Mikayla’s journey has been one of hardship, resilience, and hope. My name is John and I am here today to ask for your help with providing Mikayla with access to life-changing therapy.

Where It All Began...

This story began the Winter of '98-99. I was a young college student, still living at home, and decided to embark on a 3 week surf trip with 2 friends to the very tiny island of Barbados located in the western Atlantic Ocean, situated just east of the Caribbean Sea. This spontaneous trip evolved into a life-changing experience I hold close to my heart still to this day.

The night we arrived my friends and I had spent some time sipping rum punch at a local bar while we played billiards on the St. Lawrence Gap. A small group of local "kids" had walked through the door. I can still hear the sound of the change slapping the rail of the billiards table as I heard a thick Bajan accent yell "I got winner!" His name was Iain. Known as "Piper" to many. This was the very start of a lifelong friendship. We spent the night collectively as a group of 7, squeezed into Piper's car exploring the tiny little island known as "The Gem of the Caribbean".

Over the next 3 weeks we had spent countless hours together, getting to know one another as these 4 amazing new friends Piper, Robert, Fiona and Mark showed us their home. We explored caves, travelled to different surf breaks, spent many nights sipping rum together and even watched the sun rise over the east coast on Cattlewash Beach New Year's Eve (referred to as Old Year's by many Barbadians). Those 3 very short weeks had made such an amazing impact on my life and have continue to bring me back to BIM over a dozen times since, sharing this amazing little island with my family and many friends.

Through the postal system, then Myspace and later Facebook, Ive been fortunate to stay in touch with Piper over the many years. I have had the pleasure of watching him wed the love of his life Natalie, as well as watch his beautiful family grow.

During one of our visits a few years back, my family and I had the pleasure of meeting his then youngest daughter Mikayla. This beautiful little girl clung to me as if she had known me since day one. She was quiet, didn't talk much at all, but I could see in her eyes she completely sensed the World around her... and I was part of it. As my kids and I played with her at Pebbles Beach that day, I knew in my heart this little angel was special in so many ways.

Mikayla's Story...

After difficulty at birth and time spent in NICU, Mikayla grew into a bright, bubbly little girl who loved singing nursery rhymes, both English and Spanish, and helping her friends at preschool. Around the age of two and a half, her family started noticing a change. Mikayla slowly lost her voice, her eye contact faded, sleep became difficult and everyday life just became increasingly filled with challenges and uncertainty.

When Mikayla was four years old, the family had travelled to Jacksonville, Florida to meet Dr. Julie Buckley — a woman they lovingly describe as Mikayla’s "Fairy Godmother". While she would laugh at being called a guru in the World of Autism, to the McChlery family she became a guiding light during one of their darkest seasons. Dr. Buckley introduced Mikayla to the powerful connection between gut health, brain health, and hyperbaric therapy... opening a door to hope they never knew existed back home on their tiny island.

The changes the McChlery family witnessed after Mikayla began hyperbaric therapy were immediate. As you could imagine this was an extremely emotional time. After one of her first sessions, she ran to her grandfather, hugged him tightly, and said, “I love you Grandad! Thank you!” — a full, unprompted sentence that left him in tears. From there, improvements in her sleep, communication, emotional regulation, and overall happiness became more recognizable.

While hyperbaric therapy is not a cure-all, its benefits extend far beyond neurodiverse individuals. Increased oxygen delivery throughout the body have been shown to help support brain function, reduce inflammation, improve recovery, assist circulation, support the nervous system, promote healing, and aid in overall wellness and cognitive clarity — benefits that many neurotypical people also experience through consistent treatment. For Mikayla and the McChlery family, however, these benefits have been life changing!

In March of 2026, The McChlery family set off for yet another visit with Dr. Buckley in Jacksonville, Florida in search of answers after Mikayla had been suffering a number of frequent seizures. While drawing blood for labwork, Dr. Buckley asked if Mikayla was still having issues with communication after trying various therapies. Upon realizing they had yet been introduced to "Guided Communication", Dr. Buckley made it possible for them to meet with Hope Delemeester, the Director of the Communication Clinic at BIG North Florida.

On March 23rd, 2026 Mikayla had "found her voice"! The World around her was finally opened. She was able to type. She typed so well that her first night she did not want to play puzzles, or watch tv, she wanted to type a full essay.

Hyperbaric Therapy has helped Mikayla tremendously, and is now a necessity even more as she faces new neurological challenges including seizures. Combined with assisted communication therapy, it has helped her find her own voice. Mikayla now describes the chamber as “the perfect hug for my whole body,” saying it helps her think more clearly, feel more calm, sleep better, reduces anxiety, and allows her to communicate more effectively.

Why I am Asking for Your Help...

Unfortunately, access to hyperbaric therapy in Barbados remains extremely limited, leaving many families with few options outside of expensive trips overseas for treatment.

I have been working with Piper and Natalie over the last several months to help make their dream a reality. My goal is to obtain a soft-shell hyperbaric chamber for Mikayla so she can continue receiving the therapy that brings her comfort, healing, confidence and an overall better quality of life. More than anything, I want to continue helping Mikayla grow, thrive, and share her beautiful voice with the rest of the World as she has recently done with me. After her most recent trip to Florida, I had received the following message from Mikayla through the use of her Guided Communication.

”I remember him. I had so much fun that day.i thought it was a dream. I thought it was not real. It you told me I would have said it was entertaining good to time to be real. I had a ton of fun with him and mummy ❤️ ☺️ ❤️ ☺️ ❤️ ☺️ ❤️ ☺️ ❤️ ☺️ . I was so happy and aware that day too. I remember there being him, his wife and two daughters.And one daughter reminded me of Beth so much that it made me laugh. I was super happy to be alive that day!”

Through countless hours of research, we have found a soft-shell hyperbaric chamber and oxygen concentrator which helps increase the oxygen levels inside the pressurized chamber. This has been shown to hasten the healing process for Mikayla. Piper was able to source a shipping company who has offered to ship this machine from the states to their home in Barbados for cost.

The "S2S Grand Dive" chamber is roughly $13,995 plus a 10L concentrator $1,300 for a total of $15,295. Your contributions will go towards making this dream of a better life happen for this amazing young lady, as well as the McChlery family as a whole... all of which are an extension of mine. I thank you ahead for your generous contribution and have confidence we can bring some peace of mind to these amazing "neighbors" of mine that live 2100 miles away in my home away from home... Barbados.

On behalf of the entire McChlery family, I thank you for your support and ask that you please share this in hopes of fulfilling our goal!