Jean-Paul van der Heijden (44) from Oosterhout thought for a long time that he would never get rid of his lung covid complaints. Until he started with a special method in Waalwijk last November, where he was treated in a special cabin for eight weeks. “I have my life back.”
For Jean-Paul, the misery started at the end of 2020. “I got infected in the second wave. Before that I was a busy boy, but from that moment on I didn’t know myself anymore. If I had done something one day, I was lying there the next next really off. At that time I was 41. I thought: if this continues, I won’t enjoy it for long.”
He has tried several treatments over the past two years. “From the physiotherapist to respiratory therapies. Sometimes with effect, but that quickly weakened again. Plus, you mainly learned how to deal with your illness. That did not suit me. In the end, you are still ill.”
The breakthrough came last November, when Jean-Paul heard about a special treatment method at the Da Vinci Clinic in Waalwijk. There he sat – after a referral from his lung specialist – for eight weeks, five days a week, in a special tank for about two hours.
“Patients breathe pure oxygen through a special mask for 20 minutes.”
How that works, explains doctor Mommers, his treating physician. “Patients enter the cabin, after which we increase the pressure to 2.5 atmospheres, which is comparable to the pressure at 15 meters underwater. They then breathe pure oxygen through a mask for 20 minutes. Then they have a five-minute break to take a sip of water. After all, it is very dry air. We repeat that process four times.”
But what exactly is the effect? “Because a lot of oxygen is dissolved in the blood, new blood vessels are formed in the damaged tissue. So far they have all improved. Especially cognitively. Think of improved concentration or being able to perform tasks better.”
That goes double and straight for Jean-Paul. “The treatment itself is super-intensive. When I got home, I was immediately passed out on the couch. Then I really had to be woken up after about four hours. But after about four weeks I noticed the progress. At first I just dared unbelieveable.”
“I would not have dared to dream of this outcome beforehand.”
Now he does. And how: “I would not have dared to dream of this outcome beforehand. I feel reborn. Last week I was on holiday with my wife. She said: ‘It seems as if you were baked again in that cabin’. That describes it perfectly .”
On Monday it was announced that hard money is needed for more research into lung covid. Researchers with rare knowledge about the disease would move on to other projects because the Ministry of Health does not fund their salaries. And the method with the oxygen tank, for example, is not yet reimbursed, because there is too little scientific evidence.
Evidence or not: for Jean-Paul it was the solution. “I can now rebuild my condition. If I have exercised one day, I will have old-fashioned muscle pain again the next day. Even that was nice to feel again.”
READ ALSO: Too little money for lung covid research: scientists are going to do other work