Sunday, Oct 19
Starting with last night’s CPAP report — NOTICE THIS WEEK IS MORE POSITIVE.
Up late with blog till 12:45. Slept on the machine for 6 hrs 22 min., with AHI= 0.31. Awoke with dry eyes, particularly the right. Wetness beneath nose, but not bad. After putting aloe cream in nostrils, I’m heading back to sleep w/o mask. Stayed there until 9:00 a.m.
Finished blog for last week and finally published it late. Our morning started with a little 2 point buck in our backyard. We put his photo in, so if you missed it, go back and check (below) on last week’s blog. We have seen him several times since.
Now we have had brunch of pancakes and are headed to town in the truck to get some free carrots for the horses and next door neighbors’ hogs. That took several hours of our time plus filling the truck’s tank. Gasoline cost $3.299 /gal here at Love’s.
John’s on the tail end of his low fiber diet. Tomorrow will be a clear fluids only diet. I’ll be on my own. I took my old Exlim camera I had uncovered and took some photos of the carrots, but in the clean up, I have lost the holder and connector to take the photos off my camera. I should have gone and taken a picture on my newer camera, but I am running short of time (this was written 10-25) and behind on getting ready to leave on my trip in the early morning).
Monday, Oct 20
CPAP report. On the machine for 5 hrs 8 minutes with an AHI= 0.58
Awesome breakfast for me with all the things John cannot eat on his liquid diet in prep for tomorrow morning’s colonoscopy. He was out of the house, but I took a photo:
OATMEAL with pecans, plum preserves, brown sugar and almond breeze.
I was headed around the block for a haircut from Celia at 2:00. John was working in the swamp (near our natural springs area), clearing trail. Rained, and he had forgotten to take down the front gate so I had to. I managed, but did not really completely get the last log off the driveway. He cannot get reception on his phone in the bottom of the pasture, so I could not call him for help. The gate (2 long skinny trees across the drive from one rock-crib to another) was up because our horses were around the back of the house last evening, and it is a protection in case they find a weak spot and come on around into the orchard (out front), then up the driveway and onto the road (as they have been known to do).
I shared some carrots, onions, and apples with our friends. Bobby, her husband, restores military jeeps and has just finished one with a tag on the front of its year, 1943. That’s my birth year, so I have enjoyed watching the restoration. I had a Jeep jacket, black and never used that I got at a yard sale, and it was too tight for me to raise my bad arm to put get it on. I gave it to him, and he was thrilled, saying, “I love it, I love it, thank you so much.” He’s a Viet Nam vet, and they take their Jeep to military parades or Veterans’ Day events with their grandkids in the backseat. Celia has cut my hair since I arrived in Ellensburg in 1988. When I was recovering in the rehabilitation center in 2010, she came in there and gave us both haircuts (for free). I’ll always be indebted to her for that nice gift.
CPAP MASK COMPARISON
Going to end day’s report with a comparison of masks I have been using. The first is the old WISP and the second is the Swift Fx. A couple of weeks ago I pictured my starting one, the Eson that was so terrible an experience, but thankfully, that’s long past my concern. It was not appropriate for me. The WISP was a little better, but the Swift FX is true to its name. I definitely like it as it is much less confining. My statistics of length of sleep time is much, much better. (Click on photo.)
Forget the shadow behind my head. The nasal pillow (Swift Fx) has a thin plastic top head piece and a cushioned small bottom piece behind my head. It’s also easy to put on and take off. The other two were a real challenge.
Tuesday, Oct 21
CPAP report. Actually, very good, but only on for 4 hrs 45 minutes with AHI= 0.00.
I had to take John to hospital and be there by 7:00 am. He was up to take the 2nd and final clean-out chemicals at 3:00 a.m., so we had a very short night’s sleep. At the hospital cafeteria, I ate breakfast (Eggs Benedict with single serving brought home for John) and was back by 8:00 to the waiting room outside Outpatient Services, where he was. I could have free coffee there and use my computer laptop. I saw staff members, Karen, Chris, Kara, and Nancy from my many times (9 weeks) in for daily IV antibiotics in 2009 & again in 2010) for bacteria in my blood. Today, John had assistance from Annie, Diane, and Kara. Kara retrieved me to come back to the recovery room. John did fine and was totally aware of everything, but had no pain. He was recovering in the room where he started when they had him remove his clothes, get into a gown and hospital socks (with a non-slip sole). While there, they fixed up his IV, put an oximeter on his finger, and had him wired to the blood pressure device. They got him ready there and wheeled the bed on to the “procedure room.” It is considered that and not an operation.
