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Are You Awake Pat?

Sleeping at the Wrong Time

By Robert TaylorPublished 3 years ago 10 min read
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Sleeping at the Wrong Time

Are You Awake Pat?

This story is about a student with narcolepsy – a treatable condition where someone falls asleep at odd times. I know someone with this condition and have seen him fall asleep in a restaurant in the middle of dinner.

Pat could not keep his eyes open. His teachers would ask him a question and, assuming he was awake at the time, he would usually respond with the correct answer. But…seconds later, he could be fast asleep at his desk. “Pat are you listening?” his teachers would call out from the front of the class. That often, though not always, woke him up.

“Uh…oh, yes teacher. I am listening for sure.” In truth, he really was not because he had been in a deep sleep. Being awakened quite suddenly, his brain was quite groggy.

His classmates thought it was funny that Pat kept falling asleep. One of them even hung a sign on the front of his desk that said, “Do Not Disturb!” His teachers did not think that was very funny and wished that Pat would pay more attention. It made teachers think that what they were teaching was boring. Often it was but the teachers did not appreciate being reminded of that fact every day.

They told the principal and the principal called Pat’s parents.

“Oh, I’m not surprised, “said Pat’s mother. “He falls asleep all the time during breakfast, lunch, and dinner when he’s home. He falls asleep watching TV; doing his homework, reading a book and sometimes when he is helping me dry the dishes. Thank goodness, he hasn’t fallen asleep on his bike yet.”

Pat did not want to tell his mother, but he actually had fallen asleep while riding his bike one day after school a week ago. Luckily, he was on a country road, for they did not live in the city. He went off the road and crashed into a rather large but soft bush. All he received were a few scratches, His bike was okay, too, but it took Pat a while to untangle his schoolbooks from the grasp of the bush. The books had been in the basket in front of the handlebars and went flying in all directions when he encountered the bush.

For the next few days, Pat took the local bus but that did not help. He kept falling asleep and missing his stop. One day, he missed his stop. It was too far to walk back, so he took another bus going the other way. Guess what happened? Of course! He fell asleep again and the bus went zipping past his house again. By the time he woke up, he was right back at the school, so he had to start all over again!

Pat was generally a bright boy and a diligent student. In fact, he usually got a straight ‘A’ in most subjects…unless he fell asleep during the exam, that is. He had a procedure to help him stay awake. With the blessing of the exam proctors, and of course the school Principal, he gave a small buzzer to the students sitting next to him. If the student saw Pat nodding off, all he or she had to do was push the button on the buzzer.

Another similar buzzer in Pat’s back pocket meant that every time his classmate pushed the buzzer, Pat’s behind would receive a small jolt of electricity…oh, not enough to hurt him or anything – just sufficient to wake him up. Then he would be all right for half an hour or so. His friends all wanted a buzzer so they could ‘zap’ Pat any time they felt like it but he wasn’t about to give them out. He made sure he got the buzzer back after each exam so they would not fall into the hands of some of the pranksters in school.

Now, you may be wondering…Does Pat have a girlfriend? Yes, he does…I mean he did. He really liked Emily, one of the girls in his class. You could usually see them sitting together in the cafeteria eating lunch or talking during the breaks. Emily did not know about Pat’s problem and he found it difficult to tell her about it. He was embarrassed and I guess I would be too. Wouldn’t you?

One day, they were eating lunch and Emily was telling Pat about a new shop that had just opened in the mall. She was talking about it and said to Pat, “I hear it’s a really cool shop. I am going to go there after school. Do you want to come with me?” She was not too pleased to see that Pat had his head down and was snoring away on top of a half-eaten sandwich.

She looked at him, then jumped up in a huff. “Well, I guess you think that going to the mall with me is a dead boring idea, huh? So then, like, forget it. I’ll go with the girls instead…and tomorrow, since you obviously find my company totally boring as well, I am going to eat alone – or maybe with another boy. Whatever I decide, it won’t include you!”

Emily picked up her tray and stomped off. Pat woke up a few minutes later when the bell rang. It was time for class but…wasn’t he sitting with someone? Oh yeah, Emily. Where did she go, he wondered?

That night, Pat fell asleep at the table again.

“I think we should take the boy to the doctor. There’s something medically wrong and that is why he keeps falling asleep.”

“Nah…leave the boy alone. He’s all right…just tired.”

But his mother insisted, and his father knew he was not going to get any peace until he agreed with his wife. They made an appointment to see the doctor in town on Saturday morning. Pat fell asleep in the car on the way, but he was bright and cheerful when they walked into the doctor’s office.

“How can I help you today?” The doctor was a kindly old gentleman who had been their family doctor for as long as anyone could remember.

