LAFAYETTE, La. (KLFY) – A Lafayette man who suffered a traumatic brain injury says hyperbaric oxygen therapy gave him his brain back. Since then he’s fought to bring more awareness to brain injuries, as oxygen therapy becomes a little more accessible in Lafayette.
Paul Bosworth suffered a traumatic brain injury more than ten years ago. Five years into his recovery, he discovered hyperbaric oxygen therapy. For him, it worked.
“This oxygen therapy enabled me to no longer be weird, to no longer be different. I could assimilate into society a whole lot easier because i was able to speak clearer, because I was able to function better,” Bosworth said.
Chiropractic physician and Nerve Health Institute Founder Dr. Chris Cormier added hyperbaric oxygen therapy to his practice in Lafayette just two months ago. It can be used for overall wellness – things like depression, neck and shoulder pain and concussions.
“Through this process it’s using pressure and it’s pressurizing your body to get oxygen into those 31 trillion cells that you have,” Dr. Cormier said.
Bosworth’s brain injury left him with vision, memory and speech difficulties, as well as depression and PTSD.
“I had idle brain cells that the oxygen, under slight pressure was able to get to and wake up,” Bosworth said.
After 40 treatments, or dives, Paul felt his symptoms had significantly decrease.
“Now I can speak clearer, now I can function a little better and i can filter what I couldn’t filter before,” Bosworth said.
The chambers at the Nerve Health Institute are FDA approved. However oxygen therapy only has FDA approval for things like wound care, decompression sickness or carbon dioxide poisoning. Chiropractor Dr. Angelique Miller says thousands of cases show it does work in treating other ailments, but more research needs to be done.
“In the world of medicine it’s still new. I think everybody is still trying to figure out researched base, long term. It’s just medical stuff takes awhile,” Dr. Miller said.
Bosworth has now taken about 80 dives in the chamber. He says he’s now made it his life’s mission to help those with brain injuries.
“I lost everything and with the oxygen I gained a whole lot of life,” Bosworth said.
Insurance currently does not cover hyperbaric oxygen therapy for wellness. Bosworth runs a brain injury support group called Amaze Brain Injury Group.
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