Dad's First Post

Since my wife has been updating so often, I figured I had better step up and contribute something to this lovely little corner of the internet she has created.

They always say the first step is the hardest, and that is true of this experience for me.  My mind is going a hundred different directions as I desperately try to get it all out and typed up.

It has been 4 months since we got the diagnosis of Narcolepsy for Vand'n, and I feel we are finally getting to where the medications have evened his moodiness and sleepiness to the point that he seems happy with life, and Dee and I aren't worried about him lashing out and hurting his brother and sisters.   For about the last week, he has only been taking naps once a day, and usually they have been in late afternoon, which gives me hope that someday he might make it through a full day of school.

Typically when Vand'n takes a nap, he tosses and turns the whole time, and often talks.  This is because he is typically in REM sleep when he naps.  The misconception is that they (narcoleptics) fall asleep and are passed out cold.  But the opposite is actually happening; they are so into their dreams from REM that they don't get any rest at all.  In fact, when we try to wake him from a nap, he will often yell random stuff at us, because he is still sleeping, and he is reacting to his dream world.  When I have to pull him out of the car while he is sleeping, he will usually sleep through it, but this is not because he is in a deep sleep, he is most likely having an episode of sleep paralysis.

His medication is given at night, so we will try to wake him up at about 1 a.m. to give his first dose.  We wait til then because the medicine only puts him into deep sleep for about 3-4 hours.  The second dose is at 5 a.m. so he will wake up about 8 or 9.  

Anyway, waking him up at 1 can be a pretty interesting experience depending on what he is dreaming about (remember, he is always dreaming until we give him his medicine because he is in REM sleep). 1 of three things will usually happen:
   1- About half the time he wakes up, stretches, goes to the bathroom (must be a guy thing) and takes his medicine, then it's back to bed. No Problem
   2- He will sleep through everything we do to him for up to 15 minutes or sometimes longer.  Then eventually he will wake up and either do the same as #1 or...
   3- He will appear to be awake, but he will say or do something completely unexpected.  I will try to post these as they happen

This leads me to my new goal: posting every other day.  I will try to make it entertaining and informative, so check back often and share with everyone you know!

-alex