One of many steps

In October of 2010, one of the first steps in our new process of recovery was to do a sleep study.  He had always complained of sleep issues, but this time we were approaching the issues as part of the problem rather than just a possibility.  This picture was taken during one of many sleep sessions, some that were done over a course of minutes, some hours, and one as an overnight observation.  Every time, he had to be wrapped up in all of these wires and monitored for brain and heart activity.  It was a long process, but it was worth the effort.  Josh was then diagnosed as having delayed sleep phase.  Basically, this means that Josh has trouble falling asleep at any time of the day or night, regardless of what time he got up in the morning or how strenuous his daily activities were.  He was also diagnosed with a very minor form of narcolepsy, which is usually something that we laugh about but can apparently be rather serious and debilitating.  In Josh's case, however, I think it is more of a form of exhaustion onset by his delayed sleep phase issues.  In other words, if you don't sleep well at night, I'm sure you'll be able to nod off at some other point in the day without much trouble.  Regardless, the findings were minor and not something that we feel requires medication.  And, if anything, it was quite the learning opportunity!