As mentioned, the procedure went well, and he was able to watch the whole thing on a monitor. The doctor found one very small polyp that he cauterized. They had put a cold pack on his hip, which when we asked later, they said was to ground him for a possible cauterization. He did not feel what the doctor was doing. They even gave him 3 color photos taken from inside during the procedure. We waited awhile until the doctor came in and gave us his final report. Then we waited a bit longer for the nurse to return to check us out officially and remove all the measuring paraphernalia, IV, etc. She walked us to the door. Earlier, it was delightful when she walked through the door and we recognized each other. Her name is Nancy and she gave me a big hug and said how good I looked. Kara also remembered me and how I always was given a chocolate Ensure milkshake when I came in for my IV. On my birthday, they gave me a cute little Teddy Bear with my shake.
We stopped on the way home for some stuff from the grocery store, and then John took the dogs for a short run. He had a bite to eat but still had a lot of air inside he couldn’t get rid of. Finally, after drinking and eating some, he did and then he lay down to sleep. He slept hard for several hours. No surprise, he was up from 3:00 a.m. and we hadn’t gotten to bed until 11:30. I had a little more sleep than he did, maybe 2.5 hrs. I went back to sleep without my mask. I didn’t nap in the afternoon because I figured I needed to be available to answer the phone if it rang. We had 2 calls while we were gone, and I had to return those. One was about my appt follow-up in November with the lung specialist. It will actually be here in town and no trip will be required to Yakima. They come to EBRG two days a week. I also managed to wash & dry a load of clothes. While I need a nap, I stayed awake to leave for town to play music for an hour starting at 6:30. I then came home to figure something to eat. John’s still on a low-fiber diet for 3 days. I’m sure we will both go to bed early tonight.
Wednesday, Oct 22
CPAP report. I was on the machine for 7 hrs 16 min., with an AHI= 0.55. We were both very tired, and it showed in our sleep patterns. We hit the hay finally at 11:30, and I slept in my mask until 6:41, got up to go potty, and went back to sleep without the mask. Slept in until 9:00 a.m.! So did John. It’s been rainy all day. I did not go to town today because my banjo buddy is sick with the flu, and I had stuff to do regarding my CPAP and my efforts toward helping with cemetery restoration at the Oakland Cemetery in Atlanta, GA of my family plot of the Eiseman-Brannen families. What’s interesting is its location in the Foundation books there, as Lot 748, Hog Pen Corner.
I also found out my SleepyHead software supports Contec CMS50 oximeters so I need to consult with my medical supply place and with my doctors for a “prescription” to get the right device. CPAP machines do not read that O2 level, and supposedly mine decreases when I sleep. I want to see the results and if the CPAP is worth the effort.
Nice brunch today… sausage, pancakes (I had plum preserves and John had our strawberries), and he made a 3-egg cheese omelet for us to share.
Thursday, Oct 23
CPAP report. Nothing to report, we both were tired and slept long. I was 8 hrs. 56 minutes on my machine, with an AHI =0.11 We awoke to a cat growling / protecting (from the dogs) the squirrel he brought in through the doggie door and into the bedroom. I cannot lie; I was happy to see the little fellow taken out of our walnut trees. He’s been taking more than his half of the crop. Unfortunately, there’s more than that one around. Then I was going to cut John’s hair this morning, until we got a 9:30 call from a neighbor needing help on barn repair in expectation of delivery of 2 wildish steers. It took the two of them until almost 1:00 p.m., and I need to be in town at 2. John had planned to go along and shop. However, because he was running so late, we went directly to Burger King for a fast lunch. We took it back to Hearthstone and ate it. Then our group entertained the appreciative crowd. They gave us butterscotch bars that were great, and we brought some home to have tonight with ice cream for dessert. From there to Bi-Mart for some tax record keeping purchases. The 2015 desk calendar (we hang on our wall), was on sale for 30% off, so we got it and a folding fan-sorter for receipts. On to Super One where John went in for frozen pizzas on sale, while I stayed in the car to arrange with the Medical Supply place about my need for an oximeter. Then, I called and left a message for my cardiologist’s nurse. I’m hoping to combine trips next week when I go to Yakima for an echocardiogram on Tuesday. From there, we went by the CWU surplus sale. We bought 6 five-gallon buckets for 50¢ each. Actually they are 18 liters or about 4 ¾ gallons.
