Not MIA, Just overwhelmed

Thinking about you my friend. Hope you can get on the topside of this thing soon.

Cajun Jeff

142. Sorry to read about your current struggles and challenges. I often think of you guys who are having a much harder time with this disease. Your courage and your bravery are inspirational, and I will call on that if the cancer ever comes charging back into my life.

Even with the tough times, I hope you're able to share in some of the joy and peace of the Christmas season. Bill

142:

So sorry to read of your continuing travails.
I sure hope things rapidly improve.

If possible, let us know about your hyperbarac txs.

Mel

It is definitely a clear coffin if they forget you.

It is a long plastic tube, horizontal, about 3' diameter, with two rails at 5:00 and 7:00 running the length, that the bed rides in on.
There is a huge pressure door.
They have me get in scrubs, no metal, no glasses, stretch out on the bed (already lined up with the internal rails, then they do BP, temp, and blood oxygen. Hitched to a static discharge bracelet. Covered with a couple of light blankets. Then the bed is pushed in, and the door closed.
The pressurization starts. It would normally take 10 minutes to go to the equivalent of 34 feet below sea level, but I have bad sinuses, so they take 12 to keep me just below the screaming pain level.
Then they fire up a TV that is mounted outside the tube. I can have the usual cable channels or even bring a DVD if I want. We get settled on a volume, and that's it for 90 minutes. I sleep more than watch TV.

As the pressure changes, it gets warmer, then colder. It settles about 15 minutes in, but my hot flashes don't know that, so I may come out cold or drenched in sweat. Not predictable.

Since I'm a leaker, I have them put down extra towels. So far, only 1 major clean-up issue, even with the cath. Cath is difficult, because there is not much space to get the bag lower than my hips.

The added steps for the cath have been to drain it dry, and hold it above hips during entry. Then re-position as best I can to the side. A bit more of a problem coming out, as I have to find enough elbow room to drain the tube so I don't get backflow when I lift the bag during exit.

At the end of the 90 minutes, they start decompressing, again taking 12-15 minutes instead of the 10 expected. At level, they re-pipe with room-mix air, and open the door. The pressure shift is something. If ears didn't pop before, they do then. As the door opens, there is the crazy sense of change of smell in the air. There is no smell in the oxygen, but as the door opens, all those hospital smells rush in. Sensory overload. Then they pull the bed, do vitals, disconnect the static band, and let me get up to go get dressed. The first couple of steps are near impossible, then balance comes back. Get dressed, and off to fight an hour of rush-hour traffic to get home.

142,

I was idly wondering - how do they keep the CO2, water vapor and heat from accumulating? They can pump fresh oxygen in, but how do they take the respiration waste products out while it's sealed?

- Allen

No wonder it costs so much! If the used oxygen is continuously replaced by fresh oxygen, a 90 minute session must go through a whole lot of oxygen. It would be a lot cheaper if they would filter the CO2 out with soda lime, the H2O with a hygroscopic substance, and a water coil to cool it back down. Then they'd only have to replace the used oxygen instead of continuously replacing all of it. Maybe I should patent this idea!

142, you are so important to this forum that I look forward to your writing ys that there's an improvement! God bless you and the best in 2016.

Sending hugs,
Aimzee

142
Hang tough! I've always appreciated your support by private correspondence in the past...Hope that you can make it to a firing range and shoot your Kimber; it sooths the soul. All my best!!!
Bill