“It’s about Pat here. He falls asleep all the time,” his mother explained. She told the doctor how often Pat fell asleep – at home and at school. The doctor began to look a little worried.

“Hmmm. There may be nothing to worry about, but I would like to run some tests with Pat. Will that be all right? Pat is that okay with you?” The doctor turned to Pat who was standing between his parents – sound asleep.

“Ah…I see what you mean. Well, while he’s asleep, I want to draw a little blood and we can do our tests. Come back at the same time next Saturday. I should have the results back by then.

That week, Pat fell asleep during English, History, P. E., and Social Studies; twice at lunch, and once on the bus on the way home from school. He woke up just in time to get off at his stop. That week, Pat had gone to the mall and bought a new watch with an alarm. When he was going to take the bus, he set the alarm for a couple minutes before the time he thought the bus would reach his stop. His system worked and he did not go zzzzzzzz…ing past his house after that.

The following Saturday, Pat’s mother and father took him back to see the doctor. “Good Morning Pat!” said the doctor cheerfully. “Good morning, everybody! Pat’s test results came back yesterday, and I had a chance to look at them this morning.”

Pat’s mother looked at the doctor. “So why does he fall asleep all the time? Is it something serious? We’ve been kind of worried, you know.”

Pat’s father smiled. “She’s been worried – not me. I told her it was nothing. I used to fall asleep all the time as well when I was younger and look at me. I’m as healthy as a horse!”

Pat’s mother glared at her husband. “You never told me you used to fall asleep all the time.”

She turned to the doctor. “So is Pat all right?”

“Pat has a condition called Narcolepsy. It is quite common and usually not dangerous – except if a person with that condition is driving a car, for example.” The doctor continued, “Narcolepsy is what happens when there is not enough hypocretin in the brain. Hypocretin is the chemical that helps control levels of wakefulness. This helps you stay awake during the day and sleep at night.”

“How would he have gotten this…what did you call it…Narco something?”

“Narcolepsy. Well, it could be hereditary. If someone in your family had it, there’s a chance they could have passed it down to Pat.” Pat’s mum glared at her husband.

“See! You said you had it when you were a boy, but you didn’t tell me. Now poor Pat has inherited it from you. It’s all your fault!”

The husband, anxious to change the subject, looked at the doctor. “So how do we cure it, Doc?”

“The bad news is that there is no known cure as such for Narcolepsy. But, there are medicines that can help control it and a number of things I can suggest as lifestyle changes that will also help. In Pat’s case, it does not appear to be dangerous, but I want him to come back to see me in three months time. Meanwhile here are some things he should do:

Follow a regular sleep schedule. Go to bed and wake up at the same time each day – even on weekends.

Do something relaxing before bedtime, such as taking a warm bath.

Keep his bedroom quiet, comfortable, dark, and free from distractions such as a TV, computer, Xbox, or cellphone.

Allow him about 20 minutes to fall asleep or fall back to sleep after waking up. After that, get him to do something relaxing like reading until he gets sleepy.

“Certain activities, foods and drinks before bedtime can keep Pat awake. Try to follow these guidelines:

Exercise regularly but not within three hours of bedtime.

I’m sure Pat doesn’t smoke or drink, but he should avoid chocolate and drinks such as colas that contain caffeine for several hours before bedtime.

Avoid large meals and beverages before bedtime.

Avoid bright lights before bedtime as well. Computers, for instance usually have bright white screens. However, nowadays, you can change these toa ‘dark mode’ or somewhere in-between. This is much easier on the eyes and may help him to sleep better.

“These things are all designed to make sure Pat’s body gets all the sleep it needs at night.”

The doctor turned to Pat. “During the day, if you feel sleepy, try to take a quick nap when you have time and are not in a dangerous situation such as riding your bike. Nap before school, between classes and at break or lunch. These are times when you can catch 5, 10, or 15 minutes of sleep and that should be all you need. Once your body gets used to napping at regular times during the day, it may not need to give you these little surprise naps in the middle of something important.”

“Thank you very much, Doctor!”

The next week, Pat only fell asleep in two classes though he could be seen snoozing whenever he had a few minutes to spare. His parents explained Pat’s condition to the Principal and told him that Pat needed to nap during his free time. In turn, the Principal told the teachers and somehow Emily got to hear about it as well. The last time his friends saw Pat, he was in the cafeteria with Emily, his head resting on her lap and sound asleep. Both of them looked quite happy!

©March2021 Robert W. F. Taylor

I originally published this story in 2012 as part of an e-book called The Purple Forest and Other Stories About Children Around the World with Smashwords. I have updated the story recently and intend to publish a second edition of the book.

wellness
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