A Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) machine worked for Dooley at first, but this changed over time. He began to fall asleep at stoplights and struggled to feel present when spending time with family – all due to a lack of restful sleep. 

Jim Dooley enjoys time with his dog and “best friend” Nutmeg.

But then he discovered another option – Inspire® therapy. He qualified and later received the implant in July 2021. 

 “It has been life-changing, life-saving and life-extending,” Dooley said. 

Dooley’s first problems arose with his CPAP when he started to sleep on his side. He would end up tangled with the hose, and it made it difficult to sleep. 

Jim Dooley and his wife Maki Hishikawa watch an Iowa women’s basketball game.

Dooley read about Inspire® therapy while it was still in clinical trials before becoming FDA approved as a second-line therapy to treat moderate to severe OSA in 2014. 

Dooley later sought out the opinion of Dr. Amir Patel, an Inspire-trained doctor, as his OSA symptoms continued to worsen. 

 And the rest is history. 

 Dooley said he’s lost weight, doesn’t snore anymore and wakes up refreshed every day since he began using Inspire. He is getting restorative sleep for the first time in about three decades. 

 “It really is remarkable, I feel like I’m 25 again,” Dooley said. “It’s strange that I and millions of other people got used to accepting that horrible sleep is what’s expected.”