Georgia’s SmartVest Story
Georgia, a retiree living in Maine, had watched as her various ailments took away her ability to do many everyday activities — but they couldn’t take away her sense of humor.
“I have COPD [chronic obstructive pulmonary disease], emphysema, congestive heart failure, and diabetes. And I’m a bit anemic,” she said. “Otherwise, I’m fine.”
The mucus trapped in her airway slowly degraded her ability to do housework and made it difficult to carry around the oxygen tank she uses. Cleaning the house, once a job of a few hours, started taking five or six hours — and eventually, she couldn’t do it
at all.
Worse, the mucus buildup led to frequent infections. “I was in the hospital once a month for at least four to five days,” Georgia said. “It was horrible.”
“When I got the device, things changed,”
Then one day, while looking through a magazine at her doctor’s office, Georgia saw an ad for the SmartVest System that assured her it could be covered by Medicare. She called Electromed to get further information on how to make sure she could get Medicare coverage. After visiting her doctor and getting a prescription, she was sent her SmartVest System, which included training in her home by a licensed Respiratory Therapist.
“When I got the device, things changed,” Georgia said. “I breathe better, walk better, sweep the floor, do dishes — the things you can’t do if you don’t move that mucus out of there.”
“It improves my breathing for at least six, seven hours”
Now Georgia “doesn’t dare” to skip a session with her SmartVest. “I feel fine when I’m on it, and fine when I get off it,” she said. “It improves my breathing for at least six, seven hours, and then I take another breathing treatment.”
In addition to helping her with her everyday activities, the SmartVest System also helps Georgia get back to one of her most important jobs: being a grandmother to her 18 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. “That’s the best part,” she concedes. “I get to spoil them. That’s my job.”
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