Sunday, March 26, 2000
New therapy holds hope for girl, 7
Crash bruised child's brain
BY KARI-LYNN DEAN
Enquirer Contributor
In the last four years, Miranda Bowen has met more people than many adults do in a lifetime.
Unfortunately, most of those meetings have been with doctors and nurses.
She is well-traveled for a 7-year-old, too. But most of her destinations have involved hospitals.
This weekend, Miranda, of Hebron, is in Canada for her first round of hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) therapy, an experimental treatment her parents hope will help her live a life more typical for a 7-year-old.
They're hoping it may help her to walk, to talk, and to play.
Today Miranda can walk only with a special walker that completely supports her with posts between her legs, and shoulder harnesses. Her muscles stay so tight that both of her legs once came out of her hip sockets.
She can say only a few words. Her favorite is “hungry.” She blinks her eyes to indicate “no” and raises her arm for “yes.”
Miranda was not born this way. She suffered a traumatic injury called sheering four years ago, just a few weeks before her third birthday.
A truck struck her mother's car broadside one day, spinning it. The impact caused Miranda's brain stem to stretch, and caused serious bruising to her brain, said her uncle, David Banks of Hebron.
To help Miranda's parents pay for the new treatment she's receiving in Canada, Mr. Banks organized a fund-raising motorcycle show this weekend at Crestview Hills Mall.
Saturday and today, members of the Northern Kentucky chapter of the Gold Wing Road Riders Association, including Mr. Banks, are showing off about 25 pristine Honda Gold Wings near the main fountain inside the mall.
A People's Choice competition encourages visitors to vote for their favorite motorcycle by putting money in that bike's assigned collection box. The owner of the bike with the greatest amount will receive a trophy, and all proceeds will help pay for Miranda's oxygen therapy.
Hyperbaric oxygen is a mode of therapy in which the patient breathes 100 percent oxygen at pressures greater than normal at mospheric (sea level) pressure. Normally the air we breathe contains 21 percent oxygen.
For years the therapy has been recognized as the definitive treatment for decompression sickness, diving-related problems and carbon monoxide poisoning. Today doctors are realizing some effectiveness in speeding other kinds of healing.
The healing rate speeds up, they believe, because of the rapid increase of oxygen supply to the brain, which rejuvenates damaged brain cells and stimulates those that aren't normally used.
That benefit is especially important for Miranda, who lost about 30 percent of her brain cells in the accident.
Miranda and her mother must travel to Canada for the therapy because its cost in the United States is about four times greater. Each treatment lasts about an hour, and it's done twice a day for three weeks. She will need about 200 to 300 treatments.
Her parents still need about $44,000 to continue the treatment. Their health insurance tapped out at $300,000, although the bills have been in the millions.
Though they receive some assistance from the state of Kentucky, the HBO treatment is not covered because it is still considered experimental for this type of injury.
Experimental or not, Miranda's father, Jim Bowen, was ecstatic when his wife called from Canada last week to report seeing immediate results.
“Her hands are loosening up — she can hold a spoon and feed herself for the first time,” he said.
Mr. Bowen remains optimistic about Miranda's future. He continues to surf the Internet looking for new treatments.
He said he believes in his daughter's ability to persist, observing that through her nine surgeries and continuing daily challenges, she has been “a fighter and a half.”
People interested in contributing to Miranda's medical expenses can attend the Spring Motorcycle Show at Crestview Hills Mall today from noon to 5 p.m. Donations can be made to Miranda Bowen Savings at any Firstar Bank location.
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