A Visit from Laurie & Update on Grandpa Bud

Well, I've been using my new sleeping device for about a week and a half now... and feel better than I have for years. My mood has improved, I have more energy, and I've started to resume things I used to enjoy (like going for walks and drawing).

I've already lost five pounds.

The machine makes some noise at night, but it's quieter than my snoring was and mostly just sounds like deep breathing. This change has Jon sleeping better at night too.

There was fun stuff this week! My sister Laurie came over Monday for a two-night stay with us. She's on spring break from her teaching job in Madison.

The first night she came she made us dinner. We had baked Tilapia, a pineapple & pepper slaw, and parmesan couscous. The kids were skeptical about eating fish (I've often heard Emma lament about how on "fish days" at school the whole building reeks of fish), but Tilapia is mild and the kids LOVED it. We all did. In fact, the recipe was so good (and healthful), I'll post it here:

Laurie's Baked Tilapia

Tilapia fillets-- thawed, rinsed, and patted dry

grapeseed oil

fish herb seasoning

thyme

Preheat oven following package instructions. Spread a light coating of grapeseed oil on the bottom of a large glass pan. Place fish in the pan and drizzle lightly with grapeseed oil. Use a brush to coat evenly.

Lightly sprinkle fish with fish herb seasoning. Add additional thyme seasoning if not included in the mix.

Bake in oven until the fillets are flaky. Let sit a couple minutes and enjoy!

For most of Laurie's visit we hung around the house and visited. She played board games with Michael and Emma and read lots of books to Leila. We had long conversations over hot cups of coffee.

Monday afternoon Jon came home from work. He had just left for his job in Iowa that morning (at 2:30 am) and worked a few hours before turning around to come home-- his dad, who had been hospitalized the previous week, was doing worse and Jon wanted to see him again.

At left, a picture of Jon's parents around Christmas.

Bud has been in a nursing home for about a year now. Until recently, he was mobile (able to move himself around in a wheelchair) and in good spirits. But these past couple of weeks he developed terrible back pain and was no longer able to leave bed without the help of a lift.

His decline was such that the nursing home sent him to St. Joseph's Hospital in Chippewa Falls. The family rallied around him. But the doctor didn't seem to know what was wrong. All kinds of tests were performed and it was determined he had a bladder infection. For some reason they didn't treat it. At one point during his hospitalization Bud went 30 hours without being seen by a doctor.

After a week of that the family had him moved to Sacred Heart in Eau Claire. Sad to say, but there seems to be an incredible difference in the quality of hospitals. At Sacred Heart he was seen by someone right away. The nurses were very responsive and the doctor immediately came up with an action plan. He recognized that some of Bud's problems were drug-related. His slurred speech was a sign of narcotic overdose; since the pain had started Bud was heavily drugged (at the nursing home and St. Jo's) so he would be more compliant and easier to take care of.

The new doctor took him off the narcotics and instead started an intensive antibiotic treatment to address his infection. Untreated for so long, the infection had spread to other parts of his body and was the likely source of much of his pain.

Jon stayed home until Wednesday, visiting Bud everyday. By the time he left he had a sense that now finally his dad is improving. A sign of Bud's getting better? At one point a nun came into the room and asked him and Jon to join hands with her to pray. She asked what they wanted to pray for. Jon's dad said (with classic Bud humor) something about being a "heathen." But the nun didn't hear that and instead thought he asked for "healing". He didn't correct her and they had a nice civilized prayer about healing.

As you can see by the pictures, we visited Jack again this week, this time with Laurie. The little guy's doing great.

Last week Jon and I went to Mona Lisa's for dinner (Jonathan is the new bar manager there).

We came without a reservation and it was super busy. Jon got us a couple of glasses of wine and we waited at a seating area in the back for about an hour before getting a table.

But once seated, the food and the service were great! Jon had salmon and I had peanut chicken. It was a nice time out.

Anyway, back to Laurie's visit!

The last night Laurie was with us we had some strange March weather. It alternated between rain, snow, and sleet, and a thick carpet of slush covered the ground. There was thunder and lightning.

We awoke the next morning to six inches of snow... and it was still coming down hard. The kids had a snowday from school, and Laurie was marooned in Colfax until the roads were plowed and the weather let up a little.

It was lucky Jon was still around to help clear the snow. It was a messy job, since under the snow were layers of mud, slush, and ice.

At left you can see the snow through our living room window... the "think spring" decorations on my window look more than a little ironic, under the circumstances.

Anyway, Laurie finally made her escape and is safely back in Middleton. Thanks for coming to see us, Lulu!

The Sleep Apnea Blog

How do you like my new evening apparel?

Unfortunately, this is the breathing device I "get" to wear at night, now that I've been diagnosed with sleep apnea.

Jon has complained for several years now about my snoring... a condition I had to admit to after it was confirmed by my kids, who no longer wanted to sleep with Mom at night. I figured it was likely due to my weight (sigh) and possibly also a family condition (you other snorers in my family-- you know who you are).

More recently Jon told me that the most disruptive part of my snoring was that I seemed to stop breathing. There would be a long pause and I would awaken with a start, gasping for air. I never remembered any of this, but instead would go right back to sleep. This pattern repeated itself all through the night (often resulting in Jon getting up to play solitaire on the computer).

So I finally mentioned it to my doctor, and she set me up for a sleep study. My mother-in-law stayed overnight with the kids while I checked into the hospital in Bloomer. Electrodes were wired all over my body, and I was also monitored visually by camera (my nurse had the fun job of watching me sleep all night and taking notes-- "rolled to the left"; "rolled to the right").

