KTIW as depicted on the Sectional Chart
I have a flight lesson today at 1:30PDT and I’m super stoked to get back in the air!! It’s been a few weeks since I’ve flown, so I’m sure I’ll have to relearn some stuff, but I’m excited none the less. Last time we flew my flight instructor said we’d head over to KTIW (Tacoma Narrows Airport) and do some pattern work there. I hope that’s still the case because it would be REALLY cool to actually land at another airport! (Baby steps!)
But of course I’m still waiting for my 3rd class medical to come in as well. After my Sleep Study last week, I’ve been bugging the ladies at the sleep clinic to push my results through to the Pulmonary Specialists that have to review them and dictate them. After that happens, it goes back to my doctor and she can write a prescription for a new CPap machine. Normally to get the sleep study done, get the results back, have them reviewed, get your prescription written and get your machine takes a month to two months. I’m trying to get it all done in about 2 weeks. So far so good! With any luck, I’ll have my prescription today or tomorrow and be on my new machine next week. Which will give me a solid 3 weeks of data to send to the FAA along with the other letters and records they’ll want to (hopefully) finally issue my 3rd class medical certificate. I have to say, Amber and Kathy at the St. Clare Sleep Disorder Center as well as Irene, my sleep technologist, have all been amazing at helping me get this done so quickly!!!
The last time I went in for a sleep study I ended up on a BiPap machine and did not have a good experience. So this time, I’m hopeful that a Cpap machine will be in order AND that I can get an Auto Cpap or Apap machine. I’m not going in blind this time, I’ve been researching machines and I think I’ve found the one I want. And it has just enough geeky features to and stellar reviews to make me actually excited about being on a Cpap machine. Never would I have thought that would be the case. But seriously after the sleep I got at the sleep study with the Cpap on, I can see how people rave about this being a life changing event. I think I probably only slept 3-4 hours on it, but it was a deeper sleep than I think I can remember having in a very long while.
ResMed S9 Autoset with H5i Humidifier
The machine I’ve settled on is the ResMed S9 Autoset with H5i Humidifier. It even sounds cool right? I could see Audi making an S9 someday . . . OK maybe not that cool, but it sounds like it will “solve” all the problems I had with my last machine. Assuming of course my prescription will allow for this type of machine. But it’s got some pretty cool features that I really won’t get into now, but I THINK it’s the same machine that I had for the sleep study, just the consumer version versus the commercial version. I was also watching a video this morning on how it detects Apneas faster than the competing brand of machine (which ironically was the brand of machine I used to have). The study showed that the “person” using this machine got about 22 minutes more sleep than the “person” using the other simply because it detected the apnea events faster. Plus you have the ability to connect this machine to a cellular network to send your doctor automatic compliance data. Which will be CRITICAL I think going forward for my 3rd Class Medical certificate.