Phil King, a 25 year Firefighter stationed at Wolverhampton Fire Station, has been utilizing HBOT to treat long-Covid. Photo: West Midlands Fire Service.

Midlands Diving Chamber in Rugby has provided staff members access to hyperbaric oxygen therapy. This therapy has been especially attractive to some Midland Firefighters who were struggling with long Covid.

Phil King has been battling long Covid since his infection back in April 2021.  His journey with Covid has been extremely scary, including being rushed to the hospital for a suspected stroke, irregular blood pressure, dizziness, heart palpitations, and GI issues. Thankfully tests ruled out a stroke, but the struggle was real for King with everyday for the past year being a fight to live, work and try to regain who he was before COVID.

“It also affected me mentally. I often thought I was dying. So many tests came back negative that it felt like the doctors didn’t believe me or had run out of ideas. The only treatment they offered was blood pressure tablets. After months of feeling so ill and not knowing why, being able to have the hyperbaric oxygen therapy really helped both physically and mentally”, states King.

Lisa Slevin is another Firefighter with Midland who benefited from HBOT. A crew commander with the Fire Safety team, she turned to hyperbaric oxygen treatment to heal her long-hauler COVID symptoms.

“I honestly don’t know what I’d have done without it, or even whether I could have returned to work. After week three – wow – all my symptoms had gone. I was back running, in the gym, swimming and the stairs were no longer an issue. The difference between pre- and post-treatment cognitive tests was astonishing. It suddenly became clear why I’d been feeling like a zombie. I’m now back at work and will hopefully be back up to full duties by May. It has been a long journey, but I honestly don’t think this would have been possible without the chamber sessions.”, Slevin exclaims.

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