Bop With Me Baby

When Crosby was teeny weeny, I wrote a post about the Chest Physical Therapy (CPT) we perform on him to keep his airways clear. You can find that here.

I thought I would provide an update on our bopping adventures because we still do the same CPT, twice a day, for thirty minutes. However, as we have recently fitted Crosby for and ordered THE VEST, our bopping will soon be coming to an end.

Bopping (aka CPT aka Postural Drainage and Percussion) is a way to help people with CF breathe with less difficulty and stay healthy. When we bop Crosby, we use gravity and percussion to loosen the thick, sticky mucus in the lungs so it can be removed by coughing or simply keep the airways clear. Airway clearance is key to keeping lungs healthy.

During bopping, we hold Crosby in various positions so that the part of the lung to be drained is as high as possible. The part of the lung is then drained using percussion that is done forcefully and with a steady beat. We use a small plunger to perform the beating and each percussion needs to have a hollow sound. We have to be careful not to clap over the spine, breastbone, stomach and lower ribs or back to prevent injury to the spleen on the left, the liver on the right and the kidneys in the lower back.

{I must note here that the we, as used above, include me, Lance and my mom, who still bops him every weekday morning! Thank you, Momma!}

Crosby used to fall asleep during every bop. Oh the good ole days! Around 9 months that stopped and we began to distract him with Baby Einstein videos. Once he was mobile, it got tougher and the bribe was Elmo videos on the iPad. Now that Crosby is a full-flegded toddler with lots of energy and a busy-body disposition, bopping is back to being the nightmare it was when he was a screaming newborn!

Here are some photos of a recent bopping shesh:

Around 18 months of age, and if the child's chest is large enough in diameter, our CF clinic fits the child for The Vest Airway Clearance System. The Vest does not require special positioning techniques and works by an air pulse generator rapidly filling and deflating what looks like a life jacket. The jacket gently compresses and releases the chest wall up to 25 times per second. This process helps loosen mucus from the bronchial walls and keeps the lungs clear. 

Here are a couple of pictures we took during his CF Clinic visit last week:

Crosby actually did really well. He tolerated the highest setting for his size for an entire 10 minutes. His treatments will still include using his inhaler before a 30 minute vest session in the morning and another 30 minute session to start off our night time routine. We're hoping for an easy transition when his vest comes in! 

Crosby will require Respiratory Therapy for the rest of his life. The treatments will be always be twice daily for maintenance and increase when he's sick. Sometimes it feels as if our lives revolve around our treatment schedule. I know 30 minutes doesn't seem like much, but when it has to be done and it has to be done on a schedule, it can feel restricting. Treatments come before eating, sleeping, playing or other fun activities.  Treatments are an important part of keeping Crosby healthy and now, they're just a normal part of our routine.

-Carmen