Hello. My name is Janice Hunt a long term member here at The Brightwell. You may well recognise me, I have bright red hair!
I have had MS for many years and have been a member at Brightwell for a long time, going back to the days when the Centre was based in Nailsea. I used to be a Grants Officer for the MS Society many years ago and supported the Nailsea Centre and the members with grants when required, but I never directly used the facilities at the Centre, as I felt that I did not need to back then.
In March 2023, I was on holiday in Fuerteventura, Canary Islands, in an accessible room with the shiniest floor that I have ever seen and slipped and broke my left tibia. This was extremely painful, as you can imagine and something else that I didn’t need on top of my MS which was already compromising my walking and balance.
Back in Bristol, the struggle continued. As I live in a townhouse and I could not get up the stairs, I was unable to access the shower. I rang Doro, our lovely CEO, and asked if I could use the accessible shower facilities at the Centre, for a donation. Doro agreed and I did this regularly for 4 weeks.
After being X-rayed again at Southmead, the break was not healing as it should and Doro said “Janice, you are going in the Chamber!” So, I had Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy three times a week over a period of six weeks. At the next X-ray we could see that my tibia was now healing really well. I could now weight-bare and could get upstairs to shower at home, as I could stand unsupported, which was a huge relief to me!
Since then, I have had two full knee-replacements and have continued to have my weekly session of Hyperbaric Oxygen as well as twice weekly physiotherapy. The operations went really well and I believe my healing, both internally and the large surgical scars, would not have healed so quickly and so well without the Oxygen Therapy.
What I didn’t realise was how much the oxygen would also help me in managing my MS symptoms. My sleep is so much better, which makes such a huge difference and I feel so well in myself.
The Orthopaedic Surgeon, who operated on my Tibia and both knees is an advocate of Oxygen Therapy and said that oxygen aids healing.
I am delighted with my progress and how well I am doing and always look forward to days out with friends, now that I am unhindered by major mobility issues.
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