When we first started hyperbaric oxygen therapy, the idea of doing 40 dives felt so daunting. Perhaps it was only because we could do one per day – or perhaps it was because the idea of being squeezed in a tube with a wiggly (and pinching, biting, and screaming) toddler was a bit too much. But when we packed up Solly and Bea to head to our 40th and final dive, I found myself already missing the very special one-on-one time I was able to have with Solly every day.

Spending Mother’s Day with my boy

When I blogged about the gains we noticed after the first 20 dives, I mentioned that Solly was acting more like a 2 year old than he ever had before (hello, emotions!), he began making new sounds and even came close to using words, his normally tight limbs were becoming looser, and he had gotten strong enough to start bouncing when in a kneeling position.

With the second half of our treatment, we saw those gains continue to strengthen and grow. For example, in his new favorite bouncy move, he started to shift to almost walking on his knees, moving his legs reciprocally:

On top of those, we really saw him become more interactive with his surrounding environment. Instead of simply lying next to me and only playing with me or watching a show on the TV, he became more interested in sitting up and observing what was going on outside the chamber. He’d play peek-a-boo with the person in the chamber across from ours, mimic someone standing outside the chamber, or just be snoopy and watch what the technician was doing. It was really cool to see this awareness develop!

We’re excited to continue to watch Solly develop and grow as a result of HBOT, and we only hope that we can continue to build on these gains. But for now, it’s play time until we move onto the next big thing!

Swinging in the park at Hilton Head Island