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Beyond Pain—Some hope for healing
Eduardo Pace, 27, turned the key in the door to the pizza
restaurant in West Windsor, N.J., where he worked as a chef,
and was greeted by the scent of pine oil rising from freshly
mopped floors. It was only 9 a.m. on an overcast morning in
June, but already the kitchen was hot.
After gathering the ingredients for a fresh batch of dough,
Pace put them into a giant machine to mix together. He then
prepared several pizzas for early bird customers who might
stop by. Soon, the pleasing aroma of the pizzas baking in
the ovens filled the kitchen, so Pace turned his attention
again to the dough. Now mixed, it was ready to be cut and
rolled. Alone, he lifted the dough - all 80 pounds of it -
placing it on the table nearby.
He remembers the snap in his right wrist as his ligaments
ripped apart.
He remembers a searing pain that shot through his arm like
an electric shock.
He remembers the doctor in the emergency room who dismissed
his complaints, sending him back to work.
This is a story about one man's traumatic injury, the devastating
health consequences, and finally, a treatment called Hyperbaric
Oxygenation Therapy (HBOT) that is beginning to heal.
"My injury happened 15 years ago," says Pace. "I
had gone to a local emergency medical center where I was examined
but no X-rays were taken. The attending doctor thought I was
complaining too much. He assumed I was looking for time off
from work. He said nothing was wrong and sent me back to the
restaurant."
Despite a year's delay, Pace's injury to his wrist was finally
diagnosed and treated. He had an operation during which nine
pins were put into his arm to reattach the ligaments. By this
time, however, edema had set in, so the tissues in his hand
and arm were inflamed and swollen. Soon afterwards, Reflex
Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD), which had begun spreading, was
diagnosed. This little known condition that causes excruciating
pain at even the slightest touch, involves the nerves, skin,
muscles, bones, and blood vessels. Affecting the sympathetic
nervous system, rather than the central nervous system, it
is especially difficult to treat.
"It feels as though my arm and hand are in a bat of
burning oil with a knife-driving pain simultaneous to the
burning pain," says Pace. "On top of all of that,
there is the feeling as if the limb was being clamped shut."
From this point forward, Pace had great doctors. Because
his was a work related injury, however, there were considerable
legal issues that prolonged the necessary care. The RSD continued
to spread, affecting his legs by 1995. He tried to manage
with a quad cane for a while, but eventually needed a wheelchair.
The years since his injury are a blur of doctors and medical
procedures and medications, none of which gave Pace relief.
Then one day, a doctor suggested HBOT.
The term, oxygenation therapy, refers to inhaling 100 percent
oxygen instead of 21 percent oxygen, which is the ordinary
level of oxygen in the air we breathe. The word, hyperbaric,
relates to pressures higher than normal. With HBOT, patients
enter a small bed-size chamber, where they inhale 100 percent
oxygen at higher than normal atmospheric pressure. The therapy
has a remarkable history of improving the function of many
individuals.
According to neurologist Allan Spiegel, who treats patients
with HBOT, "the saturation of blood and tissue with oxygen
increases 10 to 20 times when you are in the chamber, compared
with when you are not in the chamber. Essentially, you are
super saturating tissues deprived of oxygen, because of the
swelling of a limb."
With hope for some relief finally in sight, Pace searched
for a medical facility that provides HBOT. Unfortunately,
the hospitals closest to his home and even those in Philadelphia
refused to take him because RSD is considered "off-list"
of the therapies they can treat with HBOT.
At last, he identified the Robert M. Lombard Medical Center
- a free-standing clinic in Columbia, PA, three hours from
home. The staff in Columbia welcomed him as a patient. Ever
grateful, Pace made reservations in a nearby motel and moved
in, so he could go for daily treatments. It was 2003.
"In 13 years, this was the first thing that showed any
effect," he says. "It took about a month, but there
were very small changes that meant a lot to me. It had a dramatic
impact on the edema in particular."
Pace says he sits in a Vickers chamber, which looks like
a one-man submarine. It has a huge bubble where his head is,
so he can look around and watch TV or a movie if he wants.
As he is "diving" - a term used by patients as the
chamber is pressurized to a different undersea atmospheric
pressure -he chews gum or licks a lollipop to keep his ears
from popping. Once he is at the right pressure level, his
ears are fine, he says. There is no difference from being
outside the chamber.
Sitting in the chamber is very painful, of course, because
his legs are touching the bed and his arm and hand are resting
in his lap. Otherwise, he has no side effects. On rare occasions,
however, he has struggled a bit with claustrophobia. He just
closes his eyes and visualizes himself elsewhere. It helps
a great deal.
"When I first started coming for this therapy, my hand
was swollen to 26 inches around (67 centimeters)," he
says. "After months of HBOT it was 11 inches (29 centimeters).
The results were phenomenal. There was not a drastic change
in pain, but a little bit means a whole lot to someone in
my shoes."
Spiegel and other therapists find that approximately 20 to
60 daily treatments can give RSD patients huge relief. Because
of the delay in his treatment, however, Pace's condition had
worsened so badly that he continued the therapy for about
a year. He says he was doing extremely well and making lots
of progress until he had a fall and had to stop treatments
for some time. Depression set in and his condition regressed.
He started treatments again in July 2005.
"I am finally on the right track once again and seeing
positive signs all around. My legs have responded very well.
There is almost no drainage. The edema is down considerably.
"I absolutely recommend this therapy to others,"
Pace says.
"It has made a dramatic difference in my life." |
