Brick Woman Gains Freedom Via Vest Gift From 'Bachelor' Star

BRICK, NJ — On Tuesday morning, Amanda Rutherford put a leash on Hera, her American bulldog, and took her out for a walk around the neighborhood.

For most people, it’s a task that goes by without much of a thought. But for Rutherford, performing that simple task underscores the change brought to her life by a gift she received recently: an AffloVest, a battery-operated therapy vest presented to her by former NFL player Colton Underwood, a star of ABC’s "The Bachelor."

Rutherford, 32, lives with cystic fibrosis, a genetic disease that causes her body to produce a thick mucus that sticks to the insides of her lungs, making breathing difficult and everyday activities challenging, and putting her at risk of infections. She starts each day with 45 minutes to an hour of nebulizer treatments of medications to thin the mucus and prevent infections, followed by a treatment with a vest that helps loosen it, so she can cough and clear her airways.

The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation says that for someone living with the disease, it's like breathing through a straw all the time. If someone without the disease does it, it might not seem bad in the first few seconds, but the longer you do it, the more your lungs feel the strain.

"That's what they've said it's like," Rutherford said. "I don't know because I don't what it's like to breathe normally."

Until two weeks ago, the daily treatments to loosen the mucus meant sitting on the couch with tubes attaching her to an 80-pound machine compressed and vibrated around her chest.

"It takes 30 minutes, three times a day," Rutherford said. "Some people start the vest treatments while they’re doing the nebulizer."

It meant coming home and putting on the vest after hours out of the house, and a third session with the vest later in the evening.

The AffloVest, a battery-operated high frequency chest wall oscillation therapy vest, is designed to deliver the same therapy that the 80-pound machine delivered, while the patient goes about their day. It has changed Rutherford's life dramatically.

"For me it’s a huge difference," said Rutherford, who lives in Brick. She can wear the vest, which looks like a life vest you'd find on a boat, and do other tasks while receiving her therapy.

"This morning I took my dog out for her morning walk with it on," she said. "It improves my quality of life."

Rutherford was chosen from among dozens of applications to receive the vest, as a gift from the Colton Underwood Legacy Foundation. The foundation focuses on assisting those with cystic fibrosis.

Rutherford found out about the foundation because she is a huge Bachelor fan.

"I followed Colton on social media," she said, and in his postings Underwood spoke about his foundation, which he started because he has a cousin living with cystic fibrosis. The vests, which cost upwards of $20,000, are frequently not covered by insurance, and the foundation launched a project to donate one to a person in each state. Rutherford said she applied and shared her story with the foundation, and was thrilled when she found out she would be receiving the vest.

"I have a very active life," Rutherford said, working two jobs, exercising three times a week and spending time with her boyfriend. The AffloVest helps her take control of her health care because it is portable and lightweight.

Rutherford was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis when she was 6 months old, after doctors struggled for some time to figure out why she was ill. She has received treatments for the disease ever since through Monmouth Medical Center's Cystic Fibrosis Center, led by Dr. Robert Zanni, the hospital’s chief of pediatric pulmonology. The Comprehensive Cystic Fibrosis Center at Monmouth’s Unterberg Children’s Hospital is the oldest and largest of the centers in New Jersey, offering patient care, teaching and research. Rutherford has been receiving treatment there since her diagnosis in 1987. The center — which includes both pediatric and adult programs — is accredited by the National Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and is designated by the State of New Jersey as a referral center for Cystic Fibrosis Newborn Screening.

"Amanda has been coming to our cystic fibrosis center since she was a baby," Zanni said. "She adheres to prescribed therapies and medications and lives a healthy lifestyle. She works hard to take good care of herself."

Rutherford said that has included working out three times a week, which was a continuation of her active lifestyle as a child, where she participated in cheerleading, dance and gymnastics.

"I don't have the time to be sitting doing the treatments it requires to get better," she said. "I feel so much more active" with the vest, which is not only good for her physically, but mentally too.

However, most insurance does not cover it because "they don't see the difference," Rutherford said. "You have a piece of equipment; you don't get another," is their mindset, she said. The insurance companies do not see the impact it can have on someone's quality of life.

"Your physical (well-being) is affected by your mental well-being," she said.

That's part of the reason she works out at the gym with her boyfriend as often as possible: the high-intensity workouts add to the positive effects of the vest therapy. They also have a side benefit.

"Someone came up to us the other day and told us we're a power couple because of how hard we work out," Rutherford said. The woman didn't realize Rutherford had cystic fibrosis or what that means for her life, and was surprised when Rutherford explained it. "To have someone come up and give that compliment was so rewarding."

Rutherford received her vest June 30 along with two other people, during a one-hour fitness bootcamp fundraiser held at the Prudential Center in Newark that was part of a three-day visit by Underwood for a benefit for the Legacy Foundation, and said he was actively engaged with the cause and the recipients the whole time.

"People would stop him to talk to him and he would turn around and introduce me," Rutherford said. "He was so mindful of the reason he was there. That meant so much to me."

Underwood would tell others about cystic fibrosis and explain its effect on the lives of those like Rutherford. "He was educating people. It's amazing that he uses the platform for something meaningful."

"The costs associated with treating cystic fibrosis are burdensome — many patients can’t afford newer technology that is both clinically beneficial and fits an active lifestyle," Underwood said in a news release about the foundation's efforts to give out the vests.

"Being able to have options now is a big change," Rutherford said. The AffloVest goes in a duffel bag, and because it doesn't look like a piece of medical equipment, it's more discreet. It becomes easier to travel with, because she can carry it an airplane on and doesn't need special clearance and to pay extra to transport it, she said.

Rutherford, who also deals with cystic fibrosis-related diabetes, a Type 1 diabetes where her body doesn't consistently produce enough insulin, said she is grateful for the freedom the AffloVest has brought to her life already.

"I try to make the best of things and enjoy my life," she said. "I just keep a positive outlook."

"I'm very, very thankful for the vest," Rutherford said. "It's immeasureable that I was picked."

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