Friday, July 8, 2016

I'm a maker. We're all makers.

A few weeks ago, I threw a tweet out into the universe looking for good ideas on how to create a hands-free nebulizer for Drew. He gets to play on his iPod during treatments, and with having to hold the nebulizer, he's only got one hand free to play games that mostly require two hands. He does this thing with his arm where he uses it as a ledge to balance the neb, but it usually falls or spills leaving both of us feeling frustrated. A mask would be a simple solution, but we'd graduated from a mask to a mouthpiece for deep breaths and deeper medication penetration into his lungs, and also for the opportunity to utilize the Aerobika for additional positive expiratory pressure, something that helps to open his floppy airways and allow him to cough out the junk that makes him sick. Anyway, you can't use a mask with the Aerobika, so we are left trying to find ways to allow him the simple pleasure of playing on his iPod during treatments while still receiving the full benefit of the treatment.

So a tweet went out, and what transpired was nothing short of magical. People from around the globe and in a variety of industries and roles shared their ideas and feedback on what we could do to solve this problem. I love it when the network uses its powers for good. Read what Susanna Fox captured in this Storify of the weeks we spent online prototyping options and finally reaching a reasonable solution. A solution, I should add, that now lives on the Maker Health website (or will as soon as I hit "publish"). This is a place where anyone with a good idea can share their idea to help others learn. Check it out.

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