Before narrowly surviving a drowning incident. 3 year-old Robert Boytim was described by his father as having sparkly blue eyes and a slight giggle and a people person who smiles when someone new walks in the room.
On Feb 28, 2018, Robert was found unresponsive in a pond near their home after anywhere from 5-15 minutes of submersion. He was given CPR by his sister, mother and EMS and was then transported to Texas Children’s in The Woodlands where he was in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) for 37 days. His father, William Boytim is an injured diver who had a background with hyperbaric oxygen therapy and knew they needed to get Robert to a hyperbaric chamber as soon as possible.
Here is Robert’s father, William Boytim telling his story to on ABC KSAT 12.
(This video also includes another patient, Connor and his mother, Amy Grady.)
Robert was denied treatment in Houston and around the Conroe area, eventually waiting 37 days before Robert was discharged to travel to us, outside New Orleans – Marrero, Lousiana – to being treatment with Dr Harch. When Robert first came in to visit Dr. Harch, his spine was curved completely backwards, locked into a position where his head was almost touching his rear end. We began treatment almost immediately after the family arrived. After two days of hyperbaric treatments, his muscles relaxed and on the third day his bend was gone and he began laughing, this can be seen in the following videoThe
Hyperbaric Institute Drowned Children’s Project
The Drowned Children’s Project is an initiative of Will and Beverly Boytim and Dr. Paul Harch to advance the application of hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) to acutely drowned children. The foundation of this project was the Boytim’s inability to obtain HBOT for their acutely drowned son Robert in Texas. Delayed until hospital discharge Robert finally received HBOT and experienced a dramatic acceleration of his recovery that continues to this day. Robert Boytim was the 45th of now 100+ children treated by Dr. Harch since 1989.
Through Will Boytim’s tireless advocacy at Texas Children’s Hospital a small group of physicians was impressed enough with Robert Boytim’s response to HBOT that they requested published scientific evidence on HBOT in drowned children as a prerequisite to launching a formal clinical research study on acutely drowned children. The only evidence known at this time is the 100+ child experiences in New Orleans.
The Hyperbaric Institute Drowned Children’s Project is an initiative to raise $150,000 to hire research staff to perform a retrospective study of all 100+ children treated by Dr. Harch. Dr. Harch, the pediatric intensivists, neurologists, and radiologist will donate their time and expertise. These children’s outcomes will be compared to a group of drowned children who did not receive HBOT. Thus far $62,000 has been raised through the Hyperbaric Institute, a 501c3 non-profit corporation founded and directed by Dr. Harch that has funded multiple studies in the past 10 years. Please support this effort with your tax-deductible donations and help us bring the science and this treatment to drowned children worldwide.
Will and Beverly Boytim
Paul G. Harch, M.D.
The families have purchased their own hyperbaric chamber and will continue treatment under the consultation of Dr. Harch. Here you can see the exit video for Robert, originally he didn’t react at all to the little roller that Dr. Harch used on his arms and legs.
William Boytim said “Robert suffered a hypoxic brain injury; through my own research, I have learned that if you hit the kid or adult hard with these oxygen treatments within a 90-minute to the 6-day window of time, you stop the damage,” Will said. “After the 30-day period, then it is a focused approach to rehabilitation and rebuilding skills.”
“Robert is like a 33 lb. newborn,” Will added. “We’ve come a long way and still have a long way to go. We estimate it will be two years of concentrated work. Learning about hyperbaric oxygen therapy has become a passion for me; I want to share with other parents that near-drowning is not a death sentence – there are options.”
To continue to follow Robert Boytim’s story, please visit their Facebook Page @helprobertboytim
Will Boytim also encourages any parents or others who have questions regarding hyperbaric oxygen therapy to email him at [email protected]
