Sleep Walker...

Sleep Walker . . .

Now that Red (Kerry’s dad) is on a more effective pain medication we all agreed that his pain med distribution needed to be controlled. Dates, times, amounts, pain levels, etc will all be documented. Instead of having him help himself to middle-of-the-night medications, we suggested that if he wakes up in the middle of the night, and feels he needs additional medication, he can call us (me) on the walkie talkie.

So far I am getting paged, anywhere between 12:30am and 2:30am (every night). As a youngster (in my teens and early 20’s) I would often stay up until 1am, and I only needed a couple of hours sleep. I also enjoyed sleeping in until noon on occasion. .

When I am being paged at night, it isn't to help Red with his medication (the original concept). Instead, he calls me to tell me how he’s feeling…I am sure he is just feeling alone and has a need to speak with someone willing to sit and listen. As I get up to answer his call, and head towards his apartment, I feel like a Sleep Walker, focused only on getting to where I need to be, taking care of business and getting back to the warmth of my bed.

I promised Red that I would be his transition buddy, to help him on this final journey. For that reason I have no problem getting up, when he feels he needs me, for whatever reason. Those days of staying up until the wee hours of the morning are long gone. Days sleeping in until noon are also long gone. I guess being a Sleep Walker is now the way I will spend my days (or should I say nights?)