The third day.
I expected this to be about how great PAX East was, and how wonderful it was to be in Boston again and see old friends.
Instead, this is about my health, an what I’ve learned while traveling.
First thing:
If you depend on a CPAP, after you pack it, put it together all over again to make sure everything is there, then pack it again.
I was missing my quick release valve, which made my CPAP, and my bringing it with me for the eight hour train ride, completely useless. It is also the smallest piece of the entire system, and the machine is inoperable without it.
I am now on my third day without CPAP therapy.
My morning was quite a departure from what I have grown gradually used to over the last several months.
Instead of a mild fatigue and a tired feeling, I felt exhausted this morning. My throat was raw from the snoring.
It still hurts as of this writing.
As much as I have complained about having to use a CPAP, and how I have gained no immediately measurable benefit over the last four months, I think that I needed this time away from it to understand how I used to sleep.
It was a learning experience, and I’m more prepared to travel with my CPAP in the future.
But I won’t soon forget what the CPAP does for me on a nightly basis. Much like other things, I needed to get out of my comfort zone on order to learn something new.
Update: I cannot believe I wrote that whole post out on an iPod Touch keyboard.