Are you tired right now? Are you getting enough sleep? Do you have Sugar Diabetes, or High Blood Pressure? Are you, as my grandmother used to say, “big boned”, overweight or is your neck size 17.5 inches or over? If you answered yes, then you maybe being stalked by the killer of my brother-in-law as well as his son.
There is nothing worse than getting ‘that’ phone call in night or early morning hours. At that time of the day as soon as the phone rings your first thought is who is it and what is wrong. My fears were confirmed when my sister told me through sobs and tears that her husband had died in the night. Of course the first thing we do after talking with her is to load up and head to her house to do what we can to help. A forty-one year man is not supposed to die. It’s way too early in the life of such a young person and for a reason we found out later that could have been treated.
My brother-in-law was a big man; a hard working high school teacher who taught kids in a rural community how to farm, raise animals and crops and to make money while doing it. He won awards statewide for his techniques in education, for helping his students raise state championship animals and crops and for helping others all over the USA. His funeral was at his church that held about 200 people, but outside there was an additional 300 people from all over the state to show their respects. He was just that kind of guy that everyone liked.
The issues contributing to his death, Diabetes and Blood Pressure are addressed for CDL drivers in 49 CFR §391.41 (b)(3) and 49 CFR §391.41 (b)(6) respectively. He died from a heart attack we later learned was caused either directly or indirectly from his sleep apnea. He snored loudly, slept at the drop of a hat or when he sat down and would gasp for breath in his sleep. He fit all the current criteria for sleep apnea; loud fitful snoring, gasping or choking while sleeping, difficulty in remaining asleep, sleep interrupted throughout the night, weight gain, tired and sleep throughout the day, loss of libido in both men and women from hormone imbalance due to sleep loss/disturbed to name a few.
As I said he was a big man, a strong man but even big strong men can be felled as they sleep and that is what sleep apnea did to him. He passed away in the 90’s just as the general public was starting to hear about sleep apnea and how to treat it. If only he had known, I know he would have done what was necessary to protect himself and his family from his death.
My wife and I both have been diagnosed with sleep apnea. We know what happened to my brother-in-law and work to ensure sleep apnea will not be our downfall. I travel a lot in my business and take a sleep apnea machine, a CPAP machine which is a Continuous Positive Airway Pressure machine that supplies a constant and steady air pressure through a hose and a mask or nose piece, with me every time I leave town. Since I started using my CPAP I have more energy, feel more awake and no longer jerk awake in the middle of the night gasping for breath. Best thing I have done for myself in many years.
If you have any of the symptoms of sleep apnea you should check with your company to see if they can assist you with getting tested and even treated so you can continue to drive. Many carriers are now offering to provide the testing and equipment for their drivers. They do it for many reasons; shortage of drivers, liability in an accident, or just to make sure their carrier family is as healthy as possible. No one wins if you die from something you could prevent. Even big proud men have no defenses when they sleep. If you want to feel younger, have more energy and just feel safe then please check with your doctor or carrier to see if you should or need to be tested. The life you save could just be yours.