Vest & Neb Storage

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aimeeinman10

New member
I'm looking for advice in regards to how and where families are storing their vest/neb/medical equipment when not in use. Currently, my daughter's vest is in the living room. She gets treatments twice a day regularly and sometimes 4 times when she's sick. Because of how often she uses it, it doesn't make sense for our family to put it "away" every time. Unfortunately, it gets mess-ily shoved in a corner of the living room with cords and tubes everywhere. I have been looking for a small hutch or side table with doors to store it. I was also thinking my husband could drill a hole in the back for the electrical cords. Is there a better way to do this? What are you doing in your families? If you do have a solution, please provide a picture!! Thank you so much for listening!
 
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mom2brett

New member
I have the same problem with the vest. We just shove it off to the side. My son is 12 & doesn't want to get it out & put it away every time. I do try to at least put it back in the roller bag that came with it so that it's not just out all over the place. The nebulizer is on the floor next to it. These things are so big and bulky I just haven't found a way around it yet. But I would love to hear if anyone else has ideas!
 
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Ratatosk

Administrator
Staff member
We have an end table in which the vest sits on the bottom shelf. Depending upon the neb it either sits on top of the table or on top of the vest -- DH attached Velcro to the bottom of the VIOS compressor and top of the vest, so it can sit on top of it securely. We also have a night stand in the bedroom in which the vest fits on the bottom shelf, compressor on top. Meds are kept in a cabinet in the kitchen, neb cups on the counter underneath the drug cupboard.

Sometimes when ds wants to sit at the computer and play games or play video games then we pull out the vest for ease of movement, but for the most part he sticks to the bedroom or family room for vesting.
 
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bookworm

Guest
View attachment 472View attachment 473

The cystic fibrosis Ikea desk hack: The left compartment of the desk fits the respirtech vest quite nicely. (Sorry this image is horizontal, rather than vertical.) You could fit a Hill-Rom in there if that's what you've got, but you'll need to check if you're comfortable with accessing the buttons in the space available, as a Hill-Rom will be a bit awkward. The desk is the Hemnes desk which is all pine. It has drawers on the right that will hold your nebulizer and other stuff.

I added the "Besta" casters so I can roll my desk around when I want. But I am tall, and if you are not, you might have to cut the legs a bit to add the Besta casters, which are really good quality and cheap. Because the desk is pine, it's very light, so you don't really need these. But if you want to move your desk around to use the room for other purposes, these casters with brakes, make it a breeze.

On the desk, you'll note I have noise-cancelling headphones to protect my hearing when doing nebs and vest. Also, I really like the look of plants, but breathing the molds etc. hasn't worked out so well for me. So what you see on the desktop are Ikea fake plants.

There are probably other desks that have the side-compartment for a computer CPU that would work. I've been very happy with my setup. I hated having it all over the place before and schlepping it from one place to another. What you can't see in these pics is that there is even a nice little tray under the back of the desk where you can put the power bar. Mine is on the floor, because I like to unplug my machine when not in use, rather than using the switch on the back of the Respirtech to turn it off and on.
 
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Gammaw

Super Moderator
Hi Bookworm. I love your desk solution. I gather you store the vest attached to the hoses and connect/disconnect from the compressor as you use it, rather than connecting/disconnecting hoses from the vest? That way you don't need to figure out how to store the compressor with the hoses attached - which is one of the difficulties we encounter. Do you use a nebulizer? I don't see one which cuts down the space needed to half.... it would be nice to have a computer desk styled for TWO towers....one for the vest and one for the neb. I keep swearing I'm going to build something on wheels....But tell me....how do you get your cords out? Is there a grommet or hole in the wall or shelf? Thanks for posting this!
 
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bookworm

Guest
Hi Gammaw,

The desk does have two towers and you can put your nebulizer in the other drawer. I'm including a link for you so you can click on the little pictures to see all the details of the desk: http://www.ikea.com/ca/en/catalog/products/60245721/You will see that there is a hole in the left tower where the cords come out. (Which is where my Respirtech cord comes out. You can also see in my picture that my vest is stored on the top shelf, and I've just got the hoses loosely jumbled in there with it. Since I've got a respirtech, taking off the hoses is a quick and easy operation both from the compressor and the vest. But if you have a Hill-Rom, you could, I think, store the compressor in there with the hoses attached. There looks to be enough room, but like I say, it's best to try before you buy the desk. By the way, the shelf in the left can be moved up and down, so there is a fair bit of flexibility.

