I walk at lunchtime every day. I often see a very large man (both tall and… large ). Recently he has been wearing something I assume is a medical device.
It’s like a bullet-proof vest, but it doesn’t go down as far as the stomach. On both the front and back of the vest are about 15 compartments about the size of a 35-mm film canister. I can’t see any tubes from the compartments, but I did see a clear tube coming out of the vest at the top. However, the tube didn’t seem to be going to a nasal cannula or a breathing mask of any sort.
Ever since he’s had this vest, the guy seems to be walking slower than before.
So, does anyone have any idea what this vest-like contraption might be?
Hmmm. This one is more like it, but the compartments were more stand-alone or individual. The compartment size seems about right. I can’t see the back of this vest, though, so I can’t see if it has the compartments on the back, too. I also don’t see a clear tube coming from this vest.
Use the google image function on the phrase “cystic fibrosis” vest and see if any of those look like it.
It sounds like it may be an external percussion vest, designed to loosen secretions in patients with CF and other diseases where the bronchioles get clogged up.
Most folks don’t wear them while out and about, though.
How large of a man? If he is a wildland firefighter or a volunteer fire fighter who wants to be red carded to work on wild fire incidents. He would have to take the work capacity test“Pack Test”,walking 3 miles in a 45lb pack. There is no standard pack they come in all shapes and sizes, but this is about the time of year people start training.
There are some jobs that only require the moderate version of the test, which is a 25 lb pack over a two mile course. If he was an equipment operator, truck driver, or even the guy who sets up the cook trailers or honey-buckets he may be out of shape enough that training for the lesser version is tough work.
I’m stopping back in to identify the vest I saw. I’ve seen him a couple of more times and I’ve identified the vest to be almost identical to this vest.
I guess it IS a weight vest, although I can’t see this guy as an athlete. Maybe his doctor told him to use a weight vest on his walks to increase his level of effort a little.
They’re not just for athletes. Sometimes people wear them because it’s a relatively low-effort form of exercise and maybe that’s all they can handle until they’re more fit. It’s a step in the right direction, at least.
). Recently he has been wearing something I assume is a medical device.
