GRAND JUNCTION, Colorado (29 Dec 2002) -- Collin Gough has his very own yellow submarine. His parents, Dawn and Tom Gough, believe the yellow submarine will help their son recuperate from a near-drowning in 2001. What the Goughs refer to as Collin's yellow submarine is Grand Junction's third hyperbaric chamber, painted lemon yellow and sitting in a room off their living room. Tom Gough and Dawn's father, Bill Allen, welded and assembled the chamber for Collin, who nearly died June 23, 2001, one day after his first birthday. Collin crawled out of his parents' house and into their backyard pond. He was found not breathing and without a pulse. Collin was flown to Children's Hospital in Denver, where he was on life support for four days. He spent eight days in intensive care and another two weeks in therapy. The Goughs believe that if their son had received hyperbaric oxygen treatments quickly after his near-drowning, he could be a healthy 21/2-year-old boy today. As it is, Collin still lies rigid — though less so than when his parents brought him home from the hospital more than a year ago. He still cannot walk or feed himself. He doesn't talk. Despite the skepticism of some, the Goughs swear to the benefits of hyperbaric chambers. The Goughs believe hyperbaric chambers aid in treating brain injuries, burns, diving accidents and other ailments by forcing pure oxygen into the bloodstream. Treatments are given under pressure to further help recuperation. "It saturates you with oxygen," Tom Gough said. Hyperbaric chambers have long been used to help scuba divers who surface too quickly and as a result, develop nitrogen bubbles in their systems, causing a painful condition known as "the bends." Some people believe hyperbaric chambers can help with other medical problems. "Doctors with not a lot of knowledge in hyperbaric chambers don't really believe it works," Tom Gough said. "I say show me the proof that it doesn't work. It does help, whether they say it helps or not." Dawn Gough said brain damage occurs after the brain swells. "If treatments are given before the swelling starts, there's the huge possibility that the brain won't swell," she said. "The sooner the treatment, the better." | | The theory is that after a brain injury, not all brain cells die, Tom Gough said. "They're in limbo, basically dormant because they're not getting the oxygen," Tom Gough said. "They're living, but they're not working." If oxygen is breathed under pressure, the theory says, oxygen reaches the dormant cells, awakening them, he said. After Collin began receiving treatments in Denver, his parents noticed an immediate improvement. He was more relaxed and his tone, spasticity, vision and cognition improved, said Dawn Gough. "We saw the results so quickly with Collin," Tom Gough said. During the treatments, Dawn held her son in the chamber and experienced first-hand the sensation, she said. Her headaches went away and her skin became softer. She said it felt like being in a pressurized airplane. But at $200 per session, and without insurance coverage, the treatments soon became too expensive. So the Goughs decided to build their own hyperbaric chamber. With the help of a Grand Junction couple who purchased a hyperbaric chamber for their son, the Goughs set out to learn about the science and how to build one. Now, Dawn figured, she, her husband and her dad have 5,000 hours of research and development into hyperbaric chambers. Webb Crane recently lifted the large yellow device over the Goughs' Clifton home. After removing their sliding glass door, the Goughs wheeled the chamber into the house. Now, the Goughs await the shipment of a few more parts to finish the device. They hope to test it and start treatments next month. Eventually, the Goughs would like to see a public hyperbaric center open in Grand Junction. For liability reasons, they plan to use their chamber only for Collin. "The controversy is huge," Dawn Gough said. "A half million dollars later, here we sit," Dawn Gough said. "Had he been put in a chamber four to eight hours after the accident, we might have had a happy, healthy 21/2-year-old running around. "If the treatment is given early on, the damage doesn't happen." SCUBA FORUMDISCUSS THIS TOPIC - Dive in and have your say at Scuba Forum |
