Laughter is the Best Chest PT: Post-transplant video: Extubation and first breaths

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

Post-transplant video: Extubation and first breaths

If anyone's interested in seeing it without having to watch the whole long transplant story video, I put up the video of me being taken off the ventilator and taking my first independent breaths post-transplant. Be warned: being taken off the ventilator involves me being extubated, which is when they yank out the long tube that went down my throat and into my chest to breathe for me. Reactions have ranged from "Cool!!!" to "GROSS!!!" so you might want to skip it if you're squeamish!

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About the Name

Chest PT is one of the most common treatments for CF, in which the chest is pounded on either by hand or using a machine to help break up the congestion and make it easier to cough out. When I was around 13 years old, during one hospitalization I became friends with two other girls who had CF. This was before they knew about the risks of cross-infection, so the three of us spent every day hanging out in each other’s rooms talking and laughing up a storm. Inevitably, the laughter would lead to all three of us launching into massive coughing fits, similar to the effects of chest PT. And so, “Laughter is the best chest PT” quickly became our catchphrase.