Patient Success Stories

Tinley Park Woman Finally Gets a Good Night Sleep

Silver Cross Sleep Disorders Center Offers Relief to Sleepless Nights

For 10 years Maureen Zawisza suffered from endless sleepless nights and never was able to get a full night’s rest. After deciding to have weight loss surgery with BMI Surgery, she was referred by her doctor to have a sleep study at the new Silver Cross Sleep Disorders Center located in Pavilion A at I-355 and Route 6 in New Lenox. Here, it was determined that she indeed had sleep apnea.

“Sleep apnea is a common disorder in which you have one or more pauses in breathing or shallow breaths while you sleep,” says Dr. Phillip Leung, board certified pulmonologist. “These breathing pauses can last from a few seconds to minutes and often occur 5 to 30 times or more an hour.”

Sleep apnea usually is a chronic condition that disrupts sleep making you tired during the day. If left untreated, sleep apnea can increase the risk of high blood pressure, heart attack, stroke, obesity, and diabetes; make arrhythmias, or irregular heartbeats, more likely; and increase the chance of having work-related or driving accidents.

The first patient at the new Silver Cross Sleep Disorders Center, Maureen spent the night in a private home-like room where she had her own bathroom, calming décor, and comfortable bed to help put her at ease. She spent the next 8 hours undergoing a polysomnographic test and a sleep study that provided a detailed picture of her entire sleep cycle. The study allowed technicians to analyze Maureen’s exact sleep pattern, from the onset of sleep through the 4 normal levels of sleep, to breathing, oxygen levels, heartbeat, movement and snoring activity. The next morning it was determined that she had sleep apnea and required a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine to help control her breathing while she sleeps.

“My experience at the Silver Cross Sleep Disorders Center was beyond superb,” said the Tinley Park resident. “The technicians, Rod and Terri, were wonderful at making me feel welcomed. Rod’s calm and reassuring voice allowed me to relax and my anxiety was reduced tremendously. And the facility is beautiful. It looks like a 5- star hotel. I felt like I was coming home in the Sleep Center’s delightful surroundings.”

In addition to diagnosing and treating sleep apnea the Center specializes in sleep related breathing disorders, insomnia, sleep related movement disorders, and narcolepsy. “We are committed to helping our patients receive the correct treatment that will enable them to rest properly, so they can have a better quality of life,” says Dr. Leung.

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