A Pooh Bear for Baby-to-Be

Dean's childhood Winnie-the-Pooh surrounded by Baby-to-be's Heffalump (left) and baby Pooh & Tigger (right).

 Night had fallen when we arrived at the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh ride at Walt Disney World’s Fantasyland in the Magic Kingdom.  It was after Christmas in December 2010.  Santa had blessed with a gift for a family trip to Disney World.  Jasmine and Timothy were in heaven and so was their mother Tracie - my wife. 

           

Earlier, Tracie had asked me if there was any ride in the Magic Kingdom that I wanted to go on.  I told her that I didn’t know of a certain ride, but I wanted to shop at the gift shop in Fantasyland that sold the most Winnie the Pooh bears.  As a child, Winnie the Pooh was my teddy bear.  I could not sleep without my Pooh bear and blue blanket.  When my family visited Disney World in the 70’s, I have vivid memories of all of the Pooh bears for sale in a gift shop in Fantasyland.

Now, three decade later, I was back in that exact location filled with the same child-like giddiness that I felt long ago.  My eyes marveled at all of the different size bears for sale along with Piglet, Eeyore, Rabbit, Kanga, Roo, Owl and Tigger!  Tracie was quickly pulled away by Jasmine and Timothy to see what they were looking at with their familiar excited cry of, “Hey Mom!  Look at _______.”

My eyes scanned the shop as I slowly walked through.  Then I stopped at a side wall display of the smallest stuffed Pooh bears.  They were made for babies.  I picked up one of the bears and heard the gentle rattle inside.  Clutching it to my chest as if it was my own child, a sweet gentle smile spread across my face and tears welled up in my eyes. 

“I want to take you home.”  I quietly said out load. 

As I held the sweet adorable small bear, I thought of what it would be like to hold this bear out to a little baby and shaking it to get a smile from her or him. 

Tracie walked up to me as I was holding this sweet little Pooh and I said,

“Wouldn’t it be great to have this as a memento from our trip to Disney World to pass on to our baby should they arrive in the coming year?” 

I was excited about the thought of having a baby with my wife Tracie!!!

Quickly, we were overrun with excited Jasmine and Timothy.  We told them that we wanted to pick out a Pooh for our baby-to-be.  Together, we picked out a Winnie the Pooh, a Tigger and a Heffalump – all for baby to be.  Out of the store we carried these adorable baby rattling animals that connected me to my past as a child, my present as step-dad to Jasmine and Timothy, husband to Tracie AND to our future as parents of a child to come.

Sunglasses

Daddy (Josh Johnson) with Camille at Mobile Bay.

Sunglasses have been a regular part of my life since I was a boy.  They became a necessity when I started wearing contacts in 1985 after I started driving.  For years, I have held on to nearly every pair of sunglasses I’ve owned, until recently.  While making a deposit at a bank in Huntsville, Alabama, my favorite sunglasses were stolen.  I set down my Costa Del Mar green mirror glasses to fill out my deposit slip.  I made my deposit with the teller then headed out the door.  Once outside, I remembered,

"Oh yeah, you left your sunglasses inside.” I went back in and my sunglasses were gone.  I asked the people in line and the tellers if they had seen them.  Everyone said, “No, sure haven’t, but we’ll let you know if they turn up.”  I left my name and phone number, but they were never found.  It’s sad that you can’t trust people to be honest who are doing business inside the bank building. My chosen pair of sunglasses for the past decade were gone.

Inspiration for wearing sunglasses came from my dad, Josh Johnson. He wore a pair of polarized black wrap-around Foster Grant sunglasses just like John Travolta wore as the character Danny Zucko in the movie Grease.  Daddy wore these glasses for years and wore them driving, fishing, sight-seeing and many other outdoor activities.  As children, we were at a pond looking at fish and Daddy was counting how many fish he could see. 

Daddy & me at Indy in '79

Me and my sister Camille asked, “Where Daddy?  I can’t see them.”

Daddy took off his black polarized glasses and said, “Here, look through my sunglasses and you will be able to see them.”  Camille and I took turns looking through the gray lenses and marveled at what we saw, “OHHH YEAAH, I see them now!”

