Report from Pillville: The CPAP, Blood Pressure Parties, and Oxygen

It's been a bit busier than usual here in Pillville. My mother's blood pressure was too high at her last cardiologist visit. Buy a blood pressure machine, the doctor advised, and check her a couple times a day. Then she pulled out her pen and wrote my mom a prescription for yet another medication. If she has to add anything else, the list may need a second page. I'm happy to report that the medication has had the desired effect, and I've been able to monitor my own slightly troublesome blood pressure as well--and it's been mostly fine, too. 

I'm skittish about hospitals and medical equipment. Where am I going to keep the blood pressure thing-y, I wondered. I didn't want to leave it out in the living room or kitchen, and my mom's room is just too full of stuff already. With the pots and pans? In the armoire in the dining room where I keep the device that checks her INR level? That thing only gets used once a week, but we need to check the blood pressure a couple times a day, so I  relented and keep it on the kitchen island next to the iPad. So, come over. Have a seat and read the newspaper on the iPad and see how your blood pressure is doing. We'll make it into a party. Maybe there could be alcohol involved, and I'll get a breathalyzer and we can test each other's blood alcohol levels, too.

And I'm thinking maybe we should have a Star Wars dress-up party now that my mom is going to start using her CPAP machine again. 

She looks like Darth Vader in that thing, but it's worth it if it helps her sleep without waking up shouting. Sleep apnea is a weird condition. If one is troubled with erratic breathing while trying to sleep, it's no wonder nightmares ensue. Who wouldn't wake up shouting? My mom never remembers any of it, however.

My mom also uses oxygen at night, and the CPAP will soon be hooked up to that machine. During the day, while she is unattached to any medical devices, we could have oxygen parties.

Let me know your favorite flavor so I can have it on hand. Do you suppose there's one that tastes like gin?