Vern Reum was willing to give anything a chance. His wife Roxanne had battled cancer for years, the pain progressively getting worse and worse. She'd always wanted to live by the water, and her doctor recommended living in a tropical area. Vern bought a house in La Paz, Mexico, traveling back and forth to help his wife be comfortable and to continue running his business, the Tire Depot, in Pablo. While the nice weather of Mexico did help his wife's outlook, Vern found another solution in 2008 about 1,000 miles north of La Paz in San Diego, Calif. There, a doctor recommended a hyperbaric chamber, a pressurized, high oxygen unit, to help his wife find relief. Vern purchased one of the expensive, rare machines and set it up in his home.

The results were immediate, he said.

"Personally, it's done wonders for me and helped my wife," Vern said. "Her last year of cancer, she was in the worst pain you can imagine. She slept in that machine up to six hours a day. She could get rest in the chamber, it's relaxing and relieves a lot of stress problems."

Roxanne passed away recently, but Vern is confident the machine eased her pain during her final months. After the positive experiences he had with the machine, Vern decided that he would offer the machine to locals at a cheap price, charging prices half of what was recommended and what comparable businesses charge.

He opened Polson Hyperbaric Oxygen on U.S. Highway 93 in downtown Polson in mid-January, giving community members the chance to utilize one of only three hyperbaric chambers in the state of Montana.

"I feel, personally, that they are one of the best healing machines out there," Vern said. "I'm not a doctor and I don't claim to be. I'm not looking to get rich out of this. I just think it holds a lot of promise for people who have ailments that won't heal."

Studies of the effects of hyperbaric chambers have backed up Vern's assessment and personal experience. The original chamber was created in 1664 and has traditionally been used to treat the bends, or decompression sickness experienced by divers. The chamber creates a pressure of oxygen higher than our atmosphere, and is said to increase oxygen flow into body tissue and increase the oxygen carrying capacity of blood cells throughout the body.

Vern said these benefits make it ideal for stroke victims and people who have suffered head traumas, but he also believes it can benefit almost any injury or problem someone has.

An athlete all his life, Vern still plays basketball a few times each week. When he pulled his hamstring a month ago, Vern jumped in the chamber. After only a few sessions and two and a half weeks, he was able to get back on the court at full strength. He said he may have rushed himself and re-injured the muscle, but the relief it gave him was undeniable.

The last year or so has been tough for Vern. His wife of nearly 40 years passed away, he reluctantly sold his tire business and his house burned to the ground in a fluke fire on Jan. 2. But at the same time, things are looking up. He reacquired Tire Depot after the buyer defaulted and he says business is better than ever. His house is already being rebuilt at its same location in Pablo and should be ready by May. And most importantly, he is able to offer a service he feels can afford people pain relief in a place he has called home for just about 60 years.

"I love the people, I love everything about it; it's my home," Vern said of the Mission Valley. "I just want to make it available to everybody locally here in this tight economy because I know it's going to benefit stroke patients, autistic children and people with cerebral palsy and fibromyalgia."