08/10/2026
Ahmad Bilal was told he'd be on a ventilator for the rest of his life. Both of his phrenic nerves — the wiring that tells the diaphragm to breathe — were damaged. Weaning failed. Every time he came off the vent, his oxygen numbers "dropped like a fallen elevator." A diaphragm pacer alone couldn't help, because of the nerve damage.
But there's a little-publicized surgery that rebuilds the wiring, repairing the phrenic nerve with a transfer to give a diaphragm pacer a chance. Done within about a year of injury, it succeeds roughly 90% of the time. The timing is important, because the diaphragm atrophies a little more every month it doesn't work.
After months of hard work, Bilal was able to wean off the ventilator entirely. "If I want to go out-back now, all I need is somebody to open the door. I don't need somebody to carry a cart out next to me. My voice is better… It's a blessing. It's everything," he says.
If someone you know is in year one on a vent, send them this.
Full story at: newmobility.com/nerve-reconstruction-giving-ventilator-users-new-option
