The Importance of a Support System

Do you have a support system in place to help you through your CPAP treatment?  Someone to be an inspiration to you throughout the difficult times… to lift you up with words of encouragement… to provide you with sound information about your treatment… or simply just a patient ear to listen to your troubles…  It could be a spouse, family member, friend, fellow truck driver or your CPAP adovate.  Support systems are so important, especially when you are facing a diagnosis and treatment that you know very little about, or would prefer  not to  go through the treatment.  In an earlier blog article, I wrote about the importance of driver champions and the vital role they can play with drivers who are adjusting to CPAP treatment.  After all- they’ve been through what you’ve been through and have overcome the obstacles that now face you.  These drivers have volunteered to be available to you and offer their time to help you through your CPAP issues.  But support doesn’t have to be limited to driver champions.

Drivers who have internal family champions such as their spouses, girlfriends, parents, friends etc. tend to adjust better to their CPAP treatment than drivers who have no support system.  Spouses are great because they are often there to remind you to wear your CPAP, or inform you that you had a mask leak, help with the cleaning  of your equipment etc. I often hear from the driver or his spouse that when the driver doesn’t want to wear his CPAP or is too tired to go through the motions of putting it on- many times it’s not an option NOT to wear the CPAP… The wives make sure it’s worn…

Don’t worry for those of you who don’t have wives or other family support systems… Your CPAP advocate- the person who is assigned to your case to help you trouble shoot and adjust to your CPAP treatment, is a great and very powerful support system that you have available to you- at your fingertips.  Your CPAP advocate is there to help you through the ups and downs of treatment… they are available to listen to your issues and help you find solutions to overcome those issues.  Long after a driver has graduated from the frequent and often necessary interaction with their CPAP advocate- we’ll still be there available to provide you with assistance.

One of the great pleasures I get in this business is the ongoing interaction I have with drivers whom I worked with and helped them overcome  previous CPAP issues.  The fact that many continue to call me long after I have finished my work with them, is heart warming.  Many just want to chat and tell me their stories, update me on their lives, what’s new etc.  Each and every driver I’ve ever worked with holds a special place in my heart- I know I’ve helped them, but what they don’t know is that they’ve added to my life too.  Whether it’s their personal stories and sometimes tragedies or their jokes and playful banter…They’ve made my life richer, and for that I thank them.  I don’t get to talk to as many drivers any more, and frankly, I miss those days.  Yes, we had our good times and our not so good times- I’ve been hung up on more times than I care to share… but in the end it was all worth it.

Thank-you drivers for being a part of my life!!!! and… remember to reach out to somebody if you need help with your CPAP treatment….

Safe travels!

Katia