Terry Streetman (Host): Welcome back to the Well Within Reach podcast presented by Riverside Healthcare. I'm Terry Streetman, Marketing & Communications Representative, and today we are in the Riverside Sleep Center to talk about sleep disorders and how you can work on them with Bill Yonka, a patient here for the Sleep Center.

So welcome to the podcast, Bill.

Bill Yohnka: Thanks, Terry. This is a pretty cool thing.

Host: Yeah, this is a nice setup. So we're excited to have you here. For folks who maybe don't know you, if there's anybody left in the area, can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

Bill Yohnka: Well, I live in Kankakee, and I feel like I really do enjoy my life here. I'm involved in a lot of really exciting things. My main role right now is the Executive Director of the Kankakee Riverfront Society, and getting things started on building a river walk in Kankakee. We're excited about that effort. Each weekday morning, I host a radio show on XCountry 106. 5 FM. And that's a lot of fun connecting with people and starting my day with some great energy.

And, I do things out in the community, kayak, play basketball, manage the farmer's market, announce stock car races. And, it's just a lot of fun and a lot of fun connecting with people around our community and, being involved in things and making things happen and having fun at music festivals and things that bring community together are things that motivate me to making this a better place to live and putting the spotlight on people doing great stuff.

Host: All right. Well, it's great to have you doing all of those things here in Kankakee. It makes it a great place. No, I mean, that's, that's great. And I think it's fun to have the tables turned a little bit. You've interviewed me before on the radio, so we're doing this now.

But we're here to talk about your sleep issues and coming here to the sleep center. And I think people would hear all of those things you do and go, that guy must be exhausted. I bet he sleeps like a log. And I guess we're here to talk about how that hasns't been the case for you. So can you talk a little bit about some of those sleep issues that you've had?

Bill Yohnka: Yeah, I have had issues with I thought it was just a little bit of snoring and being a single person, I didn't really know until I went on vacation with friends and had friends say, Bill, this is an issue. I'm like, like not kidding around with me. I'm really concerned. Like, wanting the best for me. And so it was the impetus for me saying, okay, getting to an age now into my forties where I said, there's some things you should be doing, you know, I should see my doctor.

I should then get some things scheduled, do some blood work, do a colonoscopy. And on my doctor's advice, getting into the sleep study.

Host: And so that was a referral from your doctor or did you contact them directly?

Bill Yohnka: A referral from my doctor, and it was. I think those are days that you don't look forward to like, okay, I haven't been to the doctor in a little while, I'm not looking forward to this, but, Dr. Hussein, who's my doctor, has this great way with me where, okay, I'm not in trouble.

Host: Okay.

Bill Yohnka: Let's think about what you need to do for this next chapter of your life to be healthy. And, that was really a great conversation and a great kind of path of things to do over the course of a few months to get there.

Host: Well, that's good. And it's always nice to have that because I've been in that situation before. You're anxious about, Oh, there's all these things I haven't done. And so it's great that we have these providers here who are welcoming and friendly and put you at ease with that kind of stuff.

Bill Yohnka: When it really is seamless to, like, meeting with, Dr. Hussein then, that day, getting it set up with a schedule to do the at home sleep study. Then after that was done to spend the night in the sleep study center. So the combination of things that were easy to make happen and knowing that there's kind of this continuation of care where everyone's on the same page, it's showing up on MyChart, and it just gives me that kind of sense like, okay, I'm on this path, and it continues, instead of, I could see how it would feel other points in my life when I didn't have all those things working together, where I've got one appointment, then I've got a couple other appointments, I'm not real sure, it's all nice and tidy.

Host: Yep, and you got it all in your MyChart, so you don't forget when anything is, which is usually my problem. Okay, so you mentioned some of the process here. You get the referral, you meet with the Sleep Center folks. You talked about the experience with the doctor, that put you at ease. Kind of the same thing here at the sleep center? 'Cause it can be kind of a mystery if you haven't done it before. Right.

Bill Yohnka: Oh yeah. And I was full of like anxiety about, okay, how is this going to be? You know, first I did an at home sleep study and they walked me through everything I had to do for that. And that was relatively easy.

