells. It was recommended that we do HBOT for Jillian 90 days post SCT (stem cell therapy). That was the opportune time to allow those beautiful new brain cells to set up shop and start growing. And as I like to think about it, the HBOT was like giving Miracle Gro to those new cells. Which means adding “Miracle Gro” to the new abilities I’ve listed below… It was after HBOT that I really saw these gains take off like a rocket!
She’s had huge…and I mean huge…..gains in her cognitive and intellectual abilities. Do you know (well. you DO know, because you have a brain-injured child in your own immediate family. which inspired you to give this help) how much it means for your child to be able to start communicating with you?1 She started finally being able to tell me “yes” and “no.” Her dad’s heart lifts now because she calls him by saying “Dad!” She’s trying to get words out all the time now. whereas before she didn’t even try. It’s like there’s been a new connection in her little brain.
She used to have really significant sensory issues. For instance, she could NEVER sleep on her back before doing HBOT, only on her tummy. I mean never. She had never lost that startle reflex that babies lose by the time they’re three months old, and she would always wake up with a terrified look on her face and throw her arms and legs up in the air. Now she sleeps on her back all the time! Her startle reflex is gone! It’s not irony that her startle reflex started to diminish during the first two weeks of HBOT, and has since disappear altogether.
The new connection in her little brain that I mentioned. it has extended into other areas in her life. She has more control of her trunk, legs, hands; she sits next to me on the stairs. all by herself, just Mommy keeping a hand ready in case she loses her balance), and bends over at the waist, reaches into her toy box, grabs a toy, straightens herself back up, hands me the toy….and empties that whole toy box. She finally has some balance! Do you have any idea what this does even just for her self-esteem? She is learning to read!!!! Yeah!!! She can point to (yes. I said point to, use her little finger to point at things!) and identify letters and numbers! She can follow and keep interest in a story in a book, rather than just being interested in turning the pages. Her focus has improved so much!
There’s just so much…..too much to list without typing pages and pages!!! So I won’t do that! But I hope you get the idea of just how much you have changed my child’s life. And therefore, you have changed my life.
They say that what you give out comes back to you three-fold. You deserve that. As many people as you have helped…….well, you do the math of what you deserve. But I’ll tell you one thing I know……you have my gratitude. huge honest big fat gratitude, for helping me help my little girl. As I’m typing this I’m realizing just how impossible it is to express how I feel in black and white words on a computer screen. Man! I can’t thank you enough. I’ll never be able to repay you. How great the world would be if there were more people like you in it.
I’m wrapping hugs around this e-mail. And I send you our love too. THANK YOU MARK! THANK YOU BETSY! Thank you so much! I’ll owe you for the rest of my life!” —- Love, The Moore Family:) :) :) (Tami, Brian, and Jillian).
“Dear Mark:
I just wanted to let you know how thankful we are that you have made the many sacrifices necessary to enable the operation of the charitable organization that provides the free hyperbaric chamber treatments to our son, Alex. As you know, Alex sustained a serious closed head injury and global brain damage due to the car accident in which 1was involved when I was 37 weeks pregnant with Alex.
Our family recently relocated to this area from Colorado, as Alex was unable to live at high altitude due to his injuries. Before beginning his treatments with you in January of 2009, Alex, while having improved slightly due to our family moving to sea level, was still suffering from major developmental delays and on seizure medication. He was weak and lethargic and could barely hold his head up. He did not laugh or smile much and cried often as if in pain. His movements were very “stiff’” and he kept his little fists clenched most of the time. Fortunately, I read about your organization on the internet and you agreed to provide treatments to Alex at no cost to our family.
Alex has now had 40 treatments in the hyperbaric chamber and is scheduled to return in April to continue. The improvements he has made in just those first 40 sessions have been phenomenal! Although he is still delayed, he continues to make great strides toward becoming a healthy baby every day. I watch him laugh and smile and as I play with him, I am so thankful, as these are things I thought my son would never get to experience.
His neurologists in Colorado took one look at his brain scan and his medical history and basically wrote him off. They said that his injuries would turn out to be severe, that he would probably always have seizures, that he would be minimally responsive and would eventually require a g-tube (a feeding tube which is permanently inserted into his intestine) because he would never be able to eat properly. Alex has an amazing appetite. He has no problem drinking his bottles and is even learning how to hold his spoon and feed himself baby food. He is now holding his head up like a champ, his vision has improved dramatically (he had severe crossing of the eyes) and he is working on improving his balance so that he is able to sit up by himself. He is almost there!
His awareness and interaction with the rest of his family is truly amazing. He is pretty much a happy baby now and gets a little better every day, My husband recently made the comment that he is always so happy to see Alex when he comes home from his week-long business trips in Colorado, as he can see so many little improvements in Alex in just that short period of time. He is off of his seizure medication and has had no additional seizures since beginning the treatment, as well. His hands are open and he is slowly figuring out what to do with them, grabbing, grasping and swatting at things. He has come so far in such a short period and I am confident that with more treatments, he will continue to improve.
