Having A Power Outage In The Middle of the Night
There are so many things to remember when you have a chronic illness. Some things are within your control and other things, not so much. Having a power outage in the middle of the night is one of those things that we do not have control over. Alleviating anxiety happens when I am prepared for these situations.
When the power goes out in the middle of the night
It was 2 am and the house was so quiet not even a mouse was stirring. Well, this is not entirely true; you see I sleep with a Bipap machine. I use it to release excessive carbon dioxide from my lungs because with COPD my lungs can’t do a good enough job on their own. This machine makes a slight noise as the pressures increase and decrease with the inhale and exhale of each breath.
My oxygen concentrator makes the loudest noise as it sucks air from the atmosphere and converts it to oxygen. It is directly beside my bed attached to my Bipap and I also sleep with a ceiling fan and a desktop fan, each providing its own white noise.
My first thought is my Bipap and oxygen concentrator
Suddenly the power goes off. My Bipap and concentrator start to scream alarms. I wake as if someone is in my room. My first reaction is to ‘overreact’ by waking my husband and making the most commotion I can. I am fighting to get my mask off and switch my Bipap to its battery backup but I can’t remember the steps. My fingers won’t move as they should and I begin to anticipate getting shorter of breath. If anxiety sets in there will be no turning back. My husband jumps out of bed, in search of an oxygen tank and the problems begin.
There is no light or flashlight within reach. The big tanks, meant for this very emergency, are rarely used so they are at the back of a batch of smaller tanks. Trying to get the big tank out means the smaller ones go crashing to the ground. Once he gets the tank out, he realizes that it has no regulator attached. I pass him the flashlight from my drawer and now he goes in search of a regulator. This leaves me in the dark again still fighting with my Bipap to get a battery backup working. The clocks are flashing and I don't know what time it is.
Managing anxiety for better breathing
As I get settled again in bed, preparation begins because I realize that this drill was a failure and I begin coming up with a plan that will alleviate my anxiety. I need to be able to do this, smoothly and without anxiety, even if my husband wasn’t there. Once we are back to bed, I begin to go through the steps of what went wrong and what could have been done differently.
- Making sure to have a flashlight within arm’s reach loaded with fresh batteries.
- This requires that I put one in the top drawer of every piece of furniture.
- Keeping the large tank of 02 in a place that is easier to reach and having the spare regulator on it at all times.
- When the power goes off the furnace goes off too so having extra blankets nearby really helps.
- When the power goes off in the summer the air will also go off. Keeping a battery operated fan on hand can help move the stale air.
Editor’s Note: We are extremely saddened to say that on January 7th, 2024, Barbara Moore passed away. Barbara’s advocacy efforts and writing continue to reach many. She will be deeply missed.
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