I'd Consider Sleeping in a Coffin

When I woke up this morning, I could not feel my left arm. Let me rephrase that. When I woke up this afternoon, I could not feel my left arm.

It kind of just flopped, and I couldn't even lift it up, so Dave shook it back to life for me. For anyone who has ever shared a bed or even a bedroom with me, they know that I sleep very oddly. So, I told Dave the perhaps I should sleep in a coffin so that I have no room to move around to pin my body parts beneath me.

IT RUNS IN THE FAMILY

My mom is a deep sleeper a well. One time she thought I ran away from home and had people looking for me when I did not get off the school bus one day. She, with her eyes open and seemingly awake, told me that morning that I could go to my friend's house after school. She had absolutely no recollection of it.

To this day, she requires two alarm clocks and a wake-up call from a neighboor to get up in the morning. One time, all three of those failed. Her next-door neighboor came into the house- the door opened, the dog barked and all- and she still did not wake up (she was on the couch). So, the neighbor proceeded to build a tower on the coffee table with all her canned veggies. My mom was still snoring. She had no idea. So, this explains why I don't hear the alarm clock and how I can sleep through a concert.

We are the only family in America that didn't rise early on Christmas morning- my brother and sister, who are 13 and 14 years younger than me never rose early on Christmas either. We just are deep, long sleepers. It's in our blood. So many, many times I've been late to school because me and my mom slept throught the alarm. The alarm could have been going off for an hour, and our bodies just don't process it.

PEOPLE DON'T UNDERSTAND
I had a very difficult time with some past coworkers before things got under control. In the meantime, I read an article by a writer and professor who struggle with my same problem. I befriended him via e-mail and he said that the toughest part about this was that no one understood.

WHY I CAN GET UP TODAY
Several years ago before I lived with anyone, I had trouble getting up in the morning. So, I saw a sleep doctor and was actually diagnosed with narcolepsy. I had one of those cool sleep studies done. I spent the night and the whole next day in a sleep center. They determined that I had extremley abnormal sleep patterns during the day-- as in I was given 15 minutes to fall asleep for a nap at four points throughout the day. Then, they let me sleep for 20 minutes and woke me up. Each time this happened,I fell into dream sleep right away- they actually brought me in a tablet to record my dreams as well. So what this means is that I suffer from excessive daytime sleepiness- I can fall asleep and more specifically into a deep sleep with the blink of an eye. I was on Provigil for years- then when I went back to school I didn't have insurance, so I suffered without it. But in the meantime, I was living with Dave and he makes sure I am up. But if there is no alarm or no person, I simply won't wake up- especially if I am sick or under mental stress. Two weeks ago, I missed Sunday.

I have a better handle on my sleeping situation now, but I am considering going back on Provigil now that I have a far drive to and from work. That's one of the other signs of my narcolepsy. If I am a passaenger in any type of moving vehicle, I will fall asleep right away. I have to fight that feeling when I am the driver and it makes driving very, very hard for me.

Ah- that was really a tanget. Didn't expect to go off on my sleep disorder!! But yeah- I sleep funny, and sleep deep and wake up everyday with parts of my body still aslseep.