The polarization reduced the water’s glare so we were able to see through the surface to the bluegill swimming below.  As one of us held the oversized glasses to our face and peered, the other complained,

“Let me see!  I wanna see!  It’s my turn!” My memory recalls that Camille got to “hold them” longer than me, but that may be based on younger brother time rather than reality.

That was my introduction to the benefit of polarized glasses in relation to seeing fish.  After that day, I was shopping for sunglasses of my own that would fit my small childish face. Daddy encouraged me to find a pair that were polarized while we shopped at a local “five and dime” store.  I was thrilled to find a pair that were identical to Daddy’s which made me very happy as I was a fan of Richard Petty who was famous for wearing two things; a broad smile and wrap around black polarized Foster Grant sunglasses.  The more I could do something to resemble the King of Stock Car Racing, the better!  I’m sure Daddy picked up on the fact that I wanted to look like Richard Petty rather than my dad.

Dean with bluegill catch at Sommerset Road in Huntsville, AL

RAY BAN "AVIATORS & FLIGHT GEAR

In 1985, my racing interest waned and I became enamored with another high speed occupation – pilots and their fast flying aircraft.  Ray Ban aviator sunglasses were the regular eye shielding appliance worn by pilots since World War II so I got a pair of my own from Bass Pro Shops for $25.00!  They looked great with my leather A-2 jacket that was identical to the World War II U.S. Army Air Corps jackets.  I wore these glasses just as much as Daddy had worn his Foster Grant’s.  As a Boy Scout attending the 1985 National Jamboree, my Ray Ban’s were usually attached to my face in the bright July sun of Virginia.  I proudly wore them to my first air show to see the U.S. Thunderbirds and to the 1987 Dayton Air Show in Ohio. They were approved sunglasses to wear with the U.S. Air Force uniform while I was in ROTC at Mississippi State University.  Since the Ray Ban’s were not polarized I wore my wrap-around glasses whenever I went fishing to aid in glare reduction.

Dean at Samford University wearing Ray Ban "Balorama's"

By 1995, my racing interest had returned and I wanted to change my style.  Wrap-around sunglasses were back in style and I found a pair of black Ray Ban Balorama’s that eliminated side glare.  Plus, they resembled Richard Petty’s famous glasses.  These were my trademark sunglasses for years as I loved being back in the wrap-around style, but the more I fished, the more I loved polarized glasses.  The deep blue sky was enhanced and greatly contrasted to green trees through the lenses of my fishing sunglasses.  I began using a polarized filter on my camera lens to deepen this effect of my landscape photos.

Dean wearing Costa Del Mar "Fathom" glasses

On a whim while visiting Mark’s Outdoor Sports in Birmingham, a sales associate encouraged me to try on a pair of Costa Del Mar polarized blue mirror glasses.  I put them on and looked out the window. The clarity was amazing and the contrasting colors were even more distinct than any glasses I had ever worn.  I tried the green mirror and was blown away by the brightened contrast colors of blue green, red and orange.   It was time to make a change and settle into a pair of sunglasses that were made for fishing.  In 2002, I bought a pair of Costa Del Mar Fathoms in green mirror and my Ray Ban’s were put in storage.  The glare reduction in driving was fantastic and I could wear these glasses early and late in the day to improve my visual acuity. I was able to see fish and structure below the water line as if I were looking in the sidewall of an aquarium.  These glasses were attached to me every time I was outside.  In fact, while attending an outside wedding reception, one of my friends said, “Dean, take off your sunglasses!”  But, I
didn’t want to because it was a sunny and beautiful clear fall afternoon.

I have come to appreciate a good pair of sunglasses as more than clarity or fashion, but also as sunscreen and protection for my eyes.  Hopefully the regular use of them will provide me with a long life of trouble free eyes.  I wonder if the great amount of sun exposure by my grandmother, Dora Gilbert, led to her decreased vision in her later years. She spent many days out in the sun tending to her flowers and garden.  Now, most of her sight is gone.  However, she is 93 years old and still going strong except for her vision.