Noone knows what the future holds for Alex. but one thing I do know is that the hyperbaric treatments have made a huge difference in the quality of Alex’s life and have given us, as his family, hope. Thank you for all you have done and continue to do.” — The Naused Family (Heather, Harry and Trent).
“Dear Fowler Family,
I am writing you to try to begin to express our gratitude for what you have done for our son and our family.
Last year when dad was dying, we were prompted that our son should receive his shots despite that he had just had the flu, ear infections, and a round of antibiotics. Despite our insistence to wait, there were state guidelines and timelines. Needless, to say, Lynden began his downward spiral into autism. Like many parents, we desperately sought every promising sound treatment. Countless hours, countless dollars, and many many tears later…We still did not see any marked improvement to his awareness to the world and his health. We traveled to numerous doctors, attempted therapies, diets, supplements, and while many have started to make an improvement in different aspects of his health, none as significant as the improvement with hyperbaric chamber treatment.
The first time, I heard ofthis type of treatment was in reading extensively on the topic and ironically, with one of our DAN-doctors (stands for defeat autism now-doctors), Dr. Dan Rossignol of Melbourne, Florida, who is one ofthe pioneers in researching the area of hyperbaric chamber therapy and autism. He was the first to listen to my wishes to attempt this treatment. He wrote the prescription, but the next step was trying to get someone to allow us the treatment. I tried every where. Some places allowed it with his Medicaid insurance~ but if the hospital did not have autism as one of the list of approved treatments, then he would not be allowed the opportunity for the treatment.
Other places wanted five thousand dollars up front as a deposit, the have an initial visit. I can not tell you the restless nights and anguish I felt in trying to get Lynden an opportunity. It was amazing to me, that “they” know vaccines cause allergic reactions in some children, yet the government and the pharmaceutical companies push it upon the public as a whole because of the financial gains and they do not want to be “inconvenienced” to determine who would be hurt by the vaccines and on the other hand, “they” know hyperbaric treatment is beneficial in many illnesses, conditions, etc., yet, many are denied because of the cost. Incredulous and frustrating do not begin to describe what is being done to our children, while government allows pharmaceutical companies and their lobbyists to hurt children, even while they know what they are doing… destroying lives.
When I spoke to you this past summer, I was finally given hope in the mist of my despair to help our son out of his darkness. We began treatment in September and when finished in mid-November of 2008. In that time, we saw Lynden’s eczema disappear and his skin appear and feel like baby’s skin, his diet has improved, he is beginning to babble and now to say words, he also has become more aware of his surrounds, plays on occasion with other children, joins in on dancing, opens books, and loves to be hugged.
Yes, at times it was hard dealing with working, schedules, feedings, diaper changes, tolls, and heavy gas prices, but all of this was secondary to the extraordinary gift and opportunity that you all have given us. Mr. Fowler, once asked if it was difficult in doing all this for Lynden and traveling to St. Petersburg daily after work, and I stated that any mother would travel to the ends of the earth for their child… all I had to do is travel to St. Petersburg. :-)
His daycare and his teachers at school have all seen a marked improvement and the children on his bus love him. Most of all, he is beginning to make his way back to us and nothing could be a better gift than that. At Thanksgiving and also this Christmas, we will be giving thanks for the health of our three children.
We are eternally grateful for the hope for a new life that you have given us. It is through your dedication, tireless efforts, countless hours of tending to us in the chamber, the encouragement and the unconditional love that you have given us, is unimaginable to begin to sum up in words of … “THANK YOU FOWLER FAMILY AND TO THE GROTTO ORGANIZATION.”
Thank you for being the light in the darkness. Every night as I traveled back from being with the Fowler Family, Mark, Betsy, Shannon, Cruz, Skyler, and Cyriz, I would think of how blessed we were to have crossed paths with this beautiful family, and as I drove up Veterans Hwy. and the Suncoast Hwy., I saw the gorgeous pink and blue sunsets over the beach to the left of me and the glorious green pine trees to my right, I said a prayed every night on the way home, Thank you God, Thank you for this chance at a new beginning.” — The Lillys (John, Par, Lyndsey, Lejanna & Lynden).
