Meet Shawn McIver
In the spring of 1997, Shawn McIver was an active 27-year-old – racing motocross, bowling in multiple leagues, skiing, and playing softball. He also enjoyed riding his motorcycle, until an accident that April left him paralyzed from the waist down.
“My whole life changed,” Shawn recalls. “When you can’t do what you love anymore, you have no way of releasing that energy. It all just builds up.”
As the years went by, Shawn adjusted to using a wheelchair. He had few health concerns for nearly two decades until a sore began to form near his tailbone in September 2016.
“My gym pants were rubbing against my skin in that area, and it eventually progressed to a big open wound,” Shawn explains. “The location was the worst part because every time I moved in a way that put pressure on that spot, the wound would open up.”
The Path to UPMC
Shawn spent a few painful years waiting on a resolution. His wound eventually grew to the size of an egg, and he developed a bone infection known as osteomyelitis. This ordeal not only impacted him physically, but his mental health was hurting as well.
“My red blood cell count was way higher than it should be,” Shawn says. “I couldn’t eat or drink. I went from 140 pounds down to 103. It was miserable.”
It wasn’t long before Shawn had his first encounter with Bryan Doner, DO, from UPMC Wound Healing Services at UPMC Horizon.
“Once I met Dr. Doner, everything changed,” Shawn says. “The guy is a lifesaver. He explained exactly what he was going to do. I don’t know where I would be if it wasn’t for him.”
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy
Dr. Doner outlined a comprehensive treatment plan for Shawn that included extended antibiotics, optimized wound dressings, and proper nutrition. He was also prescribed hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT), which delivers a greater-than-normal amount of oxygen to a patient’s body tissues. The result is stimulated growth factors and stem cells, ultimately strengthening the body’s natural wound healing process.
Shawn’s total of 60 HBOT sessions started in November 2022. He made the trip from his home in Lawrence County, Pa. to the wound care office in Farrell five days a week, spending two hours on a bed inside of a clear acrylic chamber.
“I didn’t know what to expect,” Shawn recalls. “It takes about five to 10 minutes to reach the right level of pressure, but once you get there, everything feels fine. I just watched TV and never felt claustrophobic because I could still see people.”
“I couldn’t…but now I can.”
Shawn finished his HBOT sessions in February 2023 and says he now feels better than he has in years. He’s comfortably sitting up in a chair again, instead of lying in bed. He’s also doing the “little things that most people take for granted.”
“For a long time, I couldn’t go to the store, a movie, a Pirates game. It makes you depressed when you can’t do activities like that, but now I can.”
And Shawn is thankful for Dr. Doner and the team at UPMC Horizon who helped him get his life back.
“I miss those people,” Shawn explains. “They care about you. They remember your name, your face, the injury you’re dealing with. They take a real interest in their patients. You don’t find that everywhere.
“I’ve dealt with plenty of hospitals and nursing staffs. You can sometimes see the looks on people’s faces when you ask them a question, like you’re bothering them. Not at UPMC.”
Shawn’s treatment and results may not be representative of all similar cases.