Naturally, I was bummed by the loss of my beloved Costa Del Mar sunglasses, but thanks to a generous early birthday present by a special loved one, I have replaced the “Fathoms” with a new pair of “Jose” style green mirror glasses.  The "Jose's" offer great side glare blocking as they were designed and named for Jose Wejebe who is a popular fishing guide in Florida and the star of the TV fishing show, "The Spanish Fly." The lens frames are more square which closely resemble the shape of "King" Richard Petty's glasses. 

During the time of transition to the new Costa’s, I pulled out my pair of Ray Ban Balorama’s and wore them proudly, but quickly saw how sunglass development has progressed since I wore them in the ‘90’s.  The Ray Ban’s were just darkened glass, but polarized glass reduces glare which reduces eye strain eliminating headaches from squinting that tires your eyes.  Richard Petty, I see why you where your sunglasses all the time.

Now, I’m back to fishing with my sight fishing “tools” – polarized Costa Del Mar green mirror glasses.  See the fish?  I can.

Dean with new Costa Del Mar "Jose" glasses

Smile Returning - Part 1

Beginning to get "wired up" for the night

The first week of September 2011, I was informed that I have sleep apnea.  I have been expecting this diagnosis for a couple of months – ever since I was diagnosed with a concussion in July. For the past 2 and a half years, Tracie and I have had only a handful of restful nights of sleep. Every morning we wake up tired and exhausted and looking forward to a nap later in the day (which rarely comes) or a chance to get back to sleep.  Early on, I attributed this to adjusting to married life and sharing a bed with my new bride!  However, sleep hasn’t improved and throughout the night I wake up multiple times to shift or snore which wakes up Tracie causing her to shift in the bed rippling back to me AND this goes on throughout the night.  We wake up tired with headaches and dragging all day long.

Lack of restful sleep has affected our mental and physical well being, but now we are on the road to remedy and recovery.  Obstructive sleep apnea is potentially life threatening as “…the upper portion of the air passage leading to the lungs becomes too narrow during sleep resulting in insufficient airflow.”  (source is www.alabamasleepclinic.com)  Since adequate airflow muscles are relaxed during sleep that the airway becomes too small to support adequate airflow, the brain often corrects the problem by sending a shock signal to arouse the individual to reopen the air passage.  These arousals disrupt the quality of sleep by not allowing full rest.  The life threatening risk has to do with increased blood pressure, heart failure, heart attack or stroke since the heart is having to work all of the time rather than getting a chance to slow down to rest.

Every time I wake up when my brain shocks my airway back open, it causes me to snore loudly and jerk in my sleep that sends a ripple effect to awaken Tracie. 

In late August, I did a sleep study with the Alabama Sleep Clinic in Huntsville.  I spent the night in a medical office bedroom-like setting where I was wired up from head to mid-leg so that I could be monitored for breathing, heart activity, brain waves and oxygen levels. My night’s sleep was also filmed for viewing of my nocturnal habits.  The results of my study were that I stopped breathing numerous times throughout the night – more than the basic abnormal amount; I slept a total of 5 hours, had 2 periods of REM or dreaming sleep, and woke up for over an hour during the night.  The sleeping conditions weren’t ideal, but necessary.  I had at least 15 wires attached to my head and neck that tethered me to the headboard wall.  Whenever I rolled over my toes were entangled in the monitoring wires on my lower legs. If I needed to get out of bed, I had to call for assistance to “unplug” me so that I could go to the rest room.  I want to do everything I possibly can to stay out of the hospital after this one-night experience.

Sleep study bedroom

The fact that I have minimal REM stage or dreaming during the night means that my body never gets to the sleep period of tissue repair.  Since I’m waking Tracie up as well, the same is happening to her.  It means we are susceptible to weight gain as well.  Our mental state is severely impacted as well.  Tracie referred to an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation called “Night Terrors” in which the crew was going insane due to lack of REM sleep.  Captain Picard relieved himself of command because he couldn’t trust his own judgment.  That’s an extreme example, but not too far from reality of what can happen.  (Tracie and I both watched Star Trek: The Next Generation when it aired at 6 p.m. on Saturday’s).

