Four years ago, my daughter Sara was severely injured in a swimming pool accident. Needless to say, the accident caused a multitude of conflicts, but also, it introduced us to amazing people, and the world of technology and treatments used to help people just like Sara. Oxygen therapy in a hyperbaric chamber was among the treatment that helped save her life.

She was under instruction when everything went terribly wrong, and a dive into the pool during a squad meet put her in terrible danger, and her spinal cord was compromised. I still have nightmares from that day, it’s something I’ll never forget. Seeing your daughter unconscious under the water is a sight I hope other parents never have to endure. She had done some permanent damage to her spinal cord, and was in for a long recovery. 

We later found out about treatment through oxygen therapy. Melbourne hospitals already relied upon it to treat a number of problems, among pressure sickness and wound healing, and we found out from an independent advisor that it could sometimes assist with problems similar to ours.

She’d always been a busy, athletic kid, and although not scared of water, she’d never expressed much of an interest in swimming until her best friend joined the beginners ‘squad’. Naturally, they wanted to spend as much time as possible together. We had no reason to worry and thought she was safe.

Parents can be wrong a lot. But this was something we were wrong about and could never have predicted. We could never have known that letting her drop other commitments to join the squad would alter our lives so drastically. Our daughter has a good chance of recovery provided she doesn’t give up. We’ve been introduced to great communities of people facing similar ordeals, and we know that the biggest single factor in halting progress is failing to try. So, we try everything, until there is nothing else left. Our daughter deserves nothing less.