I had a fun and exciting career in the adult beverage industry for almost 25 years. As a Marketing Manager, I traveled all the time, went to splashy events and met sports and musical celebrities. But over the years, it started to feel shallow and it certainly wasn’t going to make the world a better place.
In 2013, I experienced my ninth surgery as a result of a cancer diagnosis. As in the previous surgeries, it was critical to wear post-op wound care drains for three weeks during recovery. The protocol for hospitals is to supply a safety pin or clothesline clip to attach drains to a patient’s hospital gown.
Instead of using the pins, I elected to bring a canvas apron – similar to the ones used at Home Depot – to manage drains. The result was very positive, with the attending medical team requesting something be developed that could be used in a clinical environment.
At the beginning of 2014, a prototype using mesh material was developed and tested with patients at UC Davis Medical Center. A commercial version was manufactured, and we began marketing the KILI Medical Drain Carrier.
Our first adopter was the post anesthesia care unit at UC Davis Medical Center. Subsequently we contacted and networked with Nurse Navigators in the Sacramento region. The product is now distributed to patients with drains at University of Chicago Medical Center, Sutter Health Hospitals, Dignity Health Hospitals and several independent hospitals in the area.
KILI Medical Drain Carrier has truly improved the lives of surgical patients during recovery.I’m so fortunate to survive cancer. Now I have the opportunity to give back to individuals having to face a similar trauma of a cancer diagnosis.
Submitted by Cinde Dolphin,