Spring Fever

What beautiful weather we are having here in NC. Spring is popping up all around. The grass is turning green, daffodils are blooming and the birds are singing. Oh...what a happy feeling it gives me on the inside. Puts a smile on my face and a jump in my step. It is amazing how a little sunshine and nice breeze blowing can make you have a whole new outlook on life. I feel rejuvenated and inspired. This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. --Psalm 118:24

Old Chair

My mom recently was going to get rid of this old chair that use to be a rocking chair. Someone cut the rockers off and it was unsteady on the feet and my mom didn't like it at all. Not sure how she acquired this chair but I ended up with it. I couldn't see such a great chair going to the waste. I had a perfect plan...I would sand and paint it and get my husband to make new feet for it. My husband at first was wondering where I was going to put this chair when I finished and I responded quickly, "the living room". I could tell by his reaction he was not thrilled, but I continued as planned. I had all the paint and the materials I need for the project so I started by sanding and painting the base colors. It ended up only taking me two days to fully paint it, but my goodness I was sore. I guess all the stooping got to me. When I start something I am always in a hurry to get it done. When my husband saw the nearly finished product he loved it. He suggested I add some cute bees to the painted flowers. The reasoning behind the bees is a whole another story for later. It was a nice final touch. The chair resides in our living room now!

Cute Bees...
the final touch!

Sleep

For those of you wondering what a Sleep Tech does....well in essence we watch people sleep. Well, we do more than that. Patients are hooked up to a ton wires including the head, face, legs, and chest. Your brain waves, eye movements, chin movements, leg movements, snoring, heart and breathing are all monitored. Doctors have several things they look for for in a sleep study....sleep apnea, RLS, PLM, narcolepsy and other disorders related to sleep. Most patients have similar symptoms including: Excessive daytime sleepiness, tired during the day, snoring, waking up gasping for breath and witnessed apneas by family members. There are many other symptoms and everyone is different. These are just a few common ones. Most people have heard of sleep apnea. It is a very common disorder. This is generally what patients are suspected of having and are sent for a sleep study by their doctor. Sleep apnea can put a tremendous strain on the heart and can cause high BP and other similar conditions to worsen. There are several people I have come in contact with that talk about their life after CPAP. CPAP is the machine you use if you have apnea. CPAP is not the only machine used for apnea, but it is the most common. There is a mask that attaches to the machine that blows air down your throat to open your airway. A lot of people get confused, it is not oxygen, it is air. There are pt that need O2 and it is bled through a port in the mask. Other machines include BiPap and ASV. Different kinds of Apnea and different levels of how bad the apnea is depends on machine you need. Back to people who use CPAP on a daily basis. They love their machine! There are a lot of people that say they, "I have not felt like this in years, I have so much energy." One does have to get use to it and some people do not tolerate it well. It is an adjustment to sleep with a mask each night but it is well worth it if it improves your everyday life.

Education

After graduating in May of 2009, I started on a journey job hunting. After searching I started out working PRN at a lab over an hour away from my home due to the fact there were no full-time jobs available. Polysomnography is a vast field of study, but NC is saturated with poly. graduates. I presently work at a nearby lab PRN, which is much closer. I enjoy what I do but there is a inter desire to own my own gift store. I have pondered going back to school and have decided I will. I am going to pursue a business administration degree which will help me develop a business plan and give knowledge to help me be a successful business owner. I am overwhelmed with excitement. This is the beginning of my dream unfolding. I know there are going to be bumps in the road along with trials, but I will not hesitate to go forward.