Illinois woman dreams of daughter again after treating obstructive sleep apnea with Inspire® therapy

Sarah Davis’ severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) affected her physically and mentally.

The unexpected death of her adult daughter, Beth, made things more difficult.

OSA symptoms kept Sarah from dreaming about her which made her feel like a bad mother.

Vivid dreams were still to come, however. Inspire® therapy became a big reason for her present-day rest.

Increased REM sleep due to fewer apnea episodes made Sarah feel amazing.

“It was all because I wasn’t sleeping,” she said. “But now that I do, I have all kinds of dreams.”

Sleep apnea runs in the family as her father Tom Sweet also received a diagnosis with severe OSA.

His journey to Inspire therapy is what led Sarah down the same path.

Tom knew he had sleep issues for years while working as a traveling salesperson.

The long-distance road trips were tough.

He needed to pull over to take naps frequently. He also snored and constantly felt tired.

A Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) machine didn’t work well enough.

He next had a procedure done to remove extra tissue from his throat. He also had gastric sleeve surgery to help him lose weight.

Then he went to an Inspire-trained provider and qualified for the implant.

Tom received it in 2019 and began getting restful sleep after his provider turned the device on.

Sarah Davis said she sleeps so much better since she started treating her obstructive sleep apnea with Inspire® therapy. She can even dream about her late daughter again, something she couldn’t do before.

“It didn’t take long before we were able to adjust the device to the level I needed, and I noticed a difference,” he said.

Sarah dealt with similar symptoms. She always felt tired and fell asleep while driving.

The struggles became exasperated by Beth’s passing over eight years ago.

Sarah didn’t realize her lack of dreams – including the lack of ability to dream about Beth - stemmed from her severe OSA.

A true “wake-up” call happened after she dozed off in the car while transporting her other daughter, granddaughter and daughter-in-law.

“I had all these people that I love in my car, and I was putting their lives in danger by falling asleep at the wheel,” Sarah said.

She unfortunately also didn’t tolerate CPAP just like her father.

She had her tonsils removed and surgery to fix a deviated septum, as well. Nothing worked.

Sarah noticed how well Inspire therapy treated her father’s OSA and decided to see if she qualified.

She eventually did and received the Inspire® implant two years after her father.

She is now sleeping more soundly and barely snores at night.

“My husband tells me, ‘You don’t even snore anymore,’” Sarah said. “It is a complete change for me.”