Kobe Martin is a thirteen year old boy who is a very happy, sweet, persevering, well loved boy by his mother, father, four younger sisters, student, peer, grandson, nephew and cousin and touched by everyone who meets him. He and his family is in great need of help. Kobe has Cystic Fibrosis, an auto immune deficient, life threatening genetic, progressive disease. Meaning it progressively worsens overtime, building his body inside with a thick sticky mucus, plugging his lungs and organs. It is a multi-organ disease with no cure, only treatments and meds to help slower the progression to prolong their life expectancy, and to help better the quality of life. Life expectancy for someone with CF is in the mid-thirties to date, affecting 70,000 young children and young adults worldwide, with 4,000 patients in 42 clinics across Canada.
Kobe has been fairly healthy over the years to CF standards, never (miraculously) having been hospitalized till recently having his first stay. His lungs have dramatically dropped from the upper 80th percentile to the 50th percentile with in just the past 2 years. A cat scan has shown severe lung scarring and bronchial damage, and informed by the CF doctor that when lung function is at 30%-20% is when they start talking about lung transplant.
One of Kobe’s three treatments used in help to aid of loosening of the mucus in and out of his lungs is the Thera Pep, a funded device, it helps with the use of several steps of breathing techniques and concentration, that causes the lungs to flutter, strengthening the lungs and bring the mucus up. It is a useful tool in CF treatment, the problem is that Kobe also lives with an intellectual disability, making it difficult for him to get the proper technique down for it to be fully effective and beneficial, despite that he has had a physiotherapist coming to school monthly to monitor and teachers taught and working with Kobe daily over the past few years. The parents, doctors and CF team believe that it would be beneficial, that he would better and improve himself with aid of an Airway Clearance Vest system to supplement with the Thera Pep. The Airway Vest Clearance system is a vest that is put on and hooked by two hoses to an air pressure machine with several settings, set and turned on sends air pressure pulsating in different affective areas of the back chest and side of the lungs, vibrating and shaking, to help loosen the mucus, proven to be also a very affective device used in the U.S.
Unfortunately there is no funding in Canada for this medical equipment, and comes with a heavy price tag of 15,000 dollars Canadian, this includes a life time warranty and filters, as well as a traveling case, vest size changes, and if there is any repairs or break downs then a new replacement is sent.
We are asking that if you could please help the cause in a donation of an item or in monetary to go towards a Face Book Auction for Kobe’s Vest Fund to help him with a better chance and quality of life to continue to grow and to continue to smile, laugh, and persevere. To make a donation, a donation can be made to Kobe’s Vest Fund at Scotia Bank, account #05546 02704 23
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