Sleep Study

October 9, 2016

Tonight is Den’s Sleep Study for the Pulmonologist. We have already driven by the place so we know where we are going. He has to check in around 9PM and I will need to pick him up at 5AM.

Late in the evening, I started packing up all of Den’s needed stuff. He needed to take his power unit, Bi-Pap, and extra batteries. Anytime Den goes somewhere overnight it is an ordeal to get him packed and then set up when we get to wherever it is he is going to be sleeping. This is no different.

Em and I took Den to the Sleep Lab around 8PM. We arrived a little early, but I knew that I would need a little bit of time to get his power unit set up and help him get comfortable. The nurse let us in and asked us to sit and wait while she finished with another patient. So we sat and talked for a few minutes. When she called for Den, I got up to go with. She asked why I was coming with him. I explained the situation and she looked a little confused, but let me come along anyway. I think she understood better when Den took off his shirt and she saw the batteries, controller and drive line. She was even bold enough to ask questions (which we are always willing to answer). She said that Den would start the night without his Bi-Pap, so we could take it home with us. (She had equipment there that Den could use while he was there.) I said good night to Den and Em and I drove home.

It was very strange sleeping alone in be that night. I had finally gotten used to Den being there all the time again. I had a very hard time falling asleep, but I did get some sleep before the alarm woke me up.

October 10 ,2016

The alarm clock jared me out of my dream at 4AM. I quickly woke Em up (today is a school holiday…thank goodness). We dressed quickly and headed out to get Den from the Sleep Lab.

The route I took goes through some forest preserves and grasslands. We all know that there is at least one heard of deer in the area. I told Em that we needed to be very careful and watch for deer trying to cross the roads. We were very lucky; no deer tried to cross in front of us. We did see lots of deer on the side of the road watching us go by. I think we counted 15 on the way to the Lab. I had the high beams on so we usually saw the reflection in the eyes of the deer that were back a little in the woods. Em is a great co-pilot! She was calling out a running count of the deer by the side of the road as we would get closer. We did have one deer cross the road, but we had just turned a corner and she was moving quickly to get out of our way.

We finally made it to the sleep lab just before 5AM. Den was just waking up, so we waited for him to be ready. When he was dressed, I went in to get his power unit and we headed for the door. On the way home, Em and I told him about all the deer we had seen and we all watched for more. We were not disappointed, most of the deer that Em and I had seen on the way there were still grazing by the side of the woods. The sun was just starting to lighten the sky, so it was a little easier to see them.

It will take a few weeks for the pulmonologist to get the results of last night’s test, so for now we will just go home and sleep some more.