The night before we left for our Hawaiian vacation, I had developed a stuffy nose and sore throat, and slept only three hours because I couldn’t breathe through my CPAP. On the plane, I went through an entire pack of Kleenex. In the Kapaa condo, I collapsed at 8 PM with a fever, but awoke at 1:30 AM with screaming sinuses. To avoid waking hubby, I hung out in the darkened bathroom playing Whirlyword on my phone with tissue stuffed up my nose for two hours. I finally got back to sleep around 3:30 AM.
This morning, I awoke to guava juice, sunshine, tropical breezes, a balcony overlooking a lovely garden, and the crow of Kauai roosters. If I’ve got to be sick, this is the sickroom I want!
Today was a Kauai afternoon with 3 generations of family, good Hawaiian food, whales breaching offshore, the sound of crashing waves below, and a stellar sunset. I just sat in a corner of the lanai and soaked it all in while life happened all around me.
I am sated. Sometimes it’s enough to just BE.
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Thanks to Steve and Gerry for crowdsourcing the blog title
Gray Connections 
Glad you are having a wonderful trip and hope feeling better. As a lung cancer patient, wondering how do you know if you can fly in plane at such high altitudes? My breathing test says I’m 40%. I need 02 at night, ( set 1 1/2) and in day IF on treadmill, taking longer walks, especially up hill, or traveling on ground at altitude of > 3,000 ft. Scared to go on plane, even though I have a portable that goes to number 5. Had a RUL removed. How would I know if that’s enough for such a high altitude? I would like to “live” the rest of my life, and do some traveling. Would like to take plane, but scared. How would I know if a machine that goes to number 5 would be enough for such a high altitude as in a plane?
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I suggest you ask a pulmonologist that question. The average commercial airplane is pressurized to 8000 ft (though some newer planes are at 6500 ft). Only portable oxygen concentrators are FAA approved for use on airplanes, and most of those can only deliver 2 Liters continuously, not five. If you’re only 40% at sea level, it’s possible a portable oxygen concentrator will not provide enough flow for you in the flight environment. A pulmonologist can help you sort it out.
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