Ailing Tomic jeered in Miami

Second set surrender ... Bernie Tomic is booed during his loss to Andy Murray in Miami. Source: Lynne Sladky / AAP

Davis Cup-bound Bernard Tomic blamed illness after being jeered when humbled 6-3 6-1 by Andy Murray at the Miami Masters.

World No.45 Tomic managed to win only 10 points in the second set of their second round clash on a steamy Florida afternoon and he put his problems down to the effect of too much air-conditioning on a troublesome virus.

"I didn't play very good in the second set," acknowledged Tomic, who is also teaming with Lleyton Hewitt in doubles in Miami after being restored to the Australian Davis Cup team for its tie against Uzbekistan on April 5-7.

"I didn't feel at 100 per cent. I tried my best but it was not good enough.

"I've had some sort of flu for the last few days. I can't breath through my nose and I lose energy quickly on court.

"I felt good in my first round, but I must have slept under too much A/C.

"The match was played in very hot conditions, and I was soon struggling. After losing the first set it was going to be really difficult to come back from a set down."

Although Tomic offered little resistance in the second set, Murray wasn't sure that he deserved the jeers he heard from the crowd, who may have had memories of Tomic's US Open second round flogging from Andy Roddick last August, when he was accused of tanking by John McEnroe when losing the last set 6-0.

"The one thing I would say is that if you aren't used to playing in these conditions, it is extremely hot and tough to play," said Murray.

"It is tough when you're going behind and making quite a lot of mistakes.

"So I don't know. The crowd, they're free to do whatever they want."

Tomic, champion in Sydney in the run-up to the Australian Open, heads next to Munich when his doubles run is done in Miami to train with the Australian team for the Davis Cup tie in Uzbekistan.

Tomic said he was genuinely pleased to be back on the Davis Cup team. The 20-year-old Queenslander has won eight of his 10 singles rubbers and will be a welcome asset to skipper Pat Rafter in the Asia-Oceania Zone second-round tie.

"I'm very, very happy to be back on the team," said the player whose feud with Rafter exploded last year.

Tomic had originally said he would not be available for the upcoming tie after being left off the side which beat Chinese Taipei in February because of what Rafter called a lack of professionalism.

"I always want to play Davis Cup. I want to thank Pat for picking me," Tomic said.

"Wherever it is I'll always be happy to play for country.

"Lleyton has always told me what a huge thing Davis Cup is. We have a good chance to beat Uzbekistan. I'm back where I want to be, I'm looking forward to playing Davis Cup again and I'll give my best."

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Ailing Tomic jeered in Miami

Second set surrender ... Bernie Tomic is booed during his loss to Andy Murray in Miami. Source: Lynne Sladky / AAP

Davis Cup-bound Bernard Tomic blamed illness after being jeered when humbled 6-3 6-1 by Andy Murray at the Miami Masters.

World No.45 Tomic managed to win only 10 points in the second set of their second round clash on a steamy Florida afternoon and he put his problems down to the effect of too much air-conditioning on a troublesome virus.

"I didn't play very good in the second set," acknowledged Tomic, who is also teaming with Lleyton Hewitt in doubles in Miami after being restored to the Australian Davis Cup team for its tie against Uzbekistan on April 5-7.

"I didn't feel at 100 per cent. I tried my best but it was not good enough.

"I've had some sort of flu for the last few days. I can't breath through my nose and I lose energy quickly on court.

"I felt good in my first round, but I must have slept under too much A/C.

"The match was played in very hot conditions, and I was soon struggling. After losing the first set it was going to be really difficult to come back from a set down."

Although Tomic offered little resistance in the second set, Murray wasn't sure that he deserved the jeers he heard from the crowd, who may have had memories of Tomic's US Open second round flogging from Andy Roddick last August, when he was accused of tanking by John McEnroe when losing the last set 6-0.

"The one thing I would say is that if you aren't used to playing in these conditions, it is extremely hot and tough to play," said Murray.

"It is tough when you're going behind and making quite a lot of mistakes.

"So I don't know. The crowd, they're free to do whatever they want."

Tomic, champion in Sydney in the run-up to the Australian Open, heads next to Munich when his doubles run is done in Miami to train with the Australian team for the Davis Cup tie in Uzbekistan.

Tomic said he was genuinely pleased to be back on the Davis Cup team. The 20-year-old Queenslander has won eight of his 10 singles rubbers and will be a welcome asset to skipper Pat Rafter in the Asia-Oceania Zone second-round tie.

"I'm very, very happy to be back on the team," said the player whose feud with Rafter exploded last year.

Tomic had originally said he would not be available for the upcoming tie after being left off the side which beat Chinese Taipei in February because of what Rafter called a lack of professionalism.

"I always want to play Davis Cup. I want to thank Pat for picking me," Tomic said.

