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Saving The Airway, One Person At A Time.
Submitted by: April K
San Diego, CAI am a mom, inventor, and a Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA). I have administered sedation and general anesthesia for over 20 years in the hospital and private practice setting. I am a patient advocate and have a passion for helping others.
After extensive studying and becoming a Nurse Anesthetist, I often found sedation a challenge because the airway tends to collapse or the person can stop breathing by using a drug called Propofol, think Michael Jackson. I found there was nothing to help other than to use my own hands to lift a patient’s jaw and relieve obstruction so they can breath while they are asleep. Since the population has become more overweight, the problem has only become worse. I worried for my patients and yet I did not know what I could do.
One day while I was on vacation, I saw a friend reading “The Secret” and he told me how it changed his life. I read it 4 times and was hooked. I used The Secret to “secretly” manifest a creative solution. I focused on seeing my creation on every sedated patient in the world. I saw it helping adults and kids and hoped it could save people from unfortunate experiences. I was grateful for my vision of something that could help others. I verbally said out loud 10 things I was grateful for and 10 things I saw myself doing to get what I needed.
And, guess what?! They happened!
I raised capital, created prototypes, went through the FDA approval process, and manufactured a device called the Jaw Elevation Device (JED). Even the right people magically appeared to help me in the exact same moment when I thought I would quit. I ignored the fear that “I don’t know anything about this process and can’t do it”, but thanked the thought of disbelief anyway. Then I never stopped focusing on my vision. Our team received several patents and even went on to sell the device in several hospitals and surgery centers in the US and abroad. The JED landed a position on the front of some notable Journal covers and the anesthesia community is discovering what a helping hand the device is providing to aid in patient safety and provider convenience.
Even though all these amazing things happened using The Secret, I always wanted a moment that gave me the sense that I “did it”. I finally got that moment today. I had a mom contact us with a serious airway problem with her medically challenged son. She is a Physician’s Assistant and had heard of the JED and wondered if she could try it out. Her son has a serious sleep apnea condition and does not tolerate a mask on his face or other sleep apnea devices. Both parents have to manually lift their son’s jaw all night so he can breathe while sleeping. They have to pull “shifts” to do this and never got any sleep themselves! I sent the sleep depraved couple a JED.
I am happy to report they are hands free and even sent me photos of the JED on their son sleeping soundly! It brought tears to my eyes to see this and I never would have thought in a million years that The Secret could have this much power to not only change my life but literally the life of others.
Thank you, Rhonda and The Secret team from the bottom of my grateful heart!