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BY ANGELINA MORGAN
Appeal Tribune
June 8

All Pat Fisher wanted was a good night sleep.

For years he wasn�t able to sleep through the night in his own bed. He was chronically tired all day; whether he was sitting down or standing up, in the car or at the dinner table, Fisher would doze off for varying periods of time.

�I wish I could fall asleep like I do in the chair downstairs,� Fisher said. �When I�m upstairs I just lay there.�

Two months ago Silverton Hospital gave Fisher and other sleep-deprived people in the area hope for sweet dreams and a sustained, sound night sleep.

A new sleep lab on the hospital�s second floor was inaugurated April 8 with its first patient. The new lab manager Renee Angstrom said she and her staff have seen three to four patients per week since then.

�I don�t think it will be a problem keeping busy and keeping patients,� Angstrom said. �It is becoming a very big service for our patients. Just about any lab you talk to, they are pretty busy.�

The lab monitors a person�s sleep movements, breathing patterns and heart rate to determine any sleeping disorders that may be lurking behind closed eyes.

The lab is most concerned about sleep apnea � a repeated collapse of the windpipe that causes a sleeper to awaken due to shortness of breath � and restless leg syndrome.

�There are underlying issues that can start from not enough sleep at night,� said Angstrom, who also manages cardiopulmonary services. �What they are finding now is, people who do have these sleep problems are having heart problems too.�

Snoring, incessant leg movement and periods of not breathing are some components of sleeping disorders that lead to chronic drowsiness.

Lab technician Al Braziel said patients come in at the urging of their spouses.

�Some of these husbands and wives have to sleep in separate rooms because of it,� he said.

Entering the sleep lab, friendly Braziel is waiting in the control room to explain every detail of the procedure and answer questions for patients before ushering them into one of two rooms dressed in tranquil colors comfy furnishings and other amenities. The queen beds have memory-foam-mattresses adorned with soft pillows and slip-covers. Rooms also include televisions, DVD and DHS players, and individual bathrooms.

�We strive for a hotel feeling,� Angstrom said. �The purpose was to get away and not feel like having a procedure, but getting away on a retreat.�

And it works. The combination of hospitality and attentiveness has made for many happy patients, like Debbie Bakkela of Salem.

�It was totally a positive experience,� Bakkela said. �I was a little apprehensive when I went in; I didn�t know what was happening. But when it was all said and done we were like old friends.�

�Oh, that bed was so comfortable,� she added. �It was just a beautiful room.�

Bakkela, who can�t sleep for long periods of time, was not diagnosed with any serious disorder. She was encouraged to try some exercises and other calming activities. Fisher however, was diagnosed with Sleep Apnea. He stopped breathing several times during the evaluation at the sleep lab before he was fitted with a Continuous Positive Airway Pressure device.

Braziel said Sleep Apnea patients stop breathing for 10 seconds or longer before they wake up and begin breathing again. The CPAP helps force oxygen through the airways to keep the sleeper breathing all night.

�When my nose isn�t stuffed up and I got the machine on, it works real great,� said Fisher, who desires to have more energy to walk his dog and be more active during the day. �I don�t like to wear the mask more than the next guy, but it helps ya.�

�The health benefits are major,� Angstrom said. �Anybody who is chronically tired knows how much better you feel when you get adequate sleep. Taking the CPAP home, it changes their life.�

Restless leg syndrome is a newer disorder making a scene in sleep-labs across the country and keeping many people from restful sleep. The disorder is characterized by unpleasant sensations in the legs when sitting or lying down. The periodic limb movement disorder involves involuntary movements of the legs and arms when the sufferer is asleep.

�If you�re moving your legs 100 times a night, you don�t wake refreshed,� Braziel said.

Many of those who suffer from the disorder are unaware of the movements they make. But the procedure can help cure all that.

�It�s pretty simple,� Fisher said. �You just go in and fall asleep.�

ANGELINA MORGAN/APPEAL TRIBUNE

NIGHT WATCH

Silverton Hospital Sleep Lab technician Al Braziel demonstrates monitoring techniques of patients in one of two sleep lab bedrooms. The facility has seen more than 20 patients since it opened two months ago.