Sleep Study for G - part II

A letter came in the mail last week saying to call to make an appointment for
a sleep study.

This confused me, as G had a sleep study a few weeks ago, but we didn't yet
have the results. I was afraid there was an error and they needed to repeat
it the study.

The true story is they needed to fit him for a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine. I know a couple of guys who have one, so was not surprised
by this.

Initially they said there wasn't an appointment available until end of Nov., but then said
they had a cancellation for that night. So we went. That was on Thursday.

Anyway, G should get his machine in a few weeks. He really needs it, as
sometimes I have to poke him to make sure he is still alive because I
can't be sure he is breathing. And he doesn't get good sleep because
of his sleep apnea.

One more thing checked off the list.

Sleep Study

G had the sleep study. They put somewhere around 30 probes on him. I said
it looked like they had wired him up for a bomb.

He didn't have any problem sleeping. I on the other had did. They asked that
someone stay with him in case he needed assistance walking to the bathroom.
They said they would give me a bed, but all they gave me was a recliner.
I can't sleep in recliners.

So I got about 2 hours of sleep. Came home and I slept for another 4 hours.
G has the ability to wake up and immediately go back to sleep. It takes
me forever to go to sleep, and if I wake up, forever to get back to sleep.

I finally got through to someone at the VA to cancel the surgery they had
G schedule for Thursday. I told them we wanted to reschedule, which
I don't really, but am not going to tell them that.

Not much else going on. I need to go to the clinic today and drop off
the various envelopes people left at the memorial service.

Also, I am sending my other brother, R, to visit our Aunt and Uncle (the one's
I saw on Friday). I will give them M's cell phone, as it a Trac phone,
and my aunt and uncle don't have any cell phone, so I told them they should
have this one to keep in the car in case of emergency. I will also
send over some food, as my brother will get there about lunch time,
and it's not right that they have to always feed their nephew's. It's
time my generation took over that bit.

So I have meatloaf, carrots and potatoes in the oven. Made some brownies
last night.

Gotta run.

Sleep Study for G

Tomorrow night G will got for a sleep study. I have noticed he has sleep
apnea, and he finally admitted he can't sleep on his back, probably because
he can't breathe.

He has to check in by 9:15 PM, and will be done in the morning between 5:30
and 6:30. Since he might need some help getting into the bed, or if he
has to go to the bathroom, they asked if someone could stay, so I will
be sleeping there also. Might as well if I have to get up at such
an awful hour to go pick him up.

Last Wed. we had blood drawn to check his hemoglobin level, which is when
we found out from the primary care nurse, that he should have received
2 units of blood when he was in the hospital a few weeks ago, but they
only gave him 1. That explains why he is still feeling tired. His hemoglobin
level is coming back up, but it will take some time.

He has lots going on the next few weeks, will see the surgeon on Sept. 1
to see what he can do...this is NOT the VA surgeon.

G went to the memorial service with me, and afterwards he and my 2
brothers went to dinner at a nice restaurant, and he walked all the way from the car parked at the curb, 2 spaces down, into the restaurant. Of course he had to hold onto my hand, and, well, the side of the building, but he did it.

And, so life goes. I am reminded to enjoy each day, each outing.

Update on G

For all of you going "enough already, what's up with G?"

Oh, too much to even tell.

Here's the short version. I have made an appointment with the
best surgeon in town to do the special surgery G needs. He will have surgery to allow for peritoneal dialysis, which is done by yourself, at home. But, you need a catheter placed in your stomach area, and then you put in fluids, leave them for some time, and take them out.

They say it mimics the kidneys the best.

But G tried to have the surgery done for this in March 2010, but he had too
much scar tissue in his abdomen from previous exploratory surgery.
However, apparently one can go in from the side, around the organs, to
insert the catheter. It is much more complicated, and a real surgery, not
just outpatient.

The horrible VA surgeon claimed he could do this surgery, so
we couldn't get a referral from the VA, so G will have to pay for the
surgery himself. But, hopefully the surgery will be successful,
and G has Medicare part A, so he will just have to pay for the
surgeon and the anesthesiologist.

But, the first consult appointment I could get is Sept. 1.

That's OK. G really needs to have a sleep study done first, which I just
got scheduled for this Sat. G says he can't sleep on his back, and when he
is in ICU he must, so it's a big problem. G went for 3 days without really sleeping after that last botched surgery, and he was in bad shape. Of course that was
when he lost all that blood and they didn't give him a transfusion.

G's dialysis catheter is running OK, so I think it will work for another month, fingers crossed. He was also told by the dialysis center that another catheter
could be placed in that same site, if this one fails....but as G said "they probably are just saying that to keep me happy"....

Now that my brother is no longer here (may he rest in peace), the house is quiet, G and I can enjoy time together, and needless to say, the stress level is much lower.

Stress is a horrible thing.

Sleep is good.

Think I will take a nap.