“Mark & family,
I want to thank you for opening your home to use so that Allison could continue the hyperbaric chamber treatments. When we came to you after completing 2 very expensive weeks of hospital grade chamber treatments in Orlando, we were seeing small changes in Allison’s language and ability to respond to questions and eager to continue treatment. That is when we found you. After you read the following note that Melissa sent out to family and friends, you will understand our excitement about the chamber and getting one for Allison. It is on order and hopefully will be here soon. Melissa has already decided that she will follow your example and offer the chamber to others who will benefit from it. I will be writing elected state and national elected official for this area to encourage support for this treatment for our children. Just think what this could do to help keep children out of special education classes once they enter school. Thanks again for being there for Allison and all the other children that have benefited from the treatments. Sharon Woerner
Alli is doing amazing! This is what has occurred over the past few months. When we started this therapy, she was mainly using one word to get her needs and wants across. She would sometimes put two words together, but her only phrase was “I want __.” She had a very hard time answering questions because recall was very difficult for her. Communication exchanges were basically non existent. Two theories exist as to the cause of Alli’s delays. One possibility is that Twin to Twin Transfusion occurred in utero and Alli was the donor baby. Kendall was born bright red while Alli was pale and needed oxygen. So theory one would be that since the girls are identical and shared a placenta – the TTTS occurred and Kendall got more of the blood supply and nutrients, causing a brain injury in Alli while in Utero. The other theory is that vaccinations may have caused a brain injury in Alli. She was a preemie and had bad reflux and one of the vaccinations may have effected her in a way that it didn’t Kendall. Or maybe Allis’ delays are a combination of both – her brain may have already been compromised due to the TTTS and a vaccination just triggered more effects. Here we have no true answers, just theories. We do know that she has Apraxia, a neurological speech disorder, and ADHD.
We started our hyperbaric journey in Ft. Lauderdale meeting with a doctor who specializes in Hyperbaric Therapy. He felt that Alli would respond well to hyperbarics. The theory being that she may have brain cells that were damaged due to the brain injury, however that occurred, that could be revitalized with the oxygen therapy. So we started our therapy in March in Orlando doing two weeks of two treatments a day in a hard shelled chamber. The way the chamber works is that it is pressurized and you breath oxygen at this increased pressure – similar to scuba diving so they call the treatments “dives.” We did twenty dives in Orlando and then chose to come home and continue treatments because it was difficult for the entire family being separated. We then discovered Mark Fowler who so graciously opened his home to us and allowed Alli to get treatments for free. After a week of driving back and forth to St. Pete, it became obvious that we needed to come up with a more workable solution. We chose to rent a chamber for our home to continue the treatments. We rented a soft shelled chamber and have had it for two months now. Alli has completed about 70 dives in this chamber.
Alli is now talking in sentences and using tons of new spontaneous language everyday. She is answering questions and recalling the events of the day as well as things that happened a long time ago. Almost every day she says something that brings tears to my eyes. For example the other day she was in the bathroom and I called to her “Alli, what are you doing?” She ran out and said “I am changing my clothes mommy.” That may sound simple but to me it is huge! To hear her make a complete sentence with no connecting words missing and to respond to me is wondrous! I love seeing the increased interaction between her and Kendall and to see them whispering to each other. She is so much happier and able to be involved in the world around her with this use of language! It is still difficult to understand her at time but we will continue to work on that in speech therapy. It is so thrilling to find a treatment, after 3 years of searching, that has made a huge difference in her life!”
“The Selama Grotto, through the use of their free hyperbaric oxygen therapy, has helped our son tremendously. Our 8 year old son is Autistic, mild CP and WAS epileptic. He also has strabismus (crossing of the eyes) and far-sightedness.
Before we used their chamber, our son was having numerous seizures. We were told by doctors that he would never outgrow the seizures and would require medication all of his life. He was on two different anticonvulsant drugs of which did little help. After treatment with the chamber, he is off all anticonvulsants and has been seizure-free for 2 years. He has also had 3 NORMAL EEGs showing NO abnormal brain activity! Our doctor is still overwhelmed by this miracle that hyperbaric oxygen has provided!
It has also improved his vision dramatically, we have had to weaken his eyeglass prescription. It has also improved his and my overall health. I go into the chamber with him, so I have benefited also. Before the chamber he and I were frequently ill with bronchitis, strep throat, etc. and now neither of us have been ill, except for 1 or 2 colds, for over a year now. I also have a benign thyroid nodule, which before the chamber was growing, but now has decreased in size. What they have done for our family and our son goes beyond words! We are forever grateful to them!” — Anna Suor.
“Thank you so much for providing Hyperbaric oxygen chambers free of charge for those in need. I am very grateful. My son, Matthew, has really benefitted from the chamber. My son is four years old and suffers from Autism. We have found tha the world of Autism is a lonely one. Ther is little support in the way of services for children with Autism. Our insurance company will not cover any services – occupational therapy, speech, behavioral therapy, or for Pediatricians that specialize in the treatment of children with Autism. It also will not cover Hyperbaric therapy for our children even though this has shown much promise. We love Matthew dearly and have basically spent our life savings to ensure that he have the best future. I often marvel at how sweet and loveable he is in face of such adversity. I would be angry and frustrated at not being able to communicate, having sensitivity to sound and constant stomach pain.
Since starting the Hyperbaric therapy his speech has improved, his eye contact is better, he
follows directions, and understands how to put his toy train tracks together! He often greets
people with hello and goodbye now! He is saying “Mommy and Daddy.” He knows the chamber
helps him and is eager to get in he often says “ready!” when he gets to the chamber. And one day said “ready to ride the rocket!” He is always very calm after Hyperbaric and appears to feel better and eat better on these days. Thank you so much for your support.” — Holly Wetz.
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