This is Heidi's mom. I am sorry for such a long break that I took, and forced Heidi to take, from writing. Heidi has been urging me to continue for a long time. In fact, she got quite insistent about it and I had to explain to her that I just did not have the energy. As she mentioned, I was diagnosed with a sleep disorder called narcolepsy. The part of the brain that regulates when you are awake and when you are asleep starts to get mixed up and quits working properly. It tells your body to be awake and asleep at the wrong times. Narcolepsy also makes you sleep in REM too much causing a major lack of the restful and restorative deep sleep that keeps us healthy. Other symptoms include things that occur with severe sleep deprivation, the worst for me being memory problems and not knowing whether something occurred in real life or if I dreamed it. Cataplexy is a condition that accompanies many people with narcolepsy. It causes a sudden loss of muscle tone resulting in anything from a slack jaw to completely falling down like a rag doll while still conscious. There are many more signs and symptoms I can not list here. Narcolepsy is a fascinating and complicated disease. I never dreamed (no pun!) that my excessive sleepiness was caused by narcolepsy because I thought TV portrayals were accurate. I was quite stunned when the doctor diagnosed me!
I am now taking medication to improve my sleep at night and another to help keep me awake during the day. It has been a struggle, but I am finally getting some good sleep and feeling more human again.
So, now I am back as Heidi's typing minion. I hope you all enjoy reading what she and I write!
Monday, July 28, 2014
I Am Still Here!
I have missed you all and I am finally back!
Mom has had a rough time for the past year and it has taken us a long time to get geared back up for writing. Quite a year it has been too! I have had more mast cell tumors removed. All have been cutaneous which means that they are located only in the skin. Having them surgically removed basically means they are gone. The dogs and I all had our teeth cleaned in May, Edgar had pancreatitis, I had my tumors removed, and now Bentley is having anxiety issues keeping us up all night crying. Mom had surgery on her hand last year and spent a lot of time in physical therapy only to find out that she couldn't do her job anymore. She was also diagnosed with a sleep disorder called narcolepsy and had her eardrum rupture over Christmas. Not fun times! She has not worked since just before Thanksgiving; we are all getting a little bit sick of her being home all of the time. (Ok, maybe a lot, but do not tell her I said that!) She is starting school again in less than a month to become a radiation therapist. I am hoping that some time away from the house will be good for her (and us!).
We are once again at the beach for my birthday! I will be 13 this year. I remember coming here as a puppy and I love it just as much now as I did then. The smells are amazing!
Since Bentley's anxiety has suddenly gotten so bad, mom is trying to tire him out so that he might be more inclined to sleep at night instead of crying and hyperventilating. She made an agility course in the backyard with a bunch of beach toys she found in the garage.
It starts at the A-frame of the boogie board, then the weave balls and weird plastic things, over two jumps, through the floaty ring, under the pink chair and over the plastic bats and pool noodle. Everything is chihuahua sized for Bentley so that he does not hurt himself. He dislikes the floaty ring the most! He does seem to like the A-frame and weave balls and weird plastic things the most. Mom's mom (we call her Mimi) took Bentley for a walk after dinner and I think that helped him sleep a lot more than he has in a while. It is sad that he has this anxiety, but honestly, I need my beauty sleep - especially at my age! I really hope mom figures out how to make him feel better. We are all a bit grumpy from it. Even Mojo got a little ornery with him last night when we all got in bed.
Well, I am very happy that mom has decided we can continue to write for you. I have missed you all so much!
Take care of yourselves and brush your teeth!
Mom has had a rough time for the past year and it has taken us a long time to get geared back up for writing. Quite a year it has been too! I have had more mast cell tumors removed. All have been cutaneous which means that they are located only in the skin. Having them surgically removed basically means they are gone. The dogs and I all had our teeth cleaned in May, Edgar had pancreatitis, I had my tumors removed, and now Bentley is having anxiety issues keeping us up all night crying. Mom had surgery on her hand last year and spent a lot of time in physical therapy only to find out that she couldn't do her job anymore. She was also diagnosed with a sleep disorder called narcolepsy and had her eardrum rupture over Christmas. Not fun times! She has not worked since just before Thanksgiving; we are all getting a little bit sick of her being home all of the time. (Ok, maybe a lot, but do not tell her I said that!) She is starting school again in less than a month to become a radiation therapist. I am hoping that some time away from the house will be good for her (and us!).
We are once again at the beach for my birthday! I will be 13 this year. I remember coming here as a puppy and I love it just as much now as I did then. The smells are amazing!
Since Bentley's anxiety has suddenly gotten so bad, mom is trying to tire him out so that he might be more inclined to sleep at night instead of crying and hyperventilating. She made an agility course in the backyard with a bunch of beach toys she found in the garage.
 |
| Beach agility for Bentley |
It starts at the A-frame of the boogie board, then the weave balls and weird plastic things, over two jumps, through the floaty ring, under the pink chair and over the plastic bats and pool noodle. Everything is chihuahua sized for Bentley so that he does not hurt himself. He dislikes the floaty ring the most! He does seem to like the A-frame and weave balls and weird plastic things the most. Mom's mom (we call her Mimi) took Bentley for a walk after dinner and I think that helped him sleep a lot more than he has in a while. It is sad that he has this anxiety, but honestly, I need my beauty sleep - especially at my age! I really hope mom figures out how to make him feel better. We are all a bit grumpy from it. Even Mojo got a little ornery with him last night when we all got in bed.
Well, I am very happy that mom has decided we can continue to write for you. I have missed you all so much!
Take care of yourselves and brush your teeth!
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