Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep
Ahhhh, sleep. Catching a few Zs. The ole' nighttime shut eye. The refresher of minds..... The regulator of weight..... The releaser of wrinkles..... It's the catalyst for the sweetest of dreams or the darkest of terrors. Most of us wish we could get more, but few of us ever do, choosing instead to grab that Starbucks or, in my case, my Bing energy drink, to get us going in the morning and keep us on our toes throughout the day. It's a precious commodity on which we can never really catch up, nor can we bottle it away to save for those days we may need it most.
After having children, my body has been constantly exhausted. Although my youngest child is now well past the night time waking and feeding, it is rare indeed for me to actually sleep through the night. So just take a nap, you may say. Well, what exactly is that? Because I have always been on high alert for the sound of a baby crying or perhaps the tiptoeing of an errant teenager, my brain has developed it's own emergency "Wake up!" system that conveniently jumps into action whenever it perceives that I am about to enjoy an hour or two of uninterrupted bliss. To use my children's favorite coined phrase, "That is so not fair." But I guess I'll just have to buck up and adopt a new mindset. Like those who run constantly at full speed, I guess I'll just "sleep when I'm dead."
To answer the question that I am sure is going through your mind.... Of all the things going on in the world....the Royal Wedding, the shooting in Texas, opening a U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem, or how old Pink looks (she looks fantastic by the way), why would I choose to focus on sleeping for a blog post? The answer is simple. It is because sleep has suddenly become an all-too-important part of my daily life. And not in the getting enough aspect. But, rather, in the getting too much.
Recently, our oldest daughter was diagnosed with narcolepsy. This is a chronic disease (meaning it will never go away), and it can be debilitating in terms of school and jobs and social life if not managed properly. To be honest, the diagnosis didn't come entirely as a surprise. For the past few years, we have noticed that she would tend to fall asleep rather quickly if we were in the car, or in church, or if we were watching a movie in a darkened room. Although we found it odd, we just kind of shrugged it off as "We just have a tired teen."
In the Mormon faith, kids entering high school take what is called Early Morning Seminary. Basically it is a class that typically can begin anywhere from 5:30-6:00am (in our neck of the woods) in the morning prior to school. The kids study scripture and engage in fellowship before heading out into the unpredictability of the high school world. We live about 20 minutes away from the home where the class is held. This means our kids have to get up around 4:50-5:00am in order to get out the door and get there on time. It is held like a regular class, meaning you have absences and tardies, assignments, etc., so it is important to try and be timely, not to mention one of my biggest pet peeves - being late.
Obviously, I don't think it is too big of a stretch to assume that her seminary routine, coupled with tough classes, band practices, and and an after-school job a couple nights a week would naturally make a teenager extra sleepy. And that is what really made me drag my feet. Until the day I got the call from her AP History teacher....she was concerned about how often LK was dozing off in class, and she noticed that it didn't seem like she was overtired. She would just fall asleep sitting up.
That was the kick in the pants I needed to get her in to her pediatrician, who then recommended her to a sleep specialist, who then prescribed a day and night time sleep study, which then resulted in her diagnosis.
I think people may have a tendency to say "Well, it could be worse. She could have diabetes; she could have cancer; she could have a tumor." Of course we know, and are very grateful for the fact, that out of all of the diagnoses that we have had to deal with among 7 children, this has by far been the most challenging. But it doesn't negate the fact, that yes, for a teenage girl with light years ahead of her, it is life changing. And scary. And unpredictable. What if she falls asleep while driving? How will she excel if she keeps falling asleep in class? How do you hang out with friends and pull all nighters when your body is constantly trying to lull you to sleep? We've already seen some of the residual effects -- she fell asleep over 5 times while taking her first SAT test, and she also fell asleep while taking both of her AP exams this past week, even while medicated.
So that is our challenge this summer and the year ahead. Trying to get the dosage right on her medications, advocating for the things she may need at school (yes, she can be medically mandated to take a nap during school hours), helping her learn how to effectively manage her time and recognize how to listen to her body and adjust her schedule as necessary. Obviously, we all have an intense learning curve ahead of us.
