Keeton travels the world with Inspire® therapy

A sleep study in 2006 confirmed Shawn had severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).

It ended up taking about 10 years before he found a treatment that worked for him: Inspire^® therapy.

The treatments before Inspire therapy didn’t work well enough. Shawn first used a Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) machine. He still stopped breathing 36 times per hour while sleeping with the machine.

He later had multiple surgeries. This included tonsillectomy and uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (UPPP) surgeries. Shawn still dealt with the effects of his OSA despite receiving partial help.

“I felt tired all the time, and I was dragging,” he said.

Shawn Keeton takes a boat ride to take photos during one his many trips. Shawn has more energy to make multiple trips a year since he began treating his obstructive sleep apnea with Inspire® therapy.

Shawn went back to CPAP and forced himself to use it. He continued to look at other options and even tried a mandibular advancement device.

The dental device worked better than anything else at the time. Shawn even used it for about six years. But he later learned it began pulling his jaw forward so far that it started to become misaligned.

Shawn Keeton enjoys taking trips to Africa since treating his obstructive sleep apnea with Inspire® therapy.

He had surgery to permanently pull his jaw forward after consulting with his doctor. This made things worse, so he returned to CPAP.

This is also when Shawn’s provider mentioned Inspire therapy as an option. At the time, no one in his Florida hospital network had received the Inspire^® implant before.

Shawn had a sleep study to see if he qualified. His insurance approved the surgery a few weeks later. He received the implant in August 2015.

He then met with his provider after turning on Inspire therapy to find a therapeutic level that worked well for him.

Shawn Keeton poses at the equator line in Uganda on a recent trip. Shawn enjoys traveling around the world since he started treating his obstructive sleep apnea with Inspire® therapy.

Today, Shawn spends more time traveling and doesn’t worry about his sleep anymore. His apnea episodes went down to about three an hour.

“I truly feel that Inspire has given me back a normal life ... or at least the type of life I want to lead,” he said.

He now takes yearly trips to Africa and is looking forward to doing even more traveling when he retires in a few years.

“There are trips I could not have done if it were not for Inspire,” Shawn said. “Inspire has become second nature to me, and it has been for years.”