I recently found myself in an uncomfortable position. I had gone on vacation to visit a friend but had failed to take my CPAP machine along with me. I use this machine to deal with my sleep apnea so that I don’t feel all groggy and fatigued throughout the day. Without the sleep apnea machine, I felt really tired and didn’t feel like I was getting the most relaxation out of my vacation that I could. I also felt like I wasn’t a very fun houseguest.

On the second day that I was there, my friend remembered that her father-in-law had a sleep apnea mask that he’d stopped using. She asked me if I wanted to borrow it while I was staying there. I thought about it for a little while. It would be nice to be able to sleep through the night and to feel well during the day. And I assumed that it was fairly safe to borrow this kind of medical equipment.

But in the end I decided not to borrow the medical supplies. It’s medical equipment, after all, and that’s not something you should borrow without getting a doctor’s approval. Plus it was a mask instead of a machine so it’s different from what I normally use. And I figured that I would be okay without the equipment. Still, I’m definitely going to remember to pack my traveling CPAP the next time that I go on a trip!

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