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Waikato family turns to Givealittle to fund much needed Cough Assist Machine for son Austin

One Waikato family are fundraising to buy a life-saving machine which would enable their son to return to school after a prolonged illness.

The Taylor family are trying to raise $10,000 to purchase a Cough Assist Machine for 19-year-old Austin, who has Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) a progressive muscle wasting disorder that affects one out of 5,000 to 6,000 baby boys born.

Last November, after suffering a twisted bowel, Austin became sick with two serious respiratory failures, liver failure and a cardiac arrest following emergency surgery on his bowel.

“We thought he was gone from that and was pretty much through,” Austin’s father Steve Taylor told 1 NEWS Now.

Against all the odds, Austin recovered from these medical events and has since been recuperating at home.

“He survived all that when he really wasn’t supposed to," says Mr Taylor.

All these events have greatly affected Austin's lungs making it difficult for him to cough.

"He's got no power in him to suck air up and cough. If we don't have a cough assist machine he'll basically drown."

To help Austin cough and clear his lungs a Cough Assist Machine is needed.

The Cough Assist Machine works by blowing air into the lungs and sucking air out of the lungs. While the air is being sucked out a person can cough.

Austin needs the machine up to eight times a day to clear his lungs and is unable to return to school without one.

Currently, the family are using one which has been loaned to them since December by Muscular Dystrophy New Zealand.

The Cough Assist Machine isn't a DHB funded piece of equipment and after a year of knocking on doors and multiple phone calls to see if he could get one funded, Mr Taylor turned to Givealittle.

"I've been reluctant to set up a page on Givealittle because I was trying to get one through the hospital."

Muscular Dystrophy New Zealand's Chief Executive Ronelle Baker says DHBs are "falling short" of meeting the needs of those who need Cough Assist Machines and the Taylors are "constrained in a DHB system" that hasn't invested in this kind of equipment before.

Nationwide Ms Baker says up to 500 people could benefit from these machines.

"I would like to think that my DHB could provide that for me if I needed it to keep me out of hospital and keep me well.

"At the moment that is just not offered through the public health service, so MDA has filled that gap for pretty much 10 years waiting for the health system to catch up."

Counties Manukau DHB has invested in 10 machines which are used in the community and overseen by a respiratory physiotherapist.

"That's the standard we're wanting for all over the country," says Ms Baker.

"As far as I know there is no other service in the country offering that level of clinical wrap around."

She says it's not just people with MDA that would benefit from the machine but those with respiratory problems as well.

In a statement Waikato DHB told 1 NEWS the machines are "expensive devices not usually funded for community usage".

"Fundraising by various organisations has allowed some machines to be available for loan (when available). Patients and their care providers have ongoing discussions around the merits of these machines for individuals and what options may be available."

For the Taylor family, until the DHBs decide to fund the machine, they are relying on the goodwill of Kiwis to purchase the machine.

So far, the Givealittle campaign has raised over $5,000.

DHBs with CAMs loaned to the community:
Starship Children’s Hospital
Counties Manukau DHB

Hospitals with donated machines:
Dunedin Hospital
Christchurch Hospital
Whangarei Hospital

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