Glossopharyngeal breathing, also known as frog breathing or just GPB, is a method of breathing that people with weakened breathing muscles can use without mechanical intervention. Obviously this is no replacement for volume ventilators but it can be used in the event of ventilator failure or accidental disconnect. The technique is not as effective for […]
DMD Pathfinders, a newly formed charity in the UK, has just released a guide for planning in the event of a power failure for those who depend on ventilators and other vital medical equipment. The creation of the guide was prompted by the tragic deaths of two Australian men with Duchenne who died due to […]
Louie J. Boitano, M.S., R.R.T., a true pioneer in the field of respiratory support for those with neuromuscular disease has died. He dedicated his life to the betterment to not only his patients but for all of those with neuromuscular disease through his calling as a respiratory care practitioner and researcher focused on noninvasive respiratory […]
Wednesday before last I had my LTV 800 ventilator traded out for preventative maintenance as usual. At 1:30 in afternoon the RT from my provider came out to exchange the vent with one freshly rebuilt and reconditioned vent directly from Viasys Healthcare. Everything went without a hitch. My settings were transferred to the new vent […]
So, I’ve been sparring with this tracheal infection since the end of last July. It is one of those nagging things that just would not go away! Two different physicians – my internist and ENT specialist – took turns at knocking out this staph, a bug common to those of us with tracheostomy tubes in […]
I used to be strictly old school when it came to portable ventilators. My belief was if it was built like a tank, it was reliable. And for the most part, I was usually correct. You could hit my old ventilator with a sledgehammer fifty times and it would still deliver. It was indestructible, the […]
I don’t think it would be an exaggeration to say that I would be dead today if not for the CoughAssist Mechanical Insufflator-Exsufflator. The what? OK, let’s just call it the CoughAssist. What is it? Well, it does exactly what it says. It is a mechanical device attached to a mouthpiece or mask which assists people […]
Basically, non-invasive ventilation is a method of providing breathing assistance to people with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD), and others with diminished respiratory capacity, without the use of a tracheostomy. The common method for dealing with lowered respiration in DMD is to place the person on a ventilator by putting a hole in one’s throat and attaching a […]
My name is Patricia Schmidt and my son Bob Sutter, was diagnosed with DMD when he was 3 1/2 yrs. old. He’s now 21. I believe it is a miracle that he is still alive. When Bob was 15 1/2 years old he came down with pneumonia. The pulmonary doctor told me that I would […]
During the spring of 2001, I went through a period of losing strength. I used to take my wheelchair all over town, loved to go for Sunday strolls and drove my chair 4 miles to and from school. I live about 6 blocks from our local Wal-Mart and the city had redone the sidewalk. One […]
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