A trip to Mankato today for answers. Dennis’ sleep apnea machine conked out on Friday night. Friday and Saturday nights were the first nights in eight years that Dennis did not sleep with the machine. In conjunction with the heart atrial fibrillation, sleep apnea and peripheral arterial disease, it makes the sleep machine a very important appliance in our home.
Dennis was given one on loan to use until he has had a new sleep study test. June 6th he will check himself into the hospital in Mankato with a whole bunch of electrodes hooked up to him to see how many times per hour he stops breathing. That sleep study will allow those in charge to set up his apnea (CPAP) machine that will give him a strong puff of air to start the breathing process to kick in. Yes, it is like sleeping with a gas mask on.
In the last eight years, there may have been a change to the pros or cons in how that computer needs to be set up. Between Medicare and our Blue Cross Blue Shield supplement the cost of the rent on the machine on loan and then the new machine, will be covered. Right now the price tag on the machine on loan is $7,798.00. Wow Wee!
I wonder in times past when someone passed away in their sleep if maybe it was actually the apnea that was the cause. The cost of the machine does seem steep. Suffering from a stroke or heart attack that may not fatal . . . horrendous.