darth daver

When D and I started dating, we pretty much wanted to spend every waking moment together.  Because we were both full time working students, sometimes our waking moments were spent snoozing over textbooks in the living room of his apartment.  At some point in our courtship, D dozed off while studying and I was introduced to his sleep apnea.

To say that D snores is an understatement of epic proportions.  There is not a term to describe the noises D makes while sleeping other than severe sleep apnea.  We are both lucky that I am such a heavy sleeper or we would have needed separate beds long ago.

For the longest time, I have told D that I think he has sleep apnea.  Earlier this year, he was finally tested which included an overnight sleep study with wires and machines measuring his oxygen levels.  It turned out that D did in fact have sleep apnea.  He had such a serious case of sleep apnea that his levels were literally off the charts.

Besides horrific snoring, one of the side effects of sleep apnea is decreased oxygen levels throughout the night which leads to fatigue throughout the rest of the day.  D would come home from work at seven and start dozing off by 7:30.  He couldn't watch a TV show without falling asleep.  He didn't want to go to bed so early so he would snooze on the couch.  The snoring noise would fill the room and the rest of the house for that matter so I would send him to his room and he would go begrudgingly like a little kid at bedtime.

After 50+ phone calls to doctors office, insurance companies, and worst of all home health care providers, D's CPAP (continuous positive air pressure) machine arrived.  After modeling the giant mask and accompanying headgear, D went to sleep hooked up to CPAP and humidifier.



Soon, we heard one of the most peaceful sounds of all: silence.

My mom and dad and I took turns spying on sleeping D. (creepy I know) It was so quiet, I almost cried.  After years of struggling to breathe in his sleep, D was sleeping more blissfully than Baby Kate.