Luke Wachowiak sat at his dining room table on a recent Saturday afternoon, scrolling on his phone as a a nurse placed an IV in his arm.
Wachowiak, 17, wasn’t doom scrolling or perusing Instagram. He was using an app he created for Saturdays like this one, when instead of hanging out with friends, riding his mountain bike or doing homework, he’s hooked up to a machine.
TogetherIV allows people undergoing medical infusions to spend the long and often isolating time chatting and playing games with others with similar conditions. The app, launched in October, features a community board, private messaging, games such as live trivia and coping tools including Whac-A-Mole and a breathing exercise.
Wachowiak’s dermatomyositis, a disease causing swelling and irritation, first appeared in 2022 as fatigue and rashes on his hands. He was then diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, a chronic condition that causes joint pain.
“The immune system is kind of attacking itself when it shouldn’t be,” Wachowiak said.
Chronic conditions are increasing among young adults, which means more are being treated through infusions like those Wachowiak undergoes once a month.
Susan Chhen, director of home infusion and compounding pharmacy services at Fairview Pharmacy, said some medications are more effective when administered through an infusion rather than as a pill. Each year, Fairview provides more than 6,000 patients in 13 states with infusions at home.
After his diagnoses, Wachowiak was initially prescribed the steroid prednisone, which caused sleep loss among other side effects. He then took adalimumab, a biologic medication, via a shot in his leg. His mother, Shannon O’Donnell, said this painful shot was “really terrible.”
