Spinal Infusion Pump
[C=Catheter P=Pump]
Screech! Crash! The sound of a cars
horn in constant compression was all that was left among a crowd of speechless
spectators. A negligent truck driver on a cell phone moving at 30mph collided
with a car stopped at a red light…
It just so happens, the individual wedged between the cars
horn and their seat was my mother. It wasn’t long before emergency response teams arrived,
however, upon arrival they were faced with a delicate situation. The force of
the accident left my mom unconscious with a back broken in several places.
Luckily, the professionals were able to remove her from the vehicle and
transport her to a hospital where she would remain for the majority of the next
year.
This accident turned my family’s
life upside down. I was only 5 at the time, but I remember whenever I saw her,
her eyes where saturated in tears and my brother and I were not allowed to hug
her due to the pain she was in.
After about a year of her being
constantly rotated in and out of the hospital for more surgeries and different
types of body casts to help her heal, it became clear that nothing was working.
Two years after the accident,
relief descended on our family in the form of a device known as a spinal
infusion pump. This pump was installed inside her and it contained medication
that was distributed via a catheter directly to her spinal column for maximum
pain relief.
Once this device was implemented,
it was a matter of time until she was out of the wheel chair and basically back
to living a normal life. It is important to understand, engineers don’t just
design planes train and automobiles. Bioengineers designed the device that
virtually saved my mom’s life.
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