It’s here everybody. We are all, well and truly, living in the space age. Technology has one-upped itself and reached a whole new level of crazy to help us prolong our lives and live (nearly) forever. I’m not talking about wonder drugs, or cosmetic surgery, or space travel, or cryogenic freezing, or anything too crazy. I’m talking about a form of science that’s almost scarily applicable and accessible: the humble hyperbaric chamber.
You guys I am not joking around here, this is some pretty crazy stuff. My grandma’s doctor just recommended that she begin hyperbaric oxygen therapy, but she’s a little bit out of it these days, so when she told me about it, it kind of sounded kind of ridiculous. I couldn’t really make heads or tails of it, and neither could my sister, so we decided to Google the whole thing and find out what on earth was going on. Apparently, it’s all the range in Melbourne now, these hyperbaric oxygen therapies. Originally, from the looks of it, I thought it was some kind of super expensive treatment used for famous people and athletes, but since grandma’s all over it, they must be rolling it out to the general public. In any case, it’s supposed to help heal injuries and that kind of thing by increasing the amount of oxygen in the air for about an hour. That then makes parts of your body regenerate and heal more quickly, which in turn makes recovery easier and improves your overall level of wellbeing. It makes sense if you think about it – oxygen is the part of the air our bodies actually need to function properly, so having more of it should help us to function better. That’s pretty logical, right?
Well, grandma didn’t understand any of that. It sounded completely ridiculous coming out of her mouth … I should probably tell her to stop telling people what she told me.