A family raising funds for a much needed mechanical physiotherapy device will receive a boost this Sunday at the Manfeild Automotive show'n'shine.
Nicole Ralston and Adam Kingsford, the parents of three-year-old Ashlynn Kingsford, are seeking to raise $17,000 for an airway clearance vest that will relieve the toddler's severe bronchial disorder.
Ashlynn has primary ciliary dyskinesia, also known as Kartagener syndrome, a genetic disease that affects the upper and lower airways of the lungs. It means the cilia (tiny hairs) lining her airways don't work. The vest is not publicly funded and is only available from the United States.
Ashlynn may eventually need a lung transplant but in the interim, a machine would allow her some resemblance of a normal life said Ms Ralston. The family learned of the vest through their own research and were impressed with results overseas.
The vest uses an electric pump to gently compress and release the chest wall up to 20 times a second, creating "mini-coughs" that dislodge mucus.