A Day In My Life

I had an appointment this morning with a Respiratory Therapist who carefully reviewed all of my new CPAP equipment with me and fitted me with my first mask. I can get new masks every six months.

The equipment fits into a neat travel bag a little larger than a backpack; it includes:

the CPAP machine itself (smaller than a portable radio I used to have)
the humidifier and heater
the tubing
the mask (small and light weight) and filter
the documentation (several manuals, booklets and brochures)
the “card” that holds my settings and readings
the power cord

total weight is around 8 pounds and it is quite portable. I’m definitely looking forward to using the equipment and finally feeling rested when I awaken. I haven’t been rested for so long I’ve forgotten what it’s like.

That’s the best way to describe my emotional state yesterday. I recently had my annual physical. Part of that examination included my taking home a portable sleep monitoring machine on loan from the doctor’s office to do a sleep apnea study at home. The other option of going to a sleep lab seemed less appealing than being in my own bedroom, by far. The Physician’s Assistant in the office showed me how to set up the equipment and explained how to perform the test, and a guide to follow at home was included with the equipment. I did the test on a Friday night. I felt as though I barely even closed my eyes that night, let alone slept…yet I must indeed have slept. I turned the equipment off when I got up the next morning, repacked it in the travel case, and Jay took it and the disk containing my readings back to the doctor’s office. He sent the disk off to be read and evaluated by a technician. Then, on Monday of this week, I got a call from the doctor’s office asking me to please come in before my next scheduled appointment because the doctor wanted to discuss the results of the study.

I work full time, in the office one day per week and from home four days per week. I am pretty tired by the end of my shift each day, so I don’t get to post here as much as I’d really like to. I generally develop a “to-do” list during each week of tasks I want to accomplish in my free time on weekends, since that is the best time for use of the computer other than for work. Thanks to a little challenge from a friend, I’ve decided to create a new website on one of my favorite topics. (I’m withholding details until the new site is up and running.) So out comes my text editor early Friday evening, with quick notes and a mini-list of tasks. Super; I’m set to begin work on the new site. Then I was asked to work late Friday evening. I agreed, and did put in the extra time, since it wasn’t all that much….but my momentum for starting the new site and its associated tasks seems to have vanished into the winds. I just do not have energy to devote to it right now. I’m so exhausted all I really seem to want to do is curl up in front of the television. I hate it, but I guess it’s my body’s way of telling me to slow down. Nobody’s holding a stopwatch on my new project (except me!) so it won’t hurt anything if it doesn’t happen “yesterday.” Just my own impatience. Man, I hate getting reminded (forcibly) that I live in human skin that has more limitations than my mind does….