Day 3 videos

This is getting into the chamber, playing inside, and getting out!

Day 3

I have to say that Olivia has been happier lately. She still fights getting dressed and her hair done, but on the whole, she's been more cheerful and playful. For example, when Olivia was coming home today on the bus, she saw me through the bus window and started smiling, clapping and vocalizing. She energetically came off the bus and chased me up the driveway. Also, last night when we got home, I put Eve to sleep and came downstairs to find Olivia playing very nicely with playdoh. (her favorite) It was different though..she was squeezing it and pressing it into the table and her belly. She was pushing her fingers into it much stronger than I've ever seen her. It was good! Olivia also got a good report from school today. Her teacher wrote that she did very well with her 1:1 instruction. She mastered 2 simple commands: stand up and clap hands. Its a start!

Everyday on the way to the HBOT center, we play the “Baby Can Read” video and tape her watching it. Today she did much better! It sounded like she said “Hi” while waving and tried to say “dog” but it sounded more like “gog” Its coming! She's also quicker to follow the commands, clap, arms up, arms down, open mouth, touch your nose.

Surprisingly, I'm getting more nervous each time we come to the HBOT center. In my mind I'm trying to stay positive. I was hoping Olivia would want to take a nap in the chamber, but she always falls asleep on the way there. I can't help but worry that I'll need to pee while in the chamber and there's nothing I can do. Yeah... that came to fruition today...it doesn't help that Olivia likes to rest on top of me. The last ten minutes were tough. When we got out, I had to rush to the bathroom, which is out of the office and down the hall! I didn't even put my shoes on!

Olivia anticipated the chamber earlier today. Yesterday it was when we took our shoes off. Today it was when we got out of the car. I gave her some granola bar thinking maybe she's getting hungry in there and we can't bring anything in with us except a drink. Maybe I'll try bringing one in tomorrow. The only problem with that is, I'm probably gonna get soaked in her drool. Its bad enough when she's crying that her tears, drool, and yes, runny nose get all over me! (Thats being a mom for ya!) With a drink, its just gonna get wetter.

It seemed a little stuffier today..I felt warmer and was afraid the glass would fog up. It was like being in a car with the engine turned off in the rain. I'm glad the glass didn't fog up, that would've freaked me out! The air is coming from behind my head, so I think the pillow was blocking it a little.. Tomorrow I'll use a flatter pillow.

As time went by, I got more anxious, (as my bladder felt fuller) and Olivia got calmer. I'm thinking tomorrow will be better. Grandma and Eve are coming tomorrow!

VID00023

This is Olivia on our way to the first HBOT session.

Videos and Pics

Ok...so I'm just learning here, but here is a video of going into our first dive and a pic of Olivia just hanging out in the chamber.



This video is our first few moments in the chamber..I'm not sure if Olivia is complaining or singing. You can see her rub her ears as we are reaching pressure.

Day 2

Olivia came home from school very happy. On the hour drive to the center, Olivia took a nap. I don't know if that was a good thing or not. When we got there, we went right in. Olivia didn't seem too happy about going back in. She started frowning as we were taking off our shoes. She was whining as we slid into the chamber and was cranky most of the dive. We tried changing the movie two times and that helped a little. The problem is that she doesn't want to be on her back looking up at the t.v. , so she is looking at me or around the room and just hears the movie. I got her to watch Barney for awhile and she was calm, but it was short-lived. When we had about 15 minutes left, Olivia signed “all done.” There was some crying then..and she looked like she wanted to get out, but the tech then put on Elmo and she calmed down for the rest of the time.

Did I say that the chamber was tight? I wish I would've lost a few pounds beforehand, so there would be more room to get comfortable. I thought I would've felt more claustrophic. I had a fear of submarines, but since the chamber is clear, I focus on outside the chamber and not the boundaries of the glass. Its also nice and cool, and you can feel the air coming in, which helps alot. Its easy for my mind to wander into scary thoughts, but I work hard to keep them at bay and distract myself with Olivia or the t.v.

I think the time went a little faster today..maybe cause I was working hard to keep Olivia happy. When we slid out, Olivia didn't even try to get up. My dad lifted her off me and then she was all happy and energetic again. We play 'ready, set, go!' and ran down the hall to the bathroom. Supposedly the pressure of the chamber affects your bladder...I don't think having Olivia laying on my bladder helps either. My dad showed Olivia how to press the button on the water fountain. She thought it was hilarious!

Onto day 3!

First HBOT Session

We made it through our first HBOT session! I was a little nervous/excited...but luckily it all went well. On our drive there, I let Olivia watch a “My Baby Can Read” video. Not because I necessarily desire her to read right now, but its still good for her and she really likes it! I taped her watching it and we can compare her response to it weekly.

Olivia was happy to be at the office, its very pretty there. We checked in and went over to the chamber room. There are three chambers side by side and a little boy was getting into one. Olivia was fine sitting on the stretcher, but when we needed her to lay down so that they could slide her in, she cried. The tech suggested I go in with her, so I took off my jacket and shoes and layed on stretcher. Olivia layed on me and she pushed us in. With Oliiva on top of me, there wasn't any extra room above her. It was tight! Eventually Olivia slid down my body and hung out by my legs. The chamber is perfectly clear and we could easily see everything around us and could hear the hiss of the oxygen being pumped in and the music of “Wiggly Wiggly Christmas” (Olivia's favorite video)

It all happened so fast, I did'n't have time to think about it...and I'm guessing thats a good thing. My ears started popping..Olivia doesn't know to swallow and I forgot in the rush to bring in her drink. She was rubbing her ears, but didn't seem to be in any discomfort. We sang along with the video most of the time and played with Grandpa through the glass. My parents are really helping us through this adventure. Grandma is staying home with Eve, and is preparing us dinner. Grandpa is driving us, staying with us, and video taping. We are very thankful for their help! Thank you!

The time went fairly quickly..Olivia and I snuggled, sang, looked around..etc. Decompressing wasn't too bad, Olivia was whining, but I also think she was tired. When we slid out, Olivia was very happy, babbling a lot and full of energy! We ran around the lobby for awhile since we have a long ride back. She was very thirsty and hungry on the ride home. I'm glad my mom packed snacks, cause she ate a whole PB&J sandwich, some pretzel rods and yogurt raisens.

We took alot of videos and a couple pics, so I'll try to post them as soon as I can.

Preparing for HBOT

We are starting HyperBaric Oxygen Therapy on Monday. This is an experimental treatment which has been showing promising (amazing) results with children that have autism, sensory processing disorders, and gross motor issues. We are hoping this therapy will 'push' Olivia forward with her verbal skills, her sensory needs, and motor skills.

Olivia is not autistic. However, she shares a lot of the same needs that autistic children have. She is 3.5 years old and has not started talking yet. It just seems like her brain is not wired correctly to produce words. She is doing amazingly well with PECs (picture exchange cards) She knows what she wants and is understanding what she hears more and more. She just can't repeat what she hears! HBOT supersaturates the blood and organs with oxygen and increases the release of stem cells...this will hopefully allow Olivia to heal herself. The doctors and specialists cannot find anything wrong with Olivia, so they can't treat her.

Olivia LOVES music...she loves to dance and sing. One day I started singing "High Hopes" and even though she has never heard this song before, Olivia started singing along very enthusiastically and loudly! It was amazing...

So here we are...starting out on yet another adventure. We don't know how this will work for Olivia, but we certainly have HIGH HOPES!!