December 6, 2007 - it is my first anniversary of using my SleepStyle 600 ThermoSmart CPAP and FlexiFit 407 Nasal Mask. Better known as “THE DEVICE" in the Garvey household, it has been a long delayed life-changer. For too many years my wife and children put up with my snoring, so bad that it took a bed and breakfast in Vermont down [sic] one night. I was the scourge of every golf trip because nobody wanted Garvey as a bunkie! Worse, my children would tell me how I would stop breathing when I fell asleep watching TV and worried that I could die. I am a CPA [Certified Public Accountant] and tax seasons were very hard as I would be tired in the afternoon and not productive. Then I finally did the deed last year and took the overnight sleep evaluation and was told I stopped breathing 70 times an hour.

I was back the next night being fitted with a CPAP [machine] and shortly had my own and life has dramatically changed! I do not fall asleep watching TV! I sleep from 6-8 hours without waking, not even getting up for night-time bathroom runs. I can only guess that I am sleeping so soundly that my brain is telling the rest of my body to go to sleep and don't bother me until 6-8 hours have gone by. Pure solid "healthy" sleep!

I can get up early and go all day into the evening and not feel tired. For the last four months I have been on a walking regimen to drop some weight and I usually end up walking in the late evening and then watching a couple of hours of TV without falling asleep. I don't leave town without "THE DEVICE". I have been on three golf trips and now I am the "perfect bunkie". It made its first long-distance trip in June when my family went to the Hawaiian Islands. We had a marvellous time and there was no snoring to keep everyone up in the house we rented.

Finally, I can tell you that just yesterday I got up after about 5.5 hours of great sleep and had a 6:30am to 8:30pm work-day with a dinner break. I walked from 9pm until around 9:40pm, read the paper, and watched TV until midnight. Today I got up early again and had a productive day, attended a seminar and a meeting at my Church tonight.

During dinner tonight my wife and I were talking about health and how we feel and she said: "I can't believe you get up early in the morning and when the kids were small you wouldn't budge!" We both laughed, but since I've been using the CPAP [machine] I feel so much better! My only regret is that I waited so long to get it! Well it is time for my nightly walk; I may even do a little jogging tonight and I know that I will have a great restful night and be ready to go in the morning. Thanks Fisher & Paykel Healthcare!

Gerard Garvey
Pennsylvania
USA