The Sleep Study

Sunday Night, April 11, 2010

 I grabbed an overnight bag and a favorite pillow as ordered in my directions, left Mom in the barred up house, and headed toward my first experience at National Jewish.  The drive there was pretty easy because we had already scoped things out after dinner.  Pulling into the empty parking lot was rather unsettling as opposed to the uplifting feeling you would expect with the same discovery at any other time. J

I walked inside the first set of double doors and was immediately overtaken by the aroma-induced memory of the Rose Petal Place scented character toys that I had and adored as a child!  What a comforting, yet random greeting!  From there I proceeded onto the elevators to the third floor and wound through the halls until I found three other people with pillows and overnight bags.  I assumed I was in the right place…

We chatted politely for a while about travels and hometowns until we were finally called to our resting places.  I was beyond nervous.  I was a wreck.  The idea of someone watching me sleep was just dreadful to me.  I couldn’t have asked for a better nurse/technician though.  Greta loved her job and was truly there to help improve people’s lives.  She was so caring, sincere, light-hearted and thorough all in one!  I was still a mess – but she was comforting. J 

Long story short, I had been on so many strong asthma meds and steroids for so long that sleep was simply not part of my life anymore.  When Greta told me to lie on my back and go to sleep like “normal”, I did just that...ha ha.  I got in the bed and stared at the ceiling for hours!!!  Of course it was even worse because I was there & nervous, but that was pretty “normal” for me at the time.  I believe I did sleep an hour and a half or so before the 8 hour study was over.  Greta said the results would be in my report by the end of the week.  Something to look forward to...oh my!

At six o’clock I hurried home to shower and get Mom so we could make it back to National Jewish for my first official day of testing which was supposed to begin at  7:30!

VRBO ~ Denver

April 11, 2010


So I can't share this story without talking about Norm's house in Denver!  What an experience!  We all know things aren't always as they seem in pictures and that was so true with Norm's house...


We pulled into the driveway at about 4 p.m., Sunday afternoon.  We had driven from Lexington, Kentucky to Denver, Colorado in a weekend and I was certainly ready for my picturesque vacation rental.  The first things that caught my eyes were the bars on the windows..very nice!  As we pulled even closer, we noticed a couple of bullet holes in the front windows!  I suppose the bars didn't stop the bullets! :)  Add to this first impression the fact that I had to be at National Jewish for a sleep study that first night and Mom would be staying in the vacation rental alone...


Inside, things weren't horrid, but not fabulous either!  The smell was quite unbearable.  We immediately made a trip to the nearest Wal-Mart for air freshener and Clorox wipes!  All in all, it ended up being our home away from home for the week.  It was without a doubt a house we will never forget!!