"Wherever it is I'll always be happy to play for country.

"Lleyton has always told me what a huge thing Davis Cup is. We have a good chance to beat Uzbekistan. I'm back where I want to be, I'm looking forward to playing Davis Cup again and I'll give my best."

View the original article here

Ailing Tomic jeered in Miami

Second set surrender ... Bernie Tomic is booed during his loss to Andy Murray in Miami. Source: Lynne Sladky / AAP

Davis Cup-bound Bernard Tomic blamed illness after being jeered when humbled 6-3 6-1 by Andy Murray at the Miami Masters.

World No.45 Tomic managed to win only 10 points in the second set of their second round clash on a steamy Florida afternoon and he put his problems down to the effect of too much air-conditioning on a troublesome virus.

"I didn't play very good in the second set," acknowledged Tomic, who is also teaming with Lleyton Hewitt in doubles in Miami after being restored to the Australian Davis Cup team for its tie against Uzbekistan on April 5-7.

"I didn't feel at 100 per cent. I tried my best but it was not good enough.

"I've had some sort of flu for the last few days. I can't breath through my nose and I lose energy quickly on court.

"I felt good in my first round, but I must have slept under too much A/C.

"The match was played in very hot conditions, and I was soon struggling. After losing the first set it was going to be really difficult to come back from a set down."

Although Tomic offered little resistance in the second set, Murray wasn't sure that he deserved the jeers he heard from the crowd, who may have had memories of Tomic's US Open second round flogging from Andy Roddick last August, when he was accused of tanking by John McEnroe when losing the last set 6-0.

"The one thing I would say is that if you aren't used to playing in these conditions, it is extremely hot and tough to play," said Murray.

"It is tough when you're going behind and making quite a lot of mistakes.

"So I don't know. The crowd, they're free to do whatever they want."

Tomic, champion in Sydney in the run-up to the Australian Open, heads next to Munich when his doubles run is done in Miami to train with the Australian team for the Davis Cup tie in Uzbekistan.

Tomic said he was genuinely pleased to be back on the Davis Cup team. The 20-year-old Queenslander has won eight of his 10 singles rubbers and will be a welcome asset to skipper Pat Rafter in the Asia-Oceania Zone second-round tie.

"I'm very, very happy to be back on the team," said the player whose feud with Rafter exploded last year.

Tomic had originally said he would not be available for the upcoming tie after being left off the side which beat Chinese Taipei in February because of what Rafter called a lack of professionalism.

"I always want to play Davis Cup. I want to thank Pat for picking me," Tomic said.

"Wherever it is I'll always be happy to play for country.

"Lleyton has always told me what a huge thing Davis Cup is. We have a good chance to beat Uzbekistan. I'm back where I want to be, I'm looking forward to playing Davis Cup again and I'll give my best."

View the original article here

Ailing Tomic jeered in Miami

Second set surrender ... Bernie Tomic is booed during his loss to Andy Murray in Miami. Source: Lynne Sladky / AAP

Davis Cup-bound Bernard Tomic blamed illness after being jeered when humbled 6-3 6-1 by Andy Murray at the Miami Masters.

World No.45 Tomic managed to win only 10 points in the second set of their second round clash on a steamy Florida afternoon and he put his problems down to the effect of too much air-conditioning on a troublesome virus.

"I didn't play very good in the second set," acknowledged Tomic, who is also teaming with Lleyton Hewitt in doubles in Miami after being restored to the Australian Davis Cup team for its tie against Uzbekistan on April 5-7.

"I didn't feel at 100 per cent. I tried my best but it was not good enough.

"I've had some sort of flu for the last few days. I can't breath through my nose and I lose energy quickly on court.

"I felt good in my first round, but I must have slept under too much A/C.

"The match was played in very hot conditions, and I was soon struggling. After losing the first set it was going to be really difficult to come back from a set down."

Although Tomic offered little resistance in the second set, Murray wasn't sure that he deserved the jeers he heard from the crowd, who may have had memories of Tomic's US Open second round flogging from Andy Roddick last August, when he was accused of tanking by John McEnroe when losing the last set 6-0.

"The one thing I would say is that if you aren't used to playing in these conditions, it is extremely hot and tough to play," said Murray.

"It is tough when you're going behind and making quite a lot of mistakes.

"So I don't know. The crowd, they're free to do whatever they want."

Tomic, champion in Sydney in the run-up to the Australian Open, heads next to Munich when his doubles run is done in Miami to train with the Australian team for the Davis Cup tie in Uzbekistan.

Tomic said he was genuinely pleased to be back on the Davis Cup team. The 20-year-old Queenslander has won eight of his 10 singles rubbers and will be a welcome asset to skipper Pat Rafter in the Asia-Oceania Zone second-round tie.

"I'm very, very happy to be back on the team," said the player whose feud with Rafter exploded last year.

