Since coming out of coma in late July 1993 after my May 22, 1993 accident, I have not slept the night through. I long ago made peace with this situation, believing that the brain injury I suffered was to blame. But early in 2012, a friend suggested a sleep study, and my doctor agreed that, although I had had one in 1994 that found nothing, after so long an interval a repeat might be warranted. So, last October, I had a sleep study done through the University of Michigan.
This led to the diagnosis of sleep apnea, and the prescription of a CPAP (Constant Positive Airway Pressure) machine for me - a small box connected to a humidifier that pumps humidified air through a flexible tube into a full-face mask that I wear while in bed. (Less intrusive nose pillows are an option for some people, rather than the full face mask, but they proved ineffective for me when tried in the sleep study.) I got the machine on December 28, and by now, in early April, I have gotten fairly used to it, and, although not experiencing any dramatic changes (yet), have noticed improvement. I still wake in the night most nights, but for less time, and my sleep is better and more sustained while I am in bed. I hope for continued improvement as I continue with it.
About Me
- AB
- My life has undergone a quantum leap of changes in the past three decades. I used to be a choral music professor at a small college in southern Michigan, but in 1993 incurred a closed-head Traumatic Brain Injury in a severe automobile accident that left me comatose for two months, hospitalized for six, and ultimately unable to communicate vocally, either by speech or song. Though I have regained a very modest amount of these abilities, it's not much. My most rewarding roles are those of husband, father, and grandfather. Also, though I was formerly an accomplished pianist, not playing from 1993-2016 robbed me of nearly all those abilities -- I am currently engaged in daily practice to see what I can regain.
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