If you are the praying type, we don't mind thoughts and prayers. If you're not the praying type, a thought of good will sent out into the universe is much appreciated. Our life is challenging. At times, unrightly so, I'm inclined to believe. But, as an ardent Steel Magnolias fan, I also believe that there is a lot of truth in the line "That which does not kill us makes us stronger." Well, life clearly wants me dead. But I want life to know......a victory in battle does not translate to a victory in war. So, no white flag for me. Damn the torpedos, full speed ahead!
After having children, my body has been constantly exhausted. Although my youngest child is now well past the night time waking and feeding, it is rare indeed for me to actually sleep through the night. So just take a nap, you may say. Well, what exactly is that? Because I have always been on high alert for the sound of a baby crying or perhaps the tiptoeing of an errant teenager, my brain has developed it's own emergency "Wake up!" system that conveniently jumps into action whenever it perceives that I am about to enjoy an hour or two of uninterrupted bliss. To use my children's favorite coined phrase, "That is so not fair." But I guess I'll just have to buck up and adopt a new mindset. Like those who run constantly at full speed, I guess I'll just "sleep when I'm dead."
To answer the question that I am sure is going through your mind.... Of all the things going on in the world....the Royal Wedding, the shooting in Texas, opening a U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem, or how old Pink looks (she looks fantastic by the way), why would I choose to focus on sleeping for a blog post? The answer is simple. It is because sleep has suddenly become an all-too-important part of my daily life. And not in the getting enough aspect. But, rather, in the getting too much.
Recently, our oldest daughter was diagnosed with narcolepsy. This is a chronic disease (meaning it will never go away), and it can be debilitating in terms of school and jobs and social life if not managed properly. To be honest, the diagnosis didn't come entirely as a surprise. For the past few years, we have noticed that she would tend to fall asleep rather quickly if we were in the car, or in church, or if we were watching a movie in a darkened room. Although we found it odd, we just kind of shrugged it off as "We just have a tired teen."
In the Mormon faith, kids entering high school take what is called Early Morning Seminary. Basically it is a class that typically can begin anywhere from 5:30-6:00am (in our neck of the woods) in the morning prior to school. The kids study scripture and engage in fellowship before heading out into the unpredictability of the high school world. We live about 20 minutes away from the home where the class is held. This means our kids have to get up around 4:50-5:00am in order to get out the door and get there on time. It is held like a regular class, meaning you have absences and tardies, assignments, etc., so it is important to try and be timely, not to mention one of my biggest pet peeves - being late.
Obviously, I don't think it is too big of a stretch to assume that her seminary routine, coupled with tough classes, band practices, and and an after-school job a couple nights a week would naturally make a teenager extra sleepy. And that is what really made me drag my feet. Until the day I got the call from her AP History teacher....she was concerned about how often LK was dozing off in class, and she noticed that it didn't seem like she was overtired. She would just fall asleep sitting up.
That was the kick in the pants I needed to get her in to her pediatrician, who then recommended her to a sleep specialist, who then prescribed a day and night time sleep study, which then resulted in her diagnosis.
I think people may have a tendency to say "Well, it could be worse. She could have diabetes; she could have cancer; she could have a tumor." Of course we know, and are very grateful for the fact, that out of all of the diagnoses that we have had to deal with among 7 children, this has by far been the most challenging. But it doesn't negate the fact, that yes, for a teenage girl with light years ahead of her, it is life changing. And scary. And unpredictable. What if she falls asleep while driving? How will she excel if she keeps falling asleep in class? How do you hang out with friends and pull all nighters when your body is constantly trying to lull you to sleep? We've already seen some of the residual effects -- she fell asleep over 5 times while taking her first SAT test, and she also fell asleep while taking both of her AP exams this past week, even while medicated.
So that is our challenge this summer and the year ahead. Trying to get the dosage right on her medications, advocating for the things she may need at school (yes, she can be medically mandated to take a nap during school hours), helping her learn how to effectively manage her time and recognize how to listen to her body and adjust her schedule as necessary. Obviously, we all have an intense learning curve ahead of us.
If you are the praying type, we don't mind thoughts and prayers. If you're not the praying type, a thought of good will sent out into the universe is much appreciated. Our life is challenging. At times, unrightly so, I'm inclined to believe. But, as an ardent Steel Magnolias fan, I also believe that there is a lot of truth in the line "That which does not kill us makes us stronger." Well, life clearly wants me dead. But I want life to know......a victory in battle does not translate to a victory in war. So, no white flag for me. Damn the torpedos, full speed ahead!
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