Re: Non-invasive vent for my mother?

Dan Vachon (drv(AT)ici.net)
Sat, 20 Sep 1997 16:01:35 -0400 (EDT)

At 03:14 PM 9/20/97 -0400, you wrote:
>Hello,
>
>I've been reading all of the mail about non-invasive vents, and have been
>assuming it would not be something that my mother could use, but I have
>decided that I should probably get more info before dismissing it.
>
>You may recall that I joined the vent-users list because my mother has been
>on a vent in the hospital since Dec., and, because I have found no
>satisfactory long-term facilities that take vent patients, I am moving my
>mother from NJ to my home in Fla. It appears I have finally found a facility
>that will accept my mother after her transfer, when I can be trained to care
>for her (a skilled nursing unit of the local hospital). My mother has a
>multitude of medical problems and is having decreasing responsiveness as time
>goes on. She has not spoken since the initial crisis due to her severe
>weakness and lack of hard evidence on the nature of her cognitive abilities.
> I know that these things make her situation a lot different from the
>vent-users on this list.
>
>But would there be any advantages to a non-invasive vent for my mother? I
>don't understand how it works ... how does the air go into your lungs
>forcefully enough for respiration to occur? What are pneumo-wrap and chest
>shells? Would this not be possible for my mother because of the huge
>'bedsore' she has in her sacral region?
>
>Valerie, what did you mean by your statement that if a person with respirator
>problems are given oxygen, the few muscles that are working get a message to
>shut down -- muscles involved in respiration, or muscles in other parts of
>the body?
>
>I've printed out some of Dr. Bach's info from the internet. Is anyone on the
>vent-users group who lives in south Florida, and could recommend a good
>pulmonologist?
>
>It's really a comfort to have this vent-users group; knowing that when my
>mother comes to live with me I have a source of expert knowledge on at least
>one aspect of her care.
>
>Chris Gawlak
>Ft.Pierce, Fl.
>
>
>You might want to check out the web site at
http://www.azstarnet.com/~rspear/vent.html
as it describes various types of non-invasive vents including pneumo-wraps
and chest shells.

Good luck.

Dan
drv(AT)ici.net