You never stop worrying

I am the parent of two adult children. My son is 25, my daughter 23. If you remember my last post, I talked about not sleeping well, and in part I blamed it on worrying about my children.

On Friday, right after I wrote that blog, my son sent this cryptic text:
"I'm fine but Black Betty is no more."
Black Betty is the name of his Nissan Versa. He went on to tell me that he was run off the road by weather/brake slamming all around him, and went head-on into a tree. The airbag and seatbelt did their jobs and he escaped with very minor injury (a bumped knee, some soreness from the seatbelt, and a minor burn from the airbag). He was checked out and released to work, where he went on to climb on top of the fuselage of a C-17, some 30 plus feet in the air. Is it any wonder that I worry?

My daughter, however, made my day on Friday by learning that she was offered a position with a company that had to weed through 52 applications for this one job. Her joy became mine.

Oddly enough, despite worries about my son, I got 10 decent hours of sleep on Friday night. The relief of my daughter's news, coupled with the relief that my son wasn't injured, trumped the worry.

At least for now. I'm sure I'll find something new to worry about in a day or two.

I'm really tired

I have a lot of trouble sleeping these days, thanks to a kaleidoscope of reasons. I have sleep apnea and have used CPAP quite successfully since 2005...until recently, when it no longer seems to be working. That's usually a sign that the pressure that is delivered must be increased. I have taken steps to deal with that but I'm fighting against a medical equipment company that cannot seem to get things right. First, they insisted that it was the type of mask and switched me from a nasal mask (covers just the nose) to a full-face mask that covers nose and mouth.

It didn't work. I didn't sleep well and the fam reported that I was snoring with the mask on.

Called the doctor about getting the pressure increased but of course he had to "see me" first. He agreed that I might need higher pressure and ordered an auto-titrate 2 week trial. The auto-titrate machine sets the pressure according to your needs by sensing obstruction or apneic periods. The first machine they gave me made high pitched moaning noises with each breath in and each exhale. 2 nights, no sleep. They brought a new machine out 2 days later and I settled in for what I hoped would be a good 2 weeks.

Silly me.

Remember that full-face mask? Turns out that it is difficult to keep it sealed under higher pressures. The respiratory therapist at the medical equipment company told me that almost scornfully, as if to say, "silly woman, don't you know that?" And so I pulled out my old mask. I slept fairly well for 10 nights with some mask issues (leaks, pressure on my nose, etc.) and then attempted to return the auto-titrate machine for analysis. It had a computer card that recorded the pressures that it delivered according to my needs. I called to confirm pick up and it took several days before they finally picked it up. More delay in treatment.

When they picked it up, I noticed that the physician listed as my PCP was instead the orthopedic surgeon who fixed my ankle 4 years ago. This has been an issue- whenever I call, they ask me if Dr. K is still my PCP and I tell them, every time, that no, Dr. M is my PCP. I called AGAIN and they promised once again to fix the data in their database.

I called my doc to see if they had received the report and if I would indeed need a pressure change. Guess what? They didn't get the report. Guess who got the report? The orthopedic surgeon, who really doesn't care about my sleep apnea, and probably doesn't even remember who I am anymore.

Through all of this, I am still not sleeping. I'm back to using my machine with inadequate pressure and leaky masks. I'm back to snoring through my CPAP. Most of all, I'M TIRED AND CRANKY. I'm fighting with restless leg/arms (my body does that in an effort to wake me up and breathe), worrying because my son will deploy to the Middle East next month, missing my husband who is working in Cleveland during the week, and concern because my daughter is having trouble finding a job. I do a lot of praying.

Who can sleep with all of that?

Telephone Etiquette

Sorry I have been absent for awhile. Busy.

Yesterday I read an excellent blog about clothing... check it out at http://www.thesquirrelfactor.com/2010/11/get-grip-on-your-wardrobe-people.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheSquirrelFactor+%28The+Squirrel+Factor%29

In the same spirit, I want to discuss telephone etiquette.

I love my cell phone. It is a wonderful thing. I rarely use my home phone, preferring the portability and privacy of my cell phone. I don't actually make many calls because for some reason I have developed a real aversion to talking on the phone, but some calls are unavoidable. In those cases, please observe the following "suggestions" when using your phone.

1. If you know that our phone call will be short, do my the courtesy of turning down the TV/radio/mp3 player and give me your full attention. I'm often calling about something that will take up less than 5 minutes of your time, but it is irritating as hell to try to talk over the TV/radio/mp3 player.

2. If you know that our phone call will be short, please put down the iron/vacuum cleaner/etc. See above.

3. Use of the speakerphone. It makes the call very awkward- I can't hear you properly, the sound cuts in and out, and ambient noise will trigger the speakerphone. If you can possibly avoid the speakerphone, please do.

4. This should be a given, but please turn your ringer off while you're in a quiet place. If you forget, and it rings, please hit a button to stop the ring. Don't pretend that it's someone else's phone. Some of those ringers go on and on and on and on.....

5. When you're not using the phone, take the Bluetooth out of your ear. You don't look cool.Sorry.

Please take these suggestions in the spirit in which they are offered. In other words, if you want me to like you, pay attention to these rules!!!!