Severe Apnea Treatment for Tom
Donation protected
Tom Helgerson quits breathing as he sleeps. For about ten suspenseful seconds, he doesn't breathe at all. His chest caves in, his body jerks and twitches, and then finally he gasps and chokes and inhales loudly as air fights toward his lungs through collapsed tissues. He'll snore loudly for a few breaths, then it all repeats, hundreds and hundreds of times through the night.
This has been going on at least as long as his partner, Jenny, has been sharing a bed with him. Jenny jostles him awake over and over through the night, whenever the bed starts to twitch as Tom's diaphragm unsuccessfully tries for breath. She wears an earplug in one ear and blasts a podcast in the other ear, and wakes every time she rolls over to alternate the ear plug with the headphone. Her quality of sleep is not much better than Tom's.
The long-term effects of sleep apnea are scary. High blood pressure, stroke, nerve damage, kidney damage, eye damage, acid reflux, diabetes, heart disease, attention deficit disorder, memory and cognitive issues, chronic fatigue, chronic headaches, and narcolepsy. These things can lead to strained relationships, poor job performance, accidents, depression, anxiety, and death.
But you can help! By contributing to this campaign, you can help Tom pay for the treatment that can save his life (and marriage). A visit to the doctor for a referral to a specialist is $100; the cash price for a sleep study is $900; a CPAP machine is about $1200, and the ongoing visits to the specialist to have the CPAP fitted and adjusted will total about $800.
Tom's already booked an appointment to see a doctor to get a referral, step one in his treatment. With any luck, he'll get in line for a sleep study, which right now is about three months long. The rest of his treatment should go pretty quickly. With your help, we'll all be sleeping and breathing in the next four months.
Jason McMackin and Julie Janj have organized a fundraiser concert, Bartertown, at the Union Hall Ballroom (upstairs!) on March 10th. They've asked me to set up this campaign to run alongside it, for those who can't attend or want to contribute in other ways.
Thank you so much for your help!
--Jenny Lynn (and Tom)
This has been going on at least as long as his partner, Jenny, has been sharing a bed with him. Jenny jostles him awake over and over through the night, whenever the bed starts to twitch as Tom's diaphragm unsuccessfully tries for breath. She wears an earplug in one ear and blasts a podcast in the other ear, and wakes every time she rolls over to alternate the ear plug with the headphone. Her quality of sleep is not much better than Tom's.
The long-term effects of sleep apnea are scary. High blood pressure, stroke, nerve damage, kidney damage, eye damage, acid reflux, diabetes, heart disease, attention deficit disorder, memory and cognitive issues, chronic fatigue, chronic headaches, and narcolepsy. These things can lead to strained relationships, poor job performance, accidents, depression, anxiety, and death.
But you can help! By contributing to this campaign, you can help Tom pay for the treatment that can save his life (and marriage). A visit to the doctor for a referral to a specialist is $100; the cash price for a sleep study is $900; a CPAP machine is about $1200, and the ongoing visits to the specialist to have the CPAP fitted and adjusted will total about $800.
Tom's already booked an appointment to see a doctor to get a referral, step one in his treatment. With any luck, he'll get in line for a sleep study, which right now is about three months long. The rest of his treatment should go pretty quickly. With your help, we'll all be sleeping and breathing in the next four months.
Jason McMackin and Julie Janj have organized a fundraiser concert, Bartertown, at the Union Hall Ballroom (upstairs!) on March 10th. They've asked me to set up this campaign to run alongside it, for those who can't attend or want to contribute in other ways.
Thank you so much for your help!
--Jenny Lynn (and Tom)
Organizer
Jenny Lynn
Organizer
Missoula, MT
