Indianapolis hospital using special treatment to help battle RSV
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH)– A special respirator treatment called cuirass ventilation is helping speed up the healing process for children battling RSV and allowing more beds to be open as more patients continue to come in.
The only hospital in Indiana to provide the treatment is Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital in Indianapolis.
Hospital beds across the state are filling up as respiratory syncytial virus, a common respiratory illness, continues to infect children like Hannah Lyell.
“As soon as they started reading her numbers, it was immediate — they came and put her on a high flow of oxygen. There were doctors coming in every 30 minutes to check on her,” Lyell’s mother, Kym Lyell, tells News 8.
It was an unimaginable moment for Kym.
“Her heart rate was skyrocketing and I went through a moment where I was like, ‘are we gonna lose her,’ scenario,” Lyell said.
Hannah was transferred to Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital. It was there Hannah received the special treatment.
“The cold air helps break the mucus up, and every four hours the machine shakes you to help break the mucus up and they do breathing treatments,” Lyell said.
It’s affectionately called the “Turtle Shell,” because of the way it looks. It helps break up the congestion in the child and allows them to potentially recover more quickly, and avoid putting children on a ventilator.
“If there’s a machine out there that prevents your kid from going on a ventilator, I want to be there. I even shared the story on social media when I got home, saying, ‘hey, there is this option out there,’ because I wouldn’t want my child on the ventilator,” Lyell said.
Kym says she’s beyond grateful for the staff and treatment at Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital.
“They kept me calm the whole time, Hannah was giving them dirty looks the whole time, she was not easy because she didn’t feel good, they never complained once. They were right there for me every step of the way, I will forever be grateful for them,” Lyell said.