Breathing easier in Redditch
Worcestershire and Warwickshire residents, as well as local masons, have donated £4,500 to help buy a CoughAssist machine for the respiratory ward at the Alexandra Hospital in Redditch.
Bill Roberts of Doric Lodge, No. 4167, started the ‘Cough Up a Pound for CoughAssist’ appeal after he was diagnosed with myasthenia gravis (MG). This condition weakens certain muscles – commonly the eye and facial muscles, and those that control swallowing – by damaging the communication system between them and the brain.
The CoughAssist machine clears excess mucus from airways by mimicking a real cough. Instead of having to put a tube down a patient’s throat, this equipment fits over the mouth and creates varying levels of pressure to simulate a cough.
Bill enlisted the help of friends from his MG support group, run by the charity Myaware (the Myasthenia Gravis Association), and asked Worcestershire and Warwickshire masons for support.