"Due to having Muscular Dystrophy, in 1996, I was placed on a ventilator to help me breathe. Because of the way I breathe, most of the portable ventilators on the market at that time didn't work for me. My ventilator setting uses CPAP with Pressure Support and when I tried those various portable ventilators, I never felt like I was getting enough help breathing, or the breaths that it gave me didn't feel very smooth.

In 1999, I found out about a brand new portable ventilator called the LTV900 from Pulmonetic Systems. I still remember seeing it for the first time when they brought it into my room. I had mixed feelings -- I was excited that this might work for me and I could once again travel, but was also nervous that just like the other portable ventilators that I had tried, I wouldn't feel comfortable breathing with it.

After setting the LTV900 with Pressure Support of 15, and PEEP of 1, plus a few other adjustments, I spent the next ten minutes or so breathing with it. With each breath I took, I became more and more excited because it was comfortable! After three years of being at home, I finally saw hope again and the chance for getting back some of my life I thought I had lost.

Since then, I have gone on many trips using my LTV900. My first big trip using it was to the ocean. It sure helped to have it plugged into the cars cigarette lighter for it kept my ventilator fully charged during the trip to the ocean and back. Then when we arrived, I could still use it for an hour as we spent time by the beach and enjoyed being away from home. That was a very emotional day for me and a new beginning in my life."