Entrepreneurs and Edina High School graduates Logan Bracken and Luke Wachowiak. Photos: TogetherIV
Students create an app that connects infusion patients in real time.
TogetherIV co-founder Luke Wachowiak began receiving monthly, five-hour IV infusion treatments in 2022 for dermatomyositis, a rare, systemic autoimmune disease. It didn’t take long for him to realize how isolating the experience could feel. “From day one of my infusions, I knew it wasn’t an environment conducive to sustainability and happiness with the treatment,” Wachowiak says. “It was just lonely and not a positive time.”
Where most teenagers might turn to existing forms of entertainment to get them through treatments, Wachowiak knew there had to be a better solution. He enlisted the help of longtime classmate and fellow Edina High School (EHS) student Logan Bracken, and the two teamed up to create an app to provide patients an opportunity for connection. “At the time of my idea, there was nothing currently on the market appealing to people getting infusion treatments,” Wachowiak says. “The main goal of TogetherIV is to reduce isolation, which I had personally felt myself.”
Wachowiak and Bracken, who both graduated from EHS this past spring, have known each other since elementary school. Bracken got into coding during COVID-19, learning the skills necessary to understand the basics of app building. “I’d always sort of been interested in computers and technology and how everything works,” Bracken says. “So this just felt natural building this with him.”
A peek at the TogetherIV mobile app.
The app, which launched in last October, is designed to be used one-handed, avoiding the infusion limb, and acts as an online lobby where patients receiving infusions can log in and connect with others going through treatments at the same time. There’s a message feature, which allows for individual or group chats, as well as one-on-one and group games. That feature also includes a forum where users can post tips and questions they have surrounding infusions. The final aspect of the app is a section with coping tools, including breathing exercises or distraction games. Wachowiak notes this feature is especially helpful to use while the infusion needle is being inserted, as he mentions that it can be the hardest part of the treatment.
The teens’ goal in creating the app was to give infusion patients an opportunity for connection with others going through a similar experience. “We built this with the intention of creating something where we were able to connect people who otherwise felt like their voice wasn’t heard,” Bracken says. “I know from Luke’s experience, you might feel like you’re the only person in the world who’s going through these treatments.” Earlier this year, the duo was recognized as part of the City of Edina’s Hometown Heroes. While the accolades are an honor, Wachowiak says it’s the response he’s gotten from users of the app that has meant the most. “The coolest part is after seeing other patients relate to the problems that I’ve had, for them to join the app and be able to alleviate those problems,” he says. “Seeing the solution actually work in practice is the coolest part. It just makes it feel more real.”
TogetherIV
Instagram: @togetherivapp
