Waiting for the oxygen to be approved by my insurance turned a little messy and I was dependent on the oxygen only the hospital could give me.  The stay wasn't too bad and I had plenty of people to visit me and bring things to pass the time.

During this time I began to look in the mirror and not recognize myself anymore.  I had lost so much weight and in my eyes looked as if I was sickly and wasting away.  But I was strong and had begun to eat fairly regularly so in my mind, I was thinking, shoot, I'll put on just a few pounds, I'll be able to work out with the extra oxygen at home and start to feel like myself.  

At my last visit at UW, it was determined I needed at least 10 liters of oxygen while at rest and 15 with activity (mind you, activity at this point is a successful short walk to the mail box).  Unfortunately, I didn't have the means to do this with the equipment I had available to me at home.  I even tried doubling up on the nasal canulas, one running from my portable oxygen concentrator, the other from my large home oxygen concentrator.  In case anybody wanted to know, this is not the most effective way to uptick your oxygen needs and looks pretty silly to boot.  I made a call to the on call provider at my clinic and they recommended a trip to the emergency room.  So I went!  They managed to stabilize my oxygen into the low 90s and wanted to send me home but I explained I had no access to concentrators that gave that type of oxygen output.  The solution was to work very quickly with Lincare to set up something for me to have at home that would keep my levels safe.  I was admitted as a patient while they sorted that out for me at home.