Keith getting life back on track following long Covid infection

If you wish to meet someone who swears by the power of hyperbaric oxygenation treatment (HBOT), meet Ballinalsoe native Keith Cunningham.

A full-time paramedic for the National Ambulance Service in Athlone, the 46-year-old, who now resides in Birr, Co. Offaly, saw his life turned upside down when he contracted Covid in early January 2021 during work. He became sick very quickly and was hospitalised, and he had Covid for a month and a half.

"It was a long and drawn out thing," he told. " According to all the blood tests, I was infectious for almost a full month. I developed very severe respiratory problems. The doctors told me it was like my lungs were wrapped in broken glass.

"I was told I had damaged my lungs, severe gastric problems, joint problems and terrible brain fog.

“The fog feels like waking up drunk and not being able to speak for two to three hours, staggering around the place. I was absolutely exhausted. All I could do was lie down."

Keith came across HBOT when a young female boxer in the UK, Rachel Ball, got Covid and used a hyperbaric oxygen chamber to gradually improve her symptoms. He knew of a chamber in University College Hospital Galway but found great difficulty in getting into the chamber. But following a phone call with his mother, who heard about the OxyGeneration centre in the heart of Galway City, he contacted them to set up the sessions and he had done 30 as of last week.

"I did a session every day back-to-back. Initially it was 10, then 20. Then I went up to 30 sessions and I did them everyday. After around five to seven sessions, I started to feel a physical improvement.

"My brain fog in the morning was getting shorter and shorter. This time last year, I wouldn't be able to have this conversation. You'd think I was a junkie or drunk. When they did a CT scan of my lungs, they found I had close to 25% permanent lung damage. A recent scan showed no damage to my lungs and the doctors couldn't believe it."

Keith is still off work at the moment but incredibly, he is hoping to return in the next few weeks on a phased basis. He recommends the facility to anyone with long-term issues.

"This has changed my life. The way your cells react to the pressurised oxygen is phenomenal. The more I got into it, the more I learned about it. I started back in the gym two weeks ago and I'm hoping to get my life back on track."