Freedom comes with tubes attached...

In my quest for more freedom, and within the boundaries of what my insurance will help pay for, I've gained the privilege to use an iFill system in my home. This only means I now have an E tank (approximately 25 inches tall and weighing over 7 pounds empty) that I can fill at home. It's too big to carry, so I have to wheel it around on a little cylinder cart. But, I suppose that's okay, as my back hurts anyway from the extra weight of carrying around the CADD Legacy pump and medicine cartridge sandwiched between ice packs. Now I just have to struggle getting this tank and wheeled cart up and down the porch steps and in and out of cars. I also have to maneuver it over huge cracks in the sidewalks and avoid potholes in parking lots.

To fill a tank I have to place the valve of the tank into the iFill system and turn the machine on. The machine then pumps concentrated oxygen from the air into the tank. While it does this the machine roars and clicks. It sounds like a trash truck is in my home, running it's engine. It's loud. In fact, it's too loud to run at night. And, the E tank takes over 350 minutes to fill. That comes to about 6 hours. (When I filled my E tank, it seemed to take longer than that.) I've also been warned that the iFill is very finicky. If the house gets over 80-degrees it will probably heat up the little sensor inside and it will crash. Then, I will have to call the iFill experts in to reset this sensor gizmo thing.

Yesterday afternoon we had our year-end celebration for our Girl Scout troop at the local botanical gardens. The girls had a fused glass class and then we presented them their one-year stars and bridging awards out in the garden. It was a beautiful day and my tank lasted all afternoon. I didn't have to have a friend run back to the car for the extra tank and didn't have to watch the gauge and worry about what time I needed to leave. However, as I type this, I'm having to refill my E tank. The iFill machine is roaring and clicking as it sends rhythmic vibrations across the floor.

Freedom?

I can certainly be thankful I live in a country and in an era with such technology that allows a patient to have oxygen at home. Had I lived one-hundred years ago, I'd have to seek out an institution that provided oxygen. I'd be away from my family and perhaps bed-ridden.

Freedom? Yes, I suppose we can say that.