To remedy the situation for me, I have chosen to be fitted with a sleep mask that will provide continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) that will generate airflow into my airway while I sleep.  This will ensure that I have steady flow of oxygen and prevent the nightly arousals.  This will lead to a rested body, reduce my blood pressure, prolong my life, and allow Tracie to get consistent nights of sleep without me constantly waking her.

I did another sleep study using the CPAP mask on September 13 to determine the adequate pressure for my airway and to monitor my sleep patterns with the mask compared to the study without CPAP.  After a night with the CPAP mask, it took me longer to get to sleep and I awoke only once during the night to go to the rest room.  Though it took me awhile to get back to sleep – more due to the discomfort of having wires connected to my head, neck, chest, side and legs – I awoke much more rested.  I did not remember my dreams which are further indication that I didn’t wake during the night.  The sleep center staff woke me at 5:15 a.m.  I showered and went home.

Fitted with CPAP mask

 Instead of feeling a desire to get back to sleep, I felt energized again!  Not only did I have a much more restful night of sleep, Tracie had a good night of sleep as well.  That proved that my snoring and obstructive breathing is keeping her from resting well.  We both felt rested for the first time in quite a while – though both of us wanted to have a few more hours of sleep.

I went to the gym to work out for the first time in months (I was limited to exercise and weight lifting due to my concussion).  The work out wasn’t enough, so after the kids got home from school, I went for a bike ride along Huntsville’s green way.  While riding, I started laughing and said aloud, “Dean is coming back!  I’m coming back!”  I smile as I rode and began thinking about getting up early and going for another bike ride.

Recently, I purchased my own CPAP machine and after one night of use, I felt much more rested and energetic.  It was more restful than the night of the sleep study as I was sleeping in my own bed and didn’t have all of the monitoring devices attached to my body.  With less than a week of use, Tracie and I are sleeping fully and restfully through the night.  The machine makes no noise while it blows air into the mask.  I am not snoring either.  Already, we are noticing an improvement to our emotional, mental and physical health.  This is one of the things to begin the road of recovery for us and return the smiles that have been missing for quite some time.

I hope this information is helpful to you.  You may know of someone in your family or among your friends that may have sleep disorders.  I have been very pleased with Alabama Sleep Clinic & Crestwood Medical Center’s Sleep Clinic and their efforts to improve the quality of life for me and my wife.

Family Additions

Butch Baker & Frances Johnson

In June 1996, my sister, Camille, married Glenn in Weatherly’s sanctuary.  In February 2009, Tracie and I were married in Weatherly’s sanctuary.  This April, my mother, Frances, will marry Butch Baker in Weatherly’s sanctuary.

How many people can say that sister, brother, and mother were all married in the same location or occurring in the order of children then parent being married.  I’m beginning to see that the stereotypical normal does not happen in our family. 

Tracie and I are deeply grateful to all of your support and love you have showered on us in these 2 years of marriage together.  We both went through a lot to become wife and husband and had the wonderful aspect of 4 becoming a family on our wedding day.

Now, Butch Baker becomes a part of our family.  Mother and Butch have known each other since they were at Butler High School together.  Like me, it’s been a long road for Mother since 1982 when her husband Josh died.  Butch has been through a lot to get to the day to marry Mother.  He is a man who treats Mother the way she deserves to be treated.  He has embraced me, Tracie, Timothy & Jasmine as his own - often displayed in his long hugs of each of us.  It makes me proud to see my mother so happy with Butch.  As many of you know, when you go a long a long time without a marriage partner, life becomes difficult doing everything on your own.  One of God’s purposes in two joining together as one is uniting the strengths of each other to cancel out individual weaknesses. They bring a source of strength and encouragement during troubled times.  They bring love and tenderness in times of sorrow and delight.  They bring beauty and wonderment in times of astonishment of our created presence. 

Thank you, God, for bringing a special partner into Camille’s life, into my life, and into Mother’s life.  Glenn, Tracie, and Butch you were worth waiting for and you came into our lives just in time.

The Sommer's - Glenn, Camille, Diana & Thea

Dean, Timothy, Jasmine & Tracie