Allison:
Full Breaths | Full Life, Bright Future

Hard to breathe

Allison is as smart as any kid her age. She's a talented musician and a great student. She's bright and quick and capable. In fact, the only thing her brain can't do is tell her lungs it's time to breathe.

It's called Congenital Central Hypoventilation Syndrome (CCHS) and, as Allison progressed through childhood, its symptoms began to rob more and more of her breath, limiting her oxygen intake, and stealing her ability to grow and learn as the children around her were doing.

Healthy organs, healthy outlook

Just like Allison's brain, her lungs are perfectly normal in their function — as long as her diaphragm gets the signal to expand and contract. It now does so, thanks to two, surgically implanted pacemakers that quite literally spark each breath of Allison's life.

From her infancy until the surgery, however, PHS played an integral role in Allison's health:

• Helping keep her free from infection
• Providing the mechanical ventilation technologies that kept her breathing
• Offering the respiratory therapy that continues to improve her quality of life
• Giving the training and support her mom and dad needed

Clear breathing and college bound

Allison has grown up with PHS by her side, and soon, she'll move out of her mother's home and on with her life. After she finishes home school and her violin and piano courses at MacPhail Center for Music, she plans to attend college and become a veterinarian.

"We're very lucky. We've had very few medical issues," said Kim, Allison's mom, "but when we've had them, PHS has been there to help us get through."