Abbie Venner
Abbie Grace Venner
Fundraising for Tree of Hope
Story
Abbie was born with cystic fibrosis. We are fundraising to help with Abbie's physio to buy her a physio vest, this vest is like a body vest the police wear but it has tubes coming out of it attached to a machine which compresses her chest and vibrates the chest to release the mucus off her chest so it doesn't cause infection. This vest cannot be funded by the NHS. More details on the vest can be found on the Hill-Rom website: http://www.hill-rom.co.uk/uk/United-Kingdom/Products/Airway-Clearance/The-Vest/
The vest will help break up the mucus and help bring it to the upper airways, where it can be coughed out or removed by suction. The machine connected to the vest is an air compressor that delivers bursts of air to rapidly inflate and deflate the vest about 25 times per second. This creates gentle pressure and vibration on the chest, which does three things:
- Breaks up mucus, making it thinner
- Creates “mini coughs” in the lungs, which help push the mucus out
- Makes the cilia move faster, helping them carry the loosened mucus to the upper airways
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
| Treatment can be done without help. | Expense - the vest costs about £8000 |
| Does not require any skill, so every treatment will be done correctly. | Requires access to electricity. |
| Freedom to do other things during treatment, because no special position or breathing techniques are required. | Must bring equipment with you when traveling. The compressor weighs between 15 and 30 pounds, depending on the model. |
| Treats all lobes of the lung at once, so treatment time is shorter than manual CPT. |
Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity. So it’s the most efficient way to donate – saving time and cutting costs for the charity.