Meet “Papcie!” My new best friend for life. Kept waking up in a startle reflex from the sensation that I couldn’t exhale my breaths. Got to be too disruptive to a good night’s sleep to let it go on forever. So I begrudgingly surrendered to my need for a CPAP machine to keep me breathing during the night. Not sure if the cancer and chemo has brought on this new challenge, or it was in the already in the making from the typical aging process, but “VOILA, welcome to my new world!”I am experimenting with the “hose on the head” version, rather than the “elephant trunk” design, and only covering the nose instead of a full mask… we will see. Fought through a number of rushes of claustrophobia throughout my first night and my score in the morning only showed 2 episodes/hr of stopping breathing (instead of 10!)!! And Ed said I was quiet as a mouse in my sleep (instead of snorting like a stuck pig to fight for a breath)! They say the key to adapting is “acceptance.” Acceptance of the reality of my need, as well as acceptance of the physical realities of the apparatus. So I named her Papcie, embraced her as a Eskimo kisser, and am determined to become besties. God, I think “acceptance” is the key to a lot of things in our lives. The Serenity Prayer captures that perfectly. Acceptance + Courage + Wisdom = Serenity. Thanks for helping me with all 3 of these components to finding Your Peace… and a peaceful night’s sleep!