Woo Hoo! I'm knitting again!

Yeah! My wrist is fully flexible and I have enough risidual energy at the end of the day to knit again!

My first project is a fitting one...

The CPAP machine delivers me humidified (heated, moist) air via a 6-7' tube about 1" in diameter. The tube is not insulated, so the air loses it's warmth (and associated moisture) on the way to my personal intake valves (mouth, nose). So I'm making a narrow scarf to wrap around the tube.

I have chosen an appropriately branded wool - Sean Sheep (so I can count them as I'm drifting off). It was on special from BigW, 6 balls which I think should do it for only $2 each.

I'm still trying out patterns, and thinking about double or single stranded...
I've got 3 balls each of Napier in eggplant and ruby twist Armytage.
Yeah! I'm knitting again!

Tonight's the Night!

Woo Hoo!
The two weeks of hell is over, today I get my CPAP machine.
I just checked with the pharmacy where I can rent before I buy, and they are open until 9pm, so that won't be a problem, even if the Sleep Doc is running really late, as opposed to just standard late...
And there is a gluten-free pizza place - "Town & Country Pizza" just around the corner from the pharmacy, so I think I'll have to try them for dinner.

And you may not have noticed :), but I'm typing much faster too!
Yep - I'm officially two-handed again. The Wrist Doc is amazed at how fast I have progressed back towards full movement and strength, but then I mentioned the knitting and he nodded sagely. Spinning the wrist (the movement you would do if swinging a cat by its tail..) still hurts a little - and this is what I need for knitting. But I think it is good enough now to start the my self-funded knitting therapy - once I'm not so tired anymore that I'd drop stitches and get frustrated - so that'll be tomorrow!
Amazing how it has all come together at once!

In house news, all the valuations got done and the bank agrees we *can* actually afford the new house :) I fear there are still many, many signatures needed, however, before we actually get to the moving in part...

That's all for now, move along... :)

Medical Issues as a Dr Who episode

It appears I've started something....

OK - the CPAP mask doesn't quite look like this - but if you are trying to give me nightmares.....



And in case you're interested in the stats - Severity of my sleep apnea - 31 episodes an hour, stopping breathing for up to 32 seconds, with oxygen levels falling to 74%. And they confirmed I snore - Dah!

Three Nights in Heaven, Two Weeks in Hell

So I got to keep the CPAP machine for 3 nights. During this time it sat beside my bed like a reverse vacuum cleaner and I slept with a mask like a fighter pilot's. Meanwhile the machine varied its pressure up and down as it thought I needed, and recorded everything, so that the nice people at the Sleep Unit can analyse it and recommend the ideal pressure for me, not to mention getting a baseline.

I had to hand it back yesterday. I considered running off with it, but that just wouldn't have been right. So now I wait for 2 weeks until I see the Doc again and get a prescription for my own machine.
Today the tiredness kicked in ten-fold. Now that I know what I can be like after just a few days (and not even used to the machine yet), it was hard to function today and so depressing realising just how tired I was, and there wasn't anything I could do about it....

Roll on the fortnight.

“A house is made of walls and beams; a home is built with love and dreams.”

Just in case you hadn't heard...

We've bought a house.
Yep - we won at auction on Saturday.



It starts being a home come October.

Want to see more pics, email me and I'll send you the URL.
And just around the corner from a S'n'B in a Gluten Free Cafe! How more perfect could that be!

O sleep! O gentle sleep!

Yes, sleep. Something I hope to experience in its full joy soon. Apparently I haven't before, well at least not for a long, long time, if ever.

Just over 3 months ago I started the journey to see if there was yet another reason underlying my constant fatigue. There's been diabetes - now conquered, there's been coeliac disease - now conquered, and now, we have confirmation, there is sleep apnea.

Anyone who has slept in the same suburb as me, knows that I am a loud and chronic snorer. Campers have wanted my company as I can frighten wild animals away. It's been the butt of many a joke and I am sure housemates have rested easier in those brief periods when I stopped snoring. The problem is, those times when I stop snoring, I've also stopped breathing... but there is a solution. Come tomorrow, I am starting on a 3 night test of CPAP machines. These machines blow a constant air pressure down your nose/mouth so that the air passages can't collapse when sleeping. The tests should show what pressure I need. And then I get to have my very own machine! And hopefully, some blissful, restful, wonderful (and no snoring!) sleep!

Woo Hoo!

One week down, Five to go.....

Yes, after a review by the doc yesterday, it seems that due to the complexity and thoroughness of the operation and his surgery, there will be quite a recovery time involved.

6 weeks all up that I will largely be unable to use my right arm (must be in a sling), yet somehow I am "fit to return to work" Friday week. Hmmm, love to try my job with one, non-dominant hand! Fortunately work should be reasonable about it, I'm hoping to work from home so that I can go at my own pace and not wear out the left arm too much (about 30 minutes of slow typing is all it takes...).

Hopefully I'll be getting the stitches and splint off next week, but it could be an extra week. We'll (and be we I mean my doc) will assess next week.
At least my body is largely recovered from the op now and I am starting to relax and enjoy the time off work - helps that I have my folks looking after me too - all meals cooked, washing and ironing done, I tell ya it's just like living at home!

Anyway, thought I'd take a photo of the arm, so you can see it all wrapped up. I couldn't get it all in, but it extends down to about 2 inches above the elbow. Just colour me green and show me the tardis...


It looks kind of extreme, but there's little pain, just twinges, and general awkwardness...