Fare Thee Well, Oxygen

Peek-a-boo - no more O2!

On this auspicious occasion, I've composed a haiku, or rather, a bye-ku:

By my crib you stood

Alas, now I need you not

Happily we part

The O2 machine that kept me company
right next to my crib. Bye bye!

Thanks be to the Lord, I have been in super duper health since the days of yore in 2011 when I was at the hospital (6 weeks ago). For about three weeks after the hospital debacle I was the proud attachee to an oxygen machine when I slept at night. If my blood saturation levels went down below a certain number the monitor beeped insistently sending all sorts of parents - or at least the two dwelling in our apartment - running into my room to check on my wellbeing. I always slept through the noise only to wake up at other intervals, just to spice things up.

I have learned enough to be a doctor from this whole experience, including the fact that our oxygen blood saturation goes down when we are in a deep sleep. As the RSV worked its way out of my lungs, ever to be welcomed back I might add, I still needed a little extra O2 to pass the nights. Finally, after three beepless nights, my parents decided enough was enough. And that they could save electricity by turning off the monstrous oxygen-generating machine.

The intimidating back-up oxygen tank
that we never had to use, thank God

But due to the usual red tape and bureaucracy that you find here in Israel, we couldn't simply return the machine - we needed a doctor's note. Eventually the stars aligned and all the paperwork was written and picked up. Last was to schedule the retrieval of the machine and the tank and that blissful event happened yesterday.

Bye bye, (extra) Oxygen. Although I like the typically allotted kind, you, machine, served me well, but I hope not to need you any time soon! As in forever!

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