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The mother of a 5-year-old Michigan boy who died in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber explosion while receiving treatment for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and sleep apnea jumped into flames to try and save her son, according to the family’s attorney.
Annie Cooper was sitting in a waiting room while her son, Thomas Cooper, received treatment in the chamber containing 100% oxygen on Jan. 31 at The Oxford Center in Troy, about 24 miles north of Detroit.
“She was in the waiting room and was alerted that … something wrong had happened. She rushed back to where her son was, and she tried and tried and tried to get him out and … was unable to,” James Harrington of Fieger Law told Fox News Digital. “She sustained serious, significant burns in that attempt to rescue her child.”
Fieger Law is investigating the incident, and Harrington believes The Oxford Center “was understaffed and did not have the resources for an emergency like this.”
Patients who receive hyperbaric chamber treatment will “enter a special chamber to breathe in pure oxygen in air pressure levels 1.5 to 3 times higher than average,” according to Johns Hopkins. (Daily News and Wicked Local Staff Photo/Ken McGagh/USA TODAY NETWORK)
“They prey on people that are desperate to help family members, help their children, help loved ones, and to provide this oxygen therapy and make the condition less impactful in their life,” Harrington explained, adding that hyperbaric chambers are not “regulated” in Michigan like they are in other states.
The Oxford Center did not respond to an inquiry from Fox News Digital.
The Cooper family’s attorney plans to file a lawsuit in the coming weeks after the boy’s death in a hyperbaric chamber. (Cooper family handout)
Hyperbaric chambers have been used in the United States since the 20th century. They are typically used to treat decompression sickness for scuba divers, carbon monoxide poisoning, gangrene and certain kinds of wounds or injuries that won’t heal on their own, according to Johns Hopkins.
Annie and her husband, Thomas’ father, James Cooper, buried the 5-year-old on Feb. 13. Thomas “was known to all his friends, family, and teachers as a curious, energetic, smart, outgoing, and thoughtful little boy,” his obituary states.
“His favorite activities were running, jumping, rolling, and stomping. He was just starting music and dance classes. He was also attending preschool,” it reads. The 5-year-old wanted to be a chef when he grew up so he could “cook with Mommy and Daddy and stay with them forever.”