Host: Okay.

Bill Yohnka: So they got the results back from that and felt like I needed to come for overnight in the sleep center.

Host: Sure.

Bill Yohnka: And I was even more worried about that because I knew I was at the preliminary level at home. And then once you get here, there's more things you have to be hooked up to.

Host: Right.

Bill Yohnka: And, I was just amazed by how comfortable everything was. I thought it was going to be a terrible night's sleep being hooked up to things. It was actually a really good night's sleep because I was getting air in my lungs well. You know, I really was sleeping well than when I was able to get asleep and get familiar with the equipment.

 And the crew here, wow, it wouldn't have been so easy if they hadn't had the way about them where it was calming and just very comfortable. So I really appreciated how everyone was here.

Host: Yeah. Well, and that's good. I think puts you at ease so you can get that good night's sleep. So did they have you hooked up to like a CPAP machine? You talked about being able to get air.

Bill Yohnka: So I was hooked up to a CPAP machine and ahm kind of walking me through how to breathe, how to make that work, right. And, assuring me, I know it's difficult. You're going to get there. And in a little while, I was out and it was really a good night's sleep.

Host: Yeah. That's good to hear. 'Cause I think, it's kind of a mystery and it can be really intimidating. And I know I had one years ago and I felt like RoboCop. I had so much stuff on me. It's gotten better since then, I understand. And even then for me, the sense of relief of like, I'm going to have answers soon. Has that helped you? I know it wasn't that long ago you had your sleep study in here. So you're probably not all set up with all your solutions, but, just having some answers. Does that kind of help you rest easy at night?

Bill Yohnka: Just knowing I'm on a path. I think that feels good in a lot of ways. It started with seeing my doctor, but just knowing that I'm making some changes and doing some things to make things work for me.

Host: Awesome. So for other people who are maybe dealing with sleep issues at home, what advice would you give them, or what would you say about your experience, if somebody asked you directly?

Bill Yohnka: If someone asked me what I thought of Sleep Center, I would say, just go and do it. Talk to your doctor first, make sure that you're all on the same page. And it seems like an intimidating thing. And I wanted nothing more than to just make it be better all on its own. And that's not how that works. So making the call and making the appointment and then having that day on the calendar, say, okay, I'm making a plan for this. And my mind started to be eased as soon as I had that appointment on the calendar.

Host: Yeah. And it's just make the call, the longer you put it off, I think the more miserable, at least in my experience, you become. And yeah, so that's really good to hear that kind of starts right away and that the process is easy. So, that's a lot of what we wanted to cover. Is there anything else you want to add for folks who are listening at home?

Bill Yohnka: I think that if you're struggling and maybe you don't know you're struggling, maybe someone has to kind of remind you of this, because I think sometimes the people who are struggling with it, it gets routine and you don't realize how good you used to feel. And I know when I had a really good night's sleep, I felt nostalgic for like younger days when I wanted to get up and conquer the world.

And I felt like that again. And I'm excited moving forward. Like, okay, this isn't just something that happens as you're aging. You can make these days that are in front of you, make the best of them. So I really encourage people to do what they can to get their sleep figured out and then make it happen.

Host: Well, that's cool. That's sort of turning back the clock. That's pretty neat. Well, thank you for taking the time to chat with us today. I think we've pulled back the curtain on this a little bit and let people know, you know, it doesn't have to be intimidating or a mystery any of that.

 There are friendly folks at Riverside who want to help you and put you on that journey that you talked about. And, that's all really good to hear. And I'm glad that you're getting some relief and some answers.

Bill Yohnka: Getting some relief and the one night of being hooked up to more things than I ever thought I'd be hooked up to was weird. But it was kind of reassuring because there was good people I know monitoring me the whole time and giving me the answers I needed.

Host: Awesome. Well, it's always great to chat with you, Bill. Thanks for joining us today on the Well Within Reach podcast. If people are interested in more about Riverside, you can visit riversidehealthcare.org to find the Sleep Center and find a primary care provider and anything you might need. So, check out Riverside and thanks Bill. We appreciate it.