Monday, July 23, 2012

I Can Relate

Awhile ago, I happened upon a blog that is written by a father of a severely disabled boy.  He recently wrote a blog post about what the lack of sleep will do to you.  A lot of what he wrote really resonates with me.  For example, I use the "F" word a lot when I'm tired and cranky.  And, the whole thing about anger ... I can totally relate to that.  In my mind, there is no greater form of torture than sleep deprivation.  It's been awhile since I've been up through the night attending to Jack's needs. On second thought, it was only a week or so ago that I was up through the entire night during Jack's last hospital admission.  In any event, because I don't have night nursing, I never truly sleep through the night (unless, I escape  from the house for a short get-away, which I try to do several times a year to preserve my sanity).  Certainly, the lack of sleep is a "killer" for caregivers of medically fragile/chronically ill children.  We get used to it emotionally - as in, "I can do this",  but, physically, it causes incredible wear and tear on us over the long haul.

Regardless, it is what it is.  I really just wanted to share the link to this blog post. I know many of my SN moms and dads who read my blog can likewise relate to much of what this dad writes.

Here is the link:

Nine Plus Years of Sleep Deprivation


As for Jack, he continues to maintain the status quo. Yay!

2 comments:

Susan said...

Sleep is critical and often overlooked. For busy parents it is often one of the first things we sacrifice. But in doing so we do give up something more valuable. Personal well-being. I also find that when I don't get enough sleep I am much quicker to anger and find myself using the dreaded F word. But when I am tired I really don't give a F. :) As I get older I find if I put sleep first I function a lot better. The difficulty is that with a medically fragile kid you just don't get normal sleep. I'm glad you are able to get away a few times a year Ann to recharge. It's not the same as getting a good night's sleep every night, but I'm sure it makes a difference.

Victoria Nelson said...

Yep. Lack of sleep is what does me in. It messes with my head and makes me go all kinds of crazy.
M hardly ever sleeps through the night.

But, we are thankful for good night nursing...right now. I'm savoring every moment =)