CPAP Facehugger Bane

I am not sure if I feel like Bane, a Gotham supervillain or if I have an Alien Xenomorph parasitoid Facehugger attached to my face or even the little boy in Doctor Who with a gas mask growing out his face. But what ever character of my wild imagination I feel like, all I pray is for some sleep.

But sleep doesn't come!

Yesterday I was given a loan ResMed S9 AutoSet-Autotitration CPAP machine along with a Mirage Quattro mask to try out for 3 days and gather sleep data for my Medical Aid about this severe sleep apnoea  that I have been diagnosed with.

Last night was the first night and it was terrible. No one warned you about the anxiety and full out panic attack while trying to sleep with this massive contraption on, not to mention my congested back nasal passage and very dry mouth. Sometime around 3 in the morning after many cups of tea, I shaved my entire beard off help quell the air pressure leaks out of the mask.

With only about 2 hours sleep last night, I had to report for duty at BBC this morning. I must have looked a wreck but I wanted to be there as I needed to talk to my friend Gary and his wife Tracy. Gary has used one of these devices for the last 2 years and has only good things to say about it. Tracy said that it took Gary about a week to get used to his CPAP machine and because of the dryness up here in Gauteng, Gary insists that I get a heated humidifier that attaches to the machine which will help with the blocked nasal and dryness.

A week, I can’t do this for a week, no sleep just while my mind adjusts to having this contraption attached to my face while I try to sleep. Tracy said it wasn’t the CPAP machine but my anxiety that was the problem.

If it was the anxiety I should have listened to the words of Bane, “Calm down, Jerome. Now is not the time for fear. That comes later”. Should I just lie here in bed with what feels like a facehugger attached to my face, wait for my end which will not be pretty or should I be the empty child with the gas mask growing out his face asking “Are you my mummy?” Breathe Jerome Breathe.