I do use a nebulizer, and the Devilbliss Pulmoade nebulizer compressor fits very well in the right-hand drawer. You just need to take off the power cord when you want to close the filing cabinet door. The top drawer above the file drawer has room to store hypertonic saline and another drawer inset for your pencils and stuff. If like the original poster, are looking for something that is a hutch, Ikea makes a top unit for this desk that gives you more nooks and crannies. Here's the desk with the top unit: http://www.ikea.com/ca/en/catalog/products/S09000500/ Those drawers in the top part might make good storage for meds.

There is another unit might work as a vest/nebulizer storage solution too. It has a smaller profile, but must be fastened to the wall: http://www.ikea.com/ca/en/catalog/products/10245709/ If it isn't fastened to the wall it could topple. Also, you can get that one with an add-on unit too for extra storage: http://www.ikea.com/ca/en/catalog/products/S49932830/

If you're looking at these and thinking they don't match your decor...just google "Ikea hacks" and you'll come up with thousands of images of ways people have made furniture fit their purposes and their decor. Lots of inspiration to store the stuff you need and have it look beautiful and function well. Their casters, drawer slides, etc. rock. Every Ikea store also has an "as is" section of returns. If you're on a budget, take a look there and see if there is something that might work (especially after you've taken a look at some other Ikea hacks). There are some truly beautiful "hacks" out there by architects, who have made these humble pieces gorgeous. Just remember when you put them together, to work on a soft surface, such as a blanket. Pine is soft and scratches.
 
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bookworm

Guest
Correction: all of the desks can be freestanding. You only need to attach them onto the wall if you are using the add-on units.
 
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ethan508

New member
I use a desk and a nightstand combo with some holes drilled in the back for cord access. The nice thing about the desk is being at the computer when you are doing treatments. Being at the computer gives me a lot of options while breathing. I can read, internet surf, budget, study, work, watch shows, shop, play games, or whatever. When my macine was near the couch, I felt more limited. I suppose a tablet would have remedied a good deal of those limits, but I like my powerful desktop with its big screen and easy to use keyboard/mouse. In someway doing treatments is nice, because it is a dedicated block of me time that I can do whatever I want.
 
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daver14

New member
Hi, I've been posting a lot about this lately in other forums. I'm a student of Industrial Design in Ireland and for my degree project I'm looking to solve this problem for you guys by making a marketable stand alone product for CF storage and organisation :) .. Threads like this really help my design so thank you for posting. One thing that I've been wondering though; would you rather have a unit with empty drawers that you could fill with your meds, inhalers etc., or drawers that have sectioned are and are divided up which can be moved around and removed individually for cleaning or travelling out for the day?? My email is mrdavidrandles@gmail.com
 
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daver14

New member
Hi, I've been posting a lot about this lately on other forums. I'm a student of Industrial Design in Ireland and for my degree project I'm looking to solve this problem for you guys by making a marketable stand alone product for CF storage and organisation :) .. Threads like this really help my design so thank you for posting. One thing that I've been wondering though; would you rather have a unit with empty drawers that you could fill with your meds, inhalers etc. any way you like, or drawers that have sectioned areas are and are divided up which can be moved around and removed individually for cleaning or travelling out for the day??

My email is mrdavidrandles@gmail.com if anyone has answers or ideas that wants to get in touch and help me with my project :) So far you've all been a great help !
 
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Gammaw

Super Moderator
How nice! I personally would prefer removable/adjustable dividers. There are so many different meds and most don't take exactly the same combination, so storage needs differ. In addition, meds get added and potentially subtracted as your condition changes.

Our current ideal is for pediatric use . . . . Not so much a desk as a movable unit. Sometimes my little guy wants to sit on the couch or a chair and watch tv, sometimes he wants to stand and play on his XBox. Sometimes he has to sit with his spelling list. Sometimes he wants to sit on the floor to build Legos. And other times sit at the play table to play a game with his sister. That's a lot of rolling around!
 
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Tnjackson2

New member
Great ideas, thanks all for sharing! And the pic posted was very useful. His equipment, and his meds are starting to (heck...been going on) take over my kitchen table, then spill over to the sofa, and it feels like clutter/chaos! I like the idea of having a set storage place with the dividers/small containers to keep the meds and nebulizers stored.
 
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bookworm

Guest
I like your cart solution. That would be ideal if you want to exercise or do nebs while doing exercise on a treadmill or indoor bike. Just wheel it nearby and you're good to go.
 
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