You might think I would have trouble sleeping under those conditions, but I did not. I NEVER have trouble falling to sleep. That's why I've always thought of myself as a good sleeper. Now I understand it would be more accurate to say I'd grown accustomed to living in a constant state of exhaustion.

So what is apnea? People with sleep apnea stop breathing while they sleep. Each pause, or apnea, can last from a few seconds to a few minutes. For a diagnosis of sleep apnea, the pauses have to occur between 5-30 times per hour. My sleep study revealed that my breathing stops an average of 55 times an hour (so my case is considered severe).

There are three different types of apnea. Mine is the most common-- obstructive. My airways are physically blocked when I lay down at night. The places blocked can vary-- different people may have trouble with their nasal passage, or their throat, the base of their tongue, or even the shape of their facial skeleton may be the problem. But while apnea may start with a physical tendency toward blockage, people usually don't develop obstructive sleep apnea until they become overweight or lose too much muscle tone.

1 in 15 people have sleep apnea... and most don't even know it. It needs to be addressed because left untreated it can lead to cardiovascular disease, stroke, high blood pressure, arrhythmia, diabetes, sleep-deprived driving accidents, and memory loss.

But it's very treatable! The easiest way to treat it is through lifestyle changes: avoid alcohol or muscle relaxants, lose weight, quit smoking.

Another thing that helps is sleeping at a 30 degree incline. Put cushions under the top of your mattress, or sleep in a recliner. Lay on your side, rather than your back.

I'm going to lose weight... 40 pounds is the goal. But until I do I'll use a CPAP (the lovely little breathing device I showed you at the top of this blog). It keeps my airways open during sleep with pressurized airflow.

Surgery is an option, but I've been told it's extremely painful and I'd rather not go that route. I think losing the weight will make a big difference, because I never snored when I was a thin person.

Interestingly, an alternative treatment for sleep apnea is... playing the didgeridoo. Blowing into this large Australian wind instrument apparently helps strengthen all the right muscles. Hmm.

I'll close this blog with a few pictures of Jack, who along with my kids gives me an incredible reason to win my health back.

Susan and Mom have Birthdays

It's Susan's birthday today, so I'll start with a couple of pictures of her...

This weekend Emma, Leila and I went to Rhinelander for Mom's birthday. Jon and Michael stayed home.

My sister Laurie and brother John were also "home" this weekend. Here John, Jim, Laurie and Emma play a board game at the kitchen table, while Leila eats an ice cream treat.

It was fun seeing everyone. Laurie left for a few hours Saturday to visit her friend Ingrid, who lives in the nearby Minocqua area. Ingrid recently had a baby boy (her second), named Silas.

Laurie and John grilled steaks and made some yummy side dishes, including basil peas, for our supper that night.

Here's Dad at his computer...

We left Rhinelander fairly early so we would be able to spend some time with Jon before he had to leave for work again. While we were gone, Jon and Michael visited Jack, Lindsay, and Jonathan.

Here's Jack all dressed up and ready to go somewhere. He looks pretty excited, huh?

This morning I was combing Leila's hair and decided to exchange the comb for a scissors. Chop chop.. no more snarls. What d'ya think?

I'll probably have to take her in somewhere and have it evened out. But I think it looks pretty sweet. Definitely easier to comb.

Brent's 60th Birthday Party

Saturday the kids and I went to Medford, for Uncle Brent's 60th birthday party. Brent is Jon's oldest brother.

Jon wasn't able to be there because he had to work. But all the other siblings were there... Eric, Phil, Sally, Mark, and Ann.

This was our first time seeing Brent and Kristen's new home. It's a spacious, airy house with vaulted ceilings and lots of beautiful woodwork. And it's conveniently located right next to a golf course. The Hurlburt boys will hopefully spend lots of sunny afternoons golfing there.

It's hard to believe Brent is 60! He's in very good health, still out there rollerblading, biking, and white-water rafting. Lots of energy and zest for life. His three grandkids made it to the party, though son Steve had to miss it because he'd just had surgery.

You can see Brent at right with his youngest grandchild, Nathan's daughter Macey May. With her big blue eyes and newly-developed sitting skills, Macey was the star of the show.

Jane gave Brent his baby book, still in very good shape and full of (now vintage) cards and well-wishes from friends and family of years past. Many of the loved ones who sent Brent these cards are gone now, so it was touching to page through it and have him and Jane remember these people.

Jane thinks Macey looks a lot like baby Brent did. She said she was always getting compliments on his adorable good looks.

Here's an example of one of their home's nice features: beautiful built-in bookshelves. The sisters-in-law and I had fun admiring their family pictures and collectibles.

Of course, it wouldn't be a Hurlburt gathering without great food. Brent and Kristen updated the snacks with lots of fresh fruit and veggies, but there was still plenty of comfort food like baked beans, ham, and fudge. We were all happy snackers.

The women mostly congregated in the kitchen, with Kristen's aunt. Leila liked hanging out there, too, sipping orange pop out of a big girl glass. (Susan, note she is wearing the fuschia-colored lace tutu you gave her).

The guys (and Emma) were mostly in the living room, kicked back on comfortable recliners.

I'll end with a picture of baby Jack, so you can keep up with his growth and changing looks. Lindsay's doing a good job being mama; he's plumping out nicely.

Hope everyone is doing well and ready for a rip-roarin' March.