The Vest Monster

Let's go back months from now...about 7 months ago.

Madeline was a mere 10 months old. We purchased a vest from the SMART vest company for M. We thought that early exposure would be great and would possible prevent her from fearing it. It would become a daily routine just like all her nebulizers...

and then( the vest just didn't fit) we tried different fits, different sizes, different consultants from the company with their opinions, respiratory therapists, and everyone pointed in the same direction...

The vest just didn't fit. Madeline would need to grow for it to fit and work correctly.

So fast forward to this week. We pulled out the old vest only to discover a very bad sight.

Madeline screaming....screaming at the sight of it, screaming as it came near her. Screaming at the machine, at the tubing, at the thought of even having it in the same room.

It was a nightmare. A. pure. nightmare.

She was wailing and shreiking. My husband and I would just try to get it on her. One would hold her arms and legs while, one of us would try to put on the vest. It was a horrible sight. A picture in your mind that makes you feel like the worst. parent. ever. Every sense of guilt enters your mind about CF and what you could have done, should have done, and didn't do.

We thought that if she would just wear it and walk in it..that maybe, just maybe she would get use to it.

Through days of kicking, screaming, uncontrollable crying, and pure fear we reached a milestone tonight.

She wore it. She wore it connected and on. She wore it for a whole 10 minutes!

No screaming, very little crying, and 2 happy parents....

We found that she may have overcome the fear of the vest.

And this, will make our days and nights of manual PT a whole heck of a lot easier thanks to our toddler on the run.

And because of this accomplishment for Madeline and us, as parents, I will drink an EXTRA glass of wine to celebrate this minor accomplishment....

Cheers everyone....

Reaction to the vest below:

Calm today during the vest...