It looks like I will be a traveling cpap-er for a bit.

I'm still not home. The day I flew in, I turned around and packed and drove to my son's house to help take care of my 3 year old grandson while his mom is recovering from a spinal fusion surgery. I will probably be gone for several more weeks.

My sister just called and told me that my father is in the hospital - he is also battling cancer. To beat all, his cpap machine from second wind was delivered today.

When it rains, it pours.

So - I honestly don't know when I'm going to get back on here with any consistency. I don't know if I'm going to fly back to my parent's house - or what.

I am relieved that my parent's have machines that are functional. I don't know what the status is as far as them finding a new doctor. I wish I were there to see it through. Do any of you have parents on cpap that the doc and dme's are taking advantage of? Any helpful hints, especially if you live at a distance, would be greatly appreciated.

In the mean time. . . I'm hoping my father has at least a little more time left, the cancer is now in his liver.

Sorry for your current dilemma.

I just flew home from a family semi-medical emergency whose outcome turned out to be many times over much better than what it could have been.

I hope your outcomes are also better than they may seem like at the moment.

Hugs to you.

Don't forget to pamper yourself. You need to stay strong so make sure you have everything YOU need to stay that way. Listen to your voices and if you start to say to yourself " It doesn't matter if i don't get ...." Stop, yank your chain and do something good for yourself.

Not so much directed at the OP, but a general morality tale regarding old folks: I had a father in law who wouldn't use his prescribed CPAP machine; virtually every night he'd refuse to mask up... he died several years ago. He simply passed away one night in his sleep. His widow, diagnosed at the same time, took to CPAP like a duck to water and now years later is thriving, even tho she is in an assisted living unit. She just turned 83, and vividly tells everyone "CPAP saved my life". Oddly enough, she was in such a bad mental and physical health condition before CPAP that everyone was sure she was going to be the first one to pass away. I suppose the take-away is that CPAP can save lives, that is, if it is actually used on a continuing basis. quietmorning, I hope things calm down in your life and your family situation improves. Remember to take good care of yourself while you are taking care of others.

StuUnderPressure wrote:Sorry for your current dilemma.

I just flew home from a family semi-medical emergency whose outcome turned out to be many times over much better than what it could have been.

I hope your outcomes are also better than they may seem like at the moment.

Thank you, StuUnderPressure - my husband is being super incredible about all of this. Which makes it a little easier to do what needs to be done with his support.

I'm going to be at my son's for a few more weeks to help with my grandson, then will fly back out west to help my family as my sister is also going to have the first of a few reconstruction surgeries in a couple of weeks, as well. And this sort've sound a bit . . .obstinate - as I wouldn't wish cancer on anyone - but I'll be close enough to ensure my parents are getting the cpap treatment they need - so at least one good thing is coming out of all of this.

I'm glad your family had a good outcome! I think this will also resolve - it's just a lot of time away from home. We're a large family - so there's lots of us to go through a lot all at once.

BlackSpinner wrote:Hugs to you.

Don't forget to pamper yourself. You need to stay strong so make sure you have everything YOU need to stay that way. Listen to your voices and if you start to say to yourself " It doesn't matter if i don't get ...." Stop, yank your chain and do something good for yourself.

Thank you, BlackSpinner, your hugs are well received and a huge comfort! (**chuckles** I didn't know I was whirring so much in my head until you send me a cyber hug!)

Good good good advice. Those truly are my self denial words - and thank you for the reminder. . . because I need to regroup a little. I'm tired and my brain is going ninetly miles an hour trying to work all this stuff out.

Sir NoddinOff wrote:Not so much directed at the OP, but a general morality tale regarding old folks: I had a father in law who wouldn't use his prescribed CPAP machine; virtually every night he'd refuse to mask up... he died several years ago. He simply passed away one night in his sleep. His widow, diagnosed at the same time, took to CPAP like a duck to water and now years later is thriving, even tho she is in an assisted living unit. She just turned 83, and vividly tells everyone "CPAP saved my life". Oddly enough, she was in such a bad mental and physical health condition before CPAP that everyone was sure she was going to be the first one to pass away. I suppose the take-away is that CPAP can save lives, that is, if it is actually used on a continuing basis. quietmorning, I hope things calm down in your life and your family situation improves. Remember to take good care of yourself while you are taking care of others.

I'm hoping to help my parents improve their care substantially by the time I leave to come live back home (sometime mid October!!) - they received their data capable machines yesterday from second wind. Mom took my dad's to him so that he can look it over good. . . They have SleepyHead, now too. Now if I can just convince them that this is an EVERY SINGLE NIGHT thing.

I know you are stressed to the max but I bet you will really enjoy tucking them in bed at night after helping them to mask up.