https://www.star-telegram.com/news/local/community/fort-worth/article214584265.htmlWhen Navy SEAL died during Thailand cave rescue, this North Texas doctor intervenedFor the past two weeks, the whole world has been mesmerized by the plight of 12 boys and their soccer coach trapped inside a cave in Thailand.
On the other side of the world here in Texas, one doctor has done his part to help the rescue efforts.
Dr. Renie Guilliod, 56, medical director of hyperbaric medicine at the Institute for Exercise and Environmental Medicine in Dallas, became involved in an advisory role when he heard that a former Thai Navy SEAL team member died Friday preparing for the rescue mission.
He sent an email to the governor of the province of Chiang Rai, Thailand, about the dangerous levels of carbon dioxide inside the cave.
"No one was mentioning the air quality which was at 15 percent" Guilliod said. "Normally in properly ventilated conditions human beings breath in 20 to 21 percent oxygen, which is fine. But if it had dropped to 15 percent then that meant that the carbon dioxide levels had to increase to at least 5 percent.
"These high levels of CO2 not only aggravate hypoxia because they affect the transport of oxygen to tissues, but they are also highly toxic."
From that point he was communicating with the Thai Navy SEALS through email, said Guilliod, also a faculty member at UT Southwestern Medical Center.
He proposed a set of solutions to stop the increase in carbon dioxide, how to breathe a lesser amount and how to reduce the levels inside the cave.
"Restricting the childrens' physical activity is crucial because the more they breathe, the more carbon dioxide level will increase," Guilliod said.
He also suggested moving the boys to a higher area inside the cave where they are now stationed to keep them breathing more oxygen and less carbon dioxide.
