Sleep tight!

4:05 p.m. Today's project is to get Steve down to Dr. Rai's neurology office by 9:00 p.m. for a sleep study. Last week, the doctor confirmed my observations--Steve stops breathing during the night while asleep! There would be a loud racket, well beyond snoring, and then abrupt silence...when I'd poke him, he'd jerk and start breathing again. That sounded like sleep apnea to Dr. Rai, and a home screening was fairly conclusive. He stops breathing every 3 minutes!

I had hoped to avoid the C-Pap machine that his older brother and advanced Alzheimer patient Larry uses nightly, because they are purported to make a lot of noise. But the newer versions, the doctor told us, are quieter, just sounding like a fan circulating air. These is a minor detail; mainly, I'm grateful for a fairly sound diagnosis. "Our light affliction," II Corinthians 4:17 assures us, "which is just for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory." In our case, getting used to a new sound at night is a small price to pay for saving Steve's life!

We've heard the commercials on the radio: "Hate your C-PAP?" "Can't stand the noise?" "Hate sleeping with a mask over your face all night?" "Do you hate it so much that you refuse to use it, putting yourself at risk for a dangerous condition?" put on by the sleep centers, so often that we're convinced that it's a terrible device! (I actually have a friend who's never taken hers out of the box, despite the condition she has!!)

Quite an effective scare tactic by those businesses, who purport to "cure" snoring with their own methods. The ads have a certain appeal to those of us who like as little medical involvement as possible, who take homeopathic cold treatments and handfuls of natural supplements, do organic gardening, canning and cooking from scratch to promote good health. Using elements of God's creation as close to their original state as possible is beneficial, and produces great energy, mood, and sense of well being! And you never know how many illnesses and conditions one has avoided by using those practices. In Genesis 1:31, the goodness and sufficiency of creation is made clear: "Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good."

God has also created man's intelligence, diligence, desire to learn and the spirit of inquiry that have enabled myriad scientific and medical breakthroughs, and we should prayerfully avail ourselves of good recommendations and professional expertise. However, I take after my very healthy dad, 82, who is from Missouri, the "Show me State!" We do tons of research of our own, seek varying sources (since all have their biases) and then Steve and I make our own decisions on medical procedures. If we feel so led, we respectfully decline unproven or undesirable procedures, and are able to back up our position. We are our own advocates, in other words.

6 and 1/2 years ago, a miniscule cancer (1 mm) was removed. After I had undergone radiation and final blood tests came out completely clear of all cancer, I decided against both chemotherapy and the medication Arimidex. Neither my oncologist nor my general practitioner was pleased, but that was my prayerful decision, and I'm not one to shirk responsibility for my decisions. At this point, I am able to qualify for life insurance at standard rates! Neither you nor I have any guarantee of living even one day more; God holds our future.

For tonight, Steve will have to take his pillows, the "hygiene items" listed on the instruction sheet--must be a towel and washcloth and soap, I'm guessing, maybe a toothbrush and toothpaste--and his sleepwear, and go to bed hooked up with all manner of wires. I would love to see the film of his night! Maybe I'll ask... hey, nothing ventured, nothing gained! After all, doesn't Proverbs 28:1 say, "the righteous are as bold as a lion"?! All Dr. Rai and the sleep lab tech can do is say "No!"

I'm laughing now, but it won't be so funny when I have to go to pick Steve up at 5 a.m. tomorrow!! Looks like I'm the one who had better "sleep tight."