Hopefully no one’s surprised
that we're still here despite the Mayan calendar prediction. Although 2012 is
certainly winding down as we come into the home stretch before Christmas and
will soon be one for the history books.
A few snowflakes have been falling today, but it’s not looking hopeful
for a truly white Christmas.
This past week I kept my
scheduled appointment with the sleep clinic to determine if I have sleep apnea –
any bets? Arrived at the clinic just
before 8:30 p.m. and was admitted by a very personable technician who would be
on duty all night. She showed me to my spartan
accommodations for the next few hours; told me to change into my jammies and
relax for about 40 minutes. Glad I
brought a good page turner with me – Kathy Reichs’ 206 Bones. I'm a big fan of her books.
When the tech returned about an hour
later, she rolled in a trolley full of electrical leads, and pre-measured
dollops of goop. She’d obviously done
this procedure hundreds of times and like an airline steward informing
passengers what to do in the event of an emergency, she made it sound very
routine, but yet personal at the same time.
I think I was one of 6 participants that evening, although I only
briefly saw a couple of other folks upon check-in and my ‘instructor’ was responsible
for all of us. It must have taken a good 15
minutes to apply all the electrodes atop my head, some beside my eyes and along my
jaw. A couple more on each leg just for
fun. Then two Velcro straps across my
upper chest and abdomen. An oxygen tube
found its resting spot and was taped into place. And last but not least, the oxygen/blood
pressure monitor doo-dad was clipped onto my finger. Visions of a restful sleep
were fast disappearing!
By now it’s about 10:00 p.m. and
as I was instructed no nap during the day, I was pretty tired and longed to lie
down and see about sleeping with all the paraphernalia attached. Yes I could lie down now, but I was NOT to go
to sleep just yet. I was told once
everyone was hooked up, there would be some testing via the camera and intercom
to ensure we were all recording as expected.
That was a very long few minutes and I had to fight not to nod off.
Finally her voice! Blink your eyes, move your legs this way and
that, try to snore, etc. When she was
satisfied all her class were behaving, she finished up by saying – “You can now
go to sleep and may sleep in any position you like (right!), but not on your
head or at the other end of the bed.
Good night”
Wasn’t the most restful of sleeps
and I had to make a washroom trip only once.
Very hard time falling back to sleep after that, but when the door
opened and the lights flew on at 6:00 a.m. I was sound asleep. Time to change my clothes and was very
grateful to have heeded advice about bringing a ball cap! My hair had gobs of what felt like toothpaste
in several spots and stood up like demented porcupine quills.
So now I await results and will
see if I’m in need of a CPAP machine – if it means an end to dreadful snoring
and exhaustive fatigue, bring it on!
And now the gift wrapping is
done and in a couple of hours I’ll gather with family for our early Christmas
gathering. Wonder if anyone seriously didn’t do Christmas shopping thinking the
Mayan’s had it right?
My thoughts turn to the families
in Connecticut whose Christmas is now forever changed. There are no words to describe the sadness
that one feels during these horrible events, but with so many little ones lost it’s
beyond understanding – my thoughts and prayers continue to be with that
community. Please hug your own little ones
more closely this Christmas and enjoy your family and friends – no one knows
what tomorrow will bring - truly life is precious and vulnerable at the same
time.
Wishing everyone a very Merry
and Blessed Christmas – and don’t forget – books make great gifts!
Cheers
Liz
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