ELOVATE HYPERBARICS

“We were so sick, I thought we were dying,” says Coryn Carver, founder of Elovate Hyperbarics in Cottonwood Heights.

Long before she became a certified hyperbaric technician — before Elovate became a center for recovery and renewal — Coryn was a single mother trying to save herself and her children from a poison that had swept through their bodies.

For years, they lived in a Utah neighborhood where something invisible was unraveling their health. They didn’t know it then, but the water flowing through their pipes carried thallium — a toxic heavy metal used in manufacturing, capable of destroying the body from the inside out.

By the time dangerously high levels were discovered, the damage was devastating. Coryn lost her hair. Her bones were disintegrating. Her teeth fell out. She dropped 30 pounds. Her young children lost their eyebrows, toenails, and teeth. They suffered cognitive impairment and severe gastrointestinal issues.

The symptoms were relentless — and so was the silence.

No one would take their case. Hair samples were lost. People were afraid. Death threats emerged.

“You feel betrayed,” Coryn says. “But priority number one was survival — for my children and for me. I call that time in our lives ‘brutiful’ — brutally beautiful. I needed to turn our tragedy into a strategy.”

She became a mother on a mission. When she and her children were receiving neurological treatments, she noticed a hyperbaric oxygen chamber in a doctor’s office.

“I asked about it,” Coryn says. “The doctor was using it for clients who were struggling with cognitive issues. I wanted to know more.”

She began researching hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) — a treatment that delivers oxygen at higher-than-normal pressure, allowing the lungs to absorb more oxygen and deliver it into the blood plasma. That oxygen, in turn, helps repair and protect tissues and organs.

That’s when she discovered OxyHealth, a manufacturer of medical and home-use HBOT chambers — and purchased one for her home. For Coryn, hope now rested inside that chamber — and in an unexpected gesture of kindness.

“A representative from OxyHealth invited me to the Annual International Hyperbarics Association (IHA) Conference,” Coryn recalls. “I sat up front, determined to learn everything I could.”

As she pursued certification and studied under leading experts, she found both guidance and belonging through the IHA — a steady presence and partner in her work today.

She married Doug, an electrical engineer with a heart for service. He had recently designed a new medical building and asked if she wanted to rent the upstairs floor for hyperbarics.

“At first I said no. I didn’t think I had the energy,” shares Coryn.

But that night, she had a dream — a blueprint of what the space could become. A place of healing not only for her family, but for others who had also been left behind.

“I woke up with clarity,” she remembers. “I knew exactly what needed to be built — and that this was my calling.”

In 2020, Coryn founded Elovate Hyperbarics — ‘Elovate’ being born from the words elevate and innovate, with love at its core.

Its creation became a family endeavor. Doug brought leadership and unwavering commitment. Coryn’s children refurbished salvaged doors and fixtures, framed walls, and lent their artistry throughout. In the lobby, they arranged a stand of quaking aspens — trees whose connected roots offer a reminder that no one is ever alone.

“My children were so ill, but helping build this place was healing for them,” she says. “They’re warriors.”

Inside Elovate, therapy and purpose live side by side.

Hyperbaric oxygen chambers can help with neurological conditions and chronic illness, aid in injury recovery and performance, and improve immune function and bone strength. Red light therapy boosts cognition and cellular repair. Infrared saunas flush toxins. Vibroacoustic sound beds bring calm. And the Himalayan salt room, lined with radiant pink salt and grounded in copper, enhances breathing and inner balance.

“There are miracles happening here,” Coryn says. “We see them every day.”

One mother arrived carrying the exhaustion of endless therapies for her four-year-old son with cerebral palsy and autism. After 40 sessions, the little boy — once completely non-verbal — looked at his mother and said, “Mom.”

“The oxygen that he was deprived of from birth was restored,” Coryn shares, tears welling.

Another woman, desperate for relief from chronic Lyme disease, traveled from Indiana for care. Her pain eased — and hope returned. She later moved to Utah and joined the Elovate team, devoting her life’s work to helping others heal.

Elovate also honors those often overlooked in the recovery process: caregivers. While their loved ones receive therapy, caregivers are invited to rest in the salt room, relax in the sauna, stretch out on the sound bed, or sit under red light.

Although Coryn and her children continue their fight for better health, the long-term effects of thallium exposure remain.

That’s why a special mirror hangs near the front desk — its frame lovingly revived, its glass left cracked.

“We didn’t replace the mirror,” Coryn says. “Because our goal isn’t perfection. It’s becoming the best possible, healthy version of yourself.”

Some days are heavy. But the presence of her family, her team, and the gratitude of those she serves keep her going. And no matter how tired she may feel, Coryn will never stop showing up.

“If you don’t have the strength to stand,” she says, “I will stand for you. If you’ve lost your voice, I will help you find it. That’s what love does. It brings you back to life.”