"Mr. D"

About 12 years ago, I was (finally) diagnosed with sleep apnea.  After my sleep study, I was given a C-Pap machine to take home and use. I knew I needed the machine, but I was baffled by the jumble of mask parts, wires, and tubing.

Fortunately, I found a website, sleepnet.com, where people who had been dealing with these machines for years "hung out" on forums to help address sleep issues. One of the most popular was the C-Pap forum. Thanks to these great people, I was finally able to get a set up (full face mask, extra long tubing, etc) that worked for me. Even more valuable was the friendship and encouragement I received during my quest to get my C-Pap therapy as efficient as possible.

My time at sleepnet.com ended when the site creator decided not to allow participants to post or exchange email addresses. Fortunately, I already had contact info for some of the folks that I corresponded off-forum with. One of these was "Mr. D."

Mr. D and I have corresponded now for over 10 years. He is an elderly gent who puts one in mind of Santa Claus. He has more lives than a cat and is still hanging in there, despite many severe chronic health issues. Mr. D. has a number of dogs and when the weather turns cold, he jokes that to get warm he just puts another pup on the bed. Mr. D. scoots around in his mobility scooter, works on his house, and paints pictures in his studio. Since his wife has had to enter a nursing home, Mr. D lives alone.

There have been times when Mr. D has been out of touch for several weeks or even months. Each time, I have feared the worst. But, then, out of the blue comes a email from him. And each time this happens, I rejoice that my "unseen" friend is still out there. I picture him curled up in his bed, with his beloved dogs around him.

And I smile.