Tomic had originally said he would not be available for the upcoming tie after being left off the side which beat Chinese Taipei in February because of what Rafter called a lack of professionalism.

"I always want to play Davis Cup. I want to thank Pat for picking me," Tomic said.

"Wherever it is I'll always be happy to play for country.

"Lleyton has always told me what a huge thing Davis Cup is. We have a good chance to beat Uzbekistan. I'm back where I want to be, I'm looking forward to playing Davis Cup again and I'll give my best."

View the original article here

Ailing pets receiving hyperbaric chamber treatment

GAINESVILLE, Florida –  Hyperbaric chambers have been used for decades to treat divers with the bends, burn victims and people with traumatic injuries, but in the U.S. they're increasingly being used on ailing pets.

Doctors at the University of Florida's College of Veterinary Medicine have recently used an oxygen chamber on dogs, cats, ferrets, rabbits and one monkey.

Veterinarian and professor Justin Shmalberg said the capsule has been used to treat animals that have been bitten by rattlesnakes, hit by cars and those with infected wounds, among other things.

"Any place we have swelling of tissue, we oftentimes are thinking about the hyperbaric chamber as something we could do to decrease that," he said.

Shmalberg said the chamber's high-pressure atmosphere of pure oxygen appears to help reduce swelling and aid healing time. He added that the school will begin clinical trials this summer to determine how - or even if - the hyperbaric chamber really is effective in speeding recoveries and healing animals.

There is little research on hyperbaric treatments and pets, although veterinarians who use the chambers note that most of the research for human hyperbaric treatments comes from trials done on rabbits and rats.

"We want to make sure there's really good science behind it," said Dr. Diane Levitan, who owns Peace Love Pets Veterinary Care in New York State. "It's not a panacea. There are specific reasons why this is helpful."

Levitan has a hyperbaric chamber in her practice and is writing an article for a veterinary journal on the treatment. Like Shmalberg, she has seen an improved rate of healing for certain conditions such as herniated discs, abscesses and even post-radiation swelling.

In humans, insurance companies will pay for hyperbaric treatment for several conditions, including carbon monoxide poisoning, crush injuries and bone marrow infections, among other things. Some insurance companies won't pay for hyperbaric treatment for wounds or ulcers, saying that it's an "unproven" therapy -- but some people swear by the treatment and seek out private clinics.

It's the same with pet owners; veterinarians with oxygen chambers say that people with sick pets often will often research the treatment and request it after becoming familiar with it through human medicine.

"It is a very new modality for treatment in veterinary medicine," said Dr. Andrew Turkell of Calusa Veterinary Center in Florida.

The devices used by UF, Levitan and Turkell are about the size of a loveseat and are manufactured by a company named Hyperbaric Veterinary Medicine. Turkell was the first doctor to sign a contract with Hyperbaric Veterinary Medicine, and estimates that he's used the chamber 750-800 times in the past year and a half.

"I find that it's really very effective for any kind of trauma," he said, adding that he's seen improvements in pets that have been hit by cars that have been subsequently treated in the chamber.

Wayne McCullough, the company's CEO, said that most veterinary offices can't afford to buy the capsules outright -- chambers for humans cost between $50,000 and $150,000 each -- so the company gives the clinics the chambers and then receives a cut on each treatment done by the veterinarian. At the UF clinic, treatment costs about $125 per session.

McCullough said that his employees deliver and train veterinarians on how to use the capsule. Working with 100 percent oxygen can be dangerous, which is why pets going inside the chamber are patted down with water before the treatment so their fur doesn't conduct static electricity and cause a fire.

In 2012, the high-oxygen chamber of a Florida equine sports medicine center exploded and caused part of a building to collapse, killed a worker and the horse inside the chamber.

The machine that exploded wasn't one of McCullough's chambers; it was a larger contraption made for horses. The horse inside the chamber apparently struck the side of the machine with its foot, which caused the spark and fire. It underscored the potential danger of the capsules.

Dr. Dorie Amour, the director of Emory University's wound care clinic, suggested that hyperbaric therapy in pets be a last-resort treatment. It "has to be a therapy used when there is no alternative. Or a therapy used for a very serious problem for which there hasn't been a solution."

Pet owners such as Mike Ray, the owner of Maggie, an 11-year-old dachshund with a gaping wound and recurring infection in her back paw, say they're willing to give it a try -- and spend the extra money to do so at the University of Florida animal hospital.

Maggie has been through a handful of hyperbaric treatments, and Dr. Schmalberg and Ray say they've noticed a difference after two sessions in the capsule. New fur is growing where raw flesh was once exposed.

"Whatever it takes, we're going do and we'll find a way to get it done," Ray said as he and his wife waited for Maggie to finish her oxygen therapy. "Because we need to get her healed."

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