Re: Non invasive Ventilation
Valerie Brew-Parrish (brew-parrish(AT)juno.com)
Fri, 19 Sep 1997 19:42:51 -0500
Jim,
To answer your question about non-invasive ventilation. I am not entirely
100% sure if someone can be totally ventilated non-invasively but I do
believe so. There are devices like the pneumo-wrap and chest shells that
do the breathing for you. They wrap around the upper body. When I was
little, after contracting polio, I ate in the lung. You learn to do
things between the breaths. Ed Roberts, the former director of Calif. VR
and Bill Tainter, his successor, both used non-invasive ventilation. They
sucked air through the hose and Ed slept in the iron-lung. I must admit,
I am terrified of being trached even though I know many people who are
and think it's no big deal. The problem is, the majority of
pulmonologists, respiratory doctors, respiratory therapists, etc. are
simply ignorant of non-invasive techniques. Their only solution is to
trach. The respiratory doctor I had in Southern Illinois didn't have a
clue about non-invasive techniques. He was totally uninterested in
learning. Once when I had pneumonia, I was hospitalized in C'dale. The
doctor refused to let me bring in my vent. He said, "So are you going to
intubate yourself too?" It is difficult for Polio survivors to get
competent doctors. For those of us who have respiratory problems we
cannot be given oxygen. If we are given oxygen, then our brain sends a
signal to the few muscles that are still working to shut down. I am
appalled by the number of respiratory doctors who are not aware of this
fact. It's scary. My husband knows if I go into respiratory failure, he
is to get me to St. Louis or Chicago to specific doctors who are
knowledgeable. I hope I have answered your question. If you want more
specific info, let me know and I will try to get you connected with the
doctors who can answer your question much more thoroughly than I just
did.
Valerie