CWU uses a lot of paint and they always have these but many are stuck together. It took John quite awhile to find a few. (They’re stuck together because of leaving latex paint in them). We have two sets of two we have not been able to separate. We found 6 quite clean white ones this trip.
We missed seeing the solar eclipse today. John should have gone outside while we were playing to check it out. Many views from our state and some interesting ones, particularly my favorite of the large sunspot cluster and then the next day Mr. Sun was quite active.
Try this site to see what is going on. The rapid changes may require that you search on the site to see things even a few days old. Solar images here.
Friday, Oct 24
CPAP report. A few leaks around my nose piece at the start, but I got 6 hrs. 49 min with AHI= 0.15
I sent a sympathy letter to a former student whose father died of cardiac arrest. He was a podiatrist and only 70 yrs old. Very sad. At least he got to meet his family (wife, Korean) with his 11 and 8 yr old granddaughters. The family had returned to the states last year. I got some mail ready to take to the post office and got two butternut squash delivered, some apples, and an acorn squash. Our scholarship luncheon met at Facilities Planning today. For lunch we were served turkey chili, with many toppings to choose from, including, green onions, grated cheese, small Fritos, and sour cream. A large green salad with grape tomatoes (that I put in my chili). Halloween decorated sugar cookies for dessert. All good stuff. From there to SAIL exercise class, with 23 people participating.
On home to hear from our doctor’s nurse that the biopsy of John’s small polyp was negative and he doesn’t have to consider the procedure again for 10 years.
Another huge surprise — an email from a friend we have lost contact with in recent years, James Gardner, from the Univ. of Iowa, and our days there with him in the early 70s. He was a fantastic guy, teacher, and researcher. He was my advisor for awhile, and we (John and I and another couple of grad students), went to Calgary for a conference to present a paper of our joint research. While there, we stay with his family and after the conference, we got a special tour by Jim of Banff and Jasper on hikes above the Columbia ice fields (glacier) to view them and glacial lakes and ridges, carved valleys and moraines, and at the top of a 4 mile hike we fed mountain goats crackers by hand. I have a set of slides I used parts of in my follow-up teaching of Physical Geography at the Univ. of Idaho and at Central WA University. The best landscape portrait I ever made was of Peyto Lake (azure colored from the glacial silt), within a beautiful U-shaped valley. This photo is from the web and not mine, but it is taken from the same viewpoint and mine is very similar. I just do not have a digital copy or a hard copy to scan. Mine was originally taken as a 35mm slide. Somewhere I have a framed large print; one of the many things still packed away.
We still have many memories of that trip. Also, Jim was the one who helped us name our first Brittany, Lovely Wistful Lady, call name Wisty, we got in 1970, and who is the base of our lines, coming from lines of DC Dr. Joe of Kaymore (Wisconsin Brittany breeding). She was born in a barn in Iowa and we bought her for $25. She was a wonderful gal. Frisbie catcher and great hunter. Jim said we should name her by her characteristics. He pointed out her “wistful” eyes (nice brown eyes — she was a liver/white Brittany with lots of ticking). So, that’s what we went with. Many people thought we were saying, “whiskey.” But not so. I have sweet memories of photos of her on point at the Coralville Reservoir, but this is the only easily accessible photo of her as a puppy with us and my grandmother in Savannah, GA in 1970.
While we are on our Brittanys, last week we told you our puppy in CA got her first place and 2 field points in a derby event. We await pictures of her with her handler and ribbon, but meanwhile, here she is pointing her bird in the winning brace. Jeri Conklin, Daisy’s co-owner with me, was riding behind the gallery in the dog wagon, and took this picture with a telephoto lens. That’s her handler, Paul Doiron.
Dinner tonight was likewise a nice surprise. John put pork ribs in to roast while I was away from home, and then baked Gala apples with buttermilk pancake mix covering, and served with green beans, and a pear (from our tree), I cut up.
Saturday, Oct 25
CPAP report. On machine 5 hrs 55 min. with AHI=.34
Need to get ready for my trip away tomorrow, but first will work on this blog, so John can enter it into WordPress for my review and posting. John came in and fixed a great brunch, which we will finish tomorrow for breakfast before I leave. It was an omelet made of eggs, our tomato & onion, and fresh mushrooms from the grocery, all stirred in with a lot of chipped leftover beef roast John got from our freezer. It was scrumptious. Here’s the view:
Sunday, Oct 26
I’m out-a here. Back at you next week.
Hope your week was fine.
Nancy and John
Still on the Naneum Fan