Well, if Luke didn't already have a hard time staying awake during the day, he does now. It's true that you don't go to the hospital to rest!
We've been maintaining a rigid schedule of three different Respiratory Therapies since Friday. Every three hours Luke is on three different machines. This leaves little time to sleep.
Therapy 1 - IPV
IPV stands for Intrapulmonary Percussive
Ventilation. Basically this is like a nebulizer, but it pulsates so the air and medicines are forced into the lungs a little more. The traditional nebulizer is more passive. This pulsing action helps to break up any mucus or secretions that are holding onto the lung walls.
Therapy 2 - Vest
The Vest is for percussion as well, but is worn on the outside. Have you ever seen a parent rhythmically thump on the back of a child when they are sick or coughing? That action is good for breaking up mucus in the lungs too. This Vest has an air bladder that swells up and pulsates to simulate that loving action of a parent. The difference between a parent and the vest is that the vest doesn't get tired!
Therapy 3 - Cough Assist
This machine can actually be kinda terrifying. When we got this machine for home use I tried it on myself to know what my son was going through. The purpose of this treatment is to simulate a deep breath and coughing action. This is great in theory, but if you aren't in rhythm with the machine it can forcefully take your breath away! Luckily Luke is getting used to being ready for that machine driven breath.
It's a little difficult to see my child going through all this, but I am deeply grateful that these treatments are available.