Well day one is over and I’m still standing :). Hyperbaric is certainly something that I never anticipated I would have to do in my life, but now I will add to a list of experiences that will hopefully give me more wisdom moving forward. To give you guys a glimpse of the chamber I’m adding a photo. It’s far more comfortable than any MRI or pet scan machine and sure beats having to wear a mask over my face for radiation, so I’m moving on up to the penthouse when it comes to comfort and medical treatment! It took long enough to become a VIP!



Here’s a little insight into the process and what my days will look like for a while. Everyday Monday thru Friday I need to be at the hospital before 8am to be prepped and assessed by the doc, vitals taken, breathing checked, and most importantly examining the inside of my ears. I change into 100% cotton gown and am not allowed to wear anything into the chamber that I wasn’t born with. No make up, deodorant, lotion, hair products, nail polish, jewelry and so on. Those of you that know me know that those items are extremely important to my daily routine, so leaving the house without my make up is quite traumatizing!



Once I’m cleared by the doc, I am given a bracelet that grounds me to the chamber, a water bottle, and some blankets because it can get cold. I am loaded into a clear chamber where I can’t here anything but the sounds of the machine and the volume from the tv that is filtered in. The respiratory therapist Lisa is awesome and can talk to me through a phone while I am on my “descent.” Today they brought the pressure of the chamber up slowly over 20 minutes until I was at a depth of about 33 feet below water. Throughout the descent, I had to use multiple strategies to make sure my ears popped accordingly. Think about making your ears pop once when on an airplane, and multiply that to constantly over a 20 minute period. Needless the say my jaw is exhausted by all of the movement required. Once I was “down,” all I had to do was lay there and watch a movie while breathing in 100% oxygen for 90 minutes. There is a risk of oxygen toxicity, so I have a mask that will provide me room air if I show symptoms of that. The staff can hear everything inside the chamber without the need for a phone or call button (although they give you one anyway), but all I can hear is the machine and the tv unless Lisa picks up the phone to check in or ask a question. I’m hopeful that as I get more comfortable this will be a great time to nap but who knows. Aside from the ear adjustments, I feel the same in the chamber as I do out, no floating, tingling, or any other odd sensations (bummer).
Once the 90 minutes is up, they started to bring me back up over a 15 minute period. Up was definitely easier than down and seemed to move quicker while also requiring a little less movement to make my ears adjust. When I’m taken out of the chamber, my vitals are taken again and the doc has to check my breathing and ears to make sure there are no negative side effects such as a ruptured eardrum. Because of radiation, my eardrums are stiff and fibrotic just like the rest of my tissue and head and neck cancer patients are prone to ruptured eardrums or inability to adjust to the pressure with hyperbaric treatment more so than other populations. If that happens, I will need to have tubes put in my ears in order to continue treatment. Radiation certainly is the gift that keeps on giving.
Once I was cleared by the doc I changed and was on my way to work, only a little later than expected and very sore! Thank God for pain meds. Now each day the descent and ascent process will shorten as long as my ears adjust properly so it will be about 110 minutes in the chamber all together once we get rolling. I’m still working Monday through Thursday and thankfully many of my patients were flexible and willing to change times to stay on my caseload which I am grateful for. As of right now, I am scheduled to have my tooth extracted on June 25th, but that will move up if there are any cancellations. Once it’s pulled I will start ten more treatments ASAP to make sure I am at my best to heal. So much for one pesky tooth, but worth it to avoid infection and loss of bone or additional teeth in the future.
Aside from hyperbaric I am also following up with a new physical medicine doc to work on medication management at the end of the month. The regimen I am on works fairly well, but will not allow me to safely have a child in the future when we choose to start trying. So the next step is finding a regimen that allows me to have relief and a baby to grow safely. Fingers crossed there is a solution, with the wedding fast approaching this is something very much on our minds. I am also in the process of determining what needs to be done to regulate my thyroid levels so appointments for that take time up as well. It will be nice come July when things settle down a little and we can just focus on a clear 3 year scan, wedding festivities and a fabulous honeymoon!

Well that’s it :) I will update you all if anything exciting happens, but truthfully I’m hopeful that the next month will be extremely uneventful and all will go well!
If you have any more questions about the treatment feel free to check in with me and ask!
Thank you all for the ongoing support, love and prayers. Your faith in my strength is what keeps me going everyday.
Devin