Advocacy for the recognition of hyperbaric therapy

News 31 March, 2018
  • Photo By Nicolas Lachance
    The signatories in the company of their children and the member of the CAQ, François Paradis, with the hyperbaric chamber.

    Saturday, 31 march 2018 05:00

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    Saturday, 31 march 2018 05:00

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    It is said that the value of a society is measured by the dawn of the treatment that it reserves for its most vulnerable members. In terms of vulnerability, children with disabilities require the most careful attention. However, as parents of children with cerebral palsy, we seek the free treatment that has shown to be more effective.

    Transform the future

    There is not so long ago, everyone thought that children like ours were doomed. We now know that the brain can regenerate itself and work around the affected area. The treatment in the pressurized chamber portable (hyperbaric) promotes this process in a remarkable way and has been proven to improve the autonomy and quality of life of children.

    A decade of scientific research has already demonstrated the positive effects of this treatment, which can accelerate from 25 to 40 times the evolution of children with cerebral palsy. Among these searches figure an international study published in 2014, in which researchers at the CHU Sainte-Justine participated, including the physiatrist specializing in cerebral palsy, Dr. Pierre Marois.

    The testimonials speak for themselves multiply. As the case may be, the children begin to speak, to move, to take an interest in their environment, to use their hands or to become more self-reliant. Sammantha Drouin, the mother of a boy of 13 months, testifies :

    “We have just 40 sessions, and now Leo ramp and he can sit alone for a few seconds. It starts to bring solid food to his mouth. We also stopped her oral gavage. “

    This testimony gives chills to anyone who knows cerebral palsy. The future of this child suddenly comes to transform themselves.

    A denial of care

    Unfortunately, due to the sabotage of a scientific study initiated in 2000 by the research Fund of Quebec-health, the effectiveness of this treatment was soon to be fully recognized. This sad episode has also been revealed in the NFB documentary of 2005, Medicine under the influence.

    Indecency, however, didn’t stop there. In 2007, the Institute for excellence in health and social services (INESSS) recommended that the government fund a study for the closure of the scientific debate and to rectify the errors committed previously. The government has decided to ignore this recommendation.

    For us, there is no doubt that children with cerebral palsy are victims of a denial of care. Families, left to themselves, arranged annually dozens of fund-raisers for access to this treatment and make up for the lack of accountability of the government.

    Recognition inexpensive

    Our children have a lot of potential and they deserve it to invest in them. The recognition of this treatment would be low-cost : with an annual budget of $ 2 million, all of the children with cerebral palsy in Quebec would be treated. This investment would change their lives and the lives of their family, thus saving tens of millions to the State, in particular by reducing the number of hospitalizations, specialized equipment, medications and surgeries. The scientific data accumulate for other brain diseases, and the savings could be multiplied.

    The Coalition avenir Québec (CAQ) has also recently committed to fund a pilot project for children with cerebral palsy who has had the initiative to bring this debate to the national Assembly. We also welcome with optimism the decision by the minister Barrette to mandate quickly INESSS to update its opinion of 2007. We expect parents to be consulted as part of this process, because they are the privileged witnesses of the efficacy of this treatment.

    Moreover, it is more than time that all children with cerebral palsy have access to it ; it is a question of equality and justice.

    The signatories are at the origin of a movement of demands, entitled ” cerebral Palsy : early Intervention and hyperbaric oxygen therapy “.

    Charles-Antoine Sévigny

    Melissa Lebel

    Nadia Bérubé

    Philippe Alain

    Mathieu Huard-Champoux

    Mélyssa Dubois

    Yucca Léonard

    Josiane Baril

    Simon Rocheleau