I had a rather unsettling event occur last night as I was sleeping. As I’ve mentioned before on this site, I have insomnia and spend most of my nights in my recliner, feeling very uncomfortable and unable to sleep in a bed. Last night was little different until ~2:30 or 3am.
I awoke to find my feet sticking straight up in the air and my head almost at floor level. Somehow, during my sleep, I had wiggled far enough up in my chair to tip it over backwards. The back was lying on the floor and the foot rest was high above my head. No matter how I struggled I could not find my way out of that chair. The longer I was in the situation the more confused and foggy I became. The only way I could see out was to climb over the top of the footrest, something I’m definitely not capable of doing while lying upside down on my back. A few years ago maybe, but definitely not now.
This is the predicament I was In, trying to scoot my butt up over the edge of the seat and pull the rest of me along with it when my guardian angel came to my rescue. My wife, asleep in the adjoining bedroom, heard my struggles and saved the day, or night as the case may be. She quickly assessed the situation, calmed my struggles, and suggested I roll over the arm of the chair, something I easily accomplished. Also something that in my confusion and fog, I could not envision on my own. In my mind I was trapped in that chair for an eternal struggle.
I relay this incident for two reasons, one, I thought it was incredibly funny once I was out of the situation and two, I wanted to demonstrate just how easily someone with dementia can turn a simple situation into a life and death struggle simply because our brains can’t recognize the simplicity of the situation we’re in or find the most obvious, simple solution to extricate ourselves from the situation. To us, or me specifically, that time stuck in the chair was never ending with no possible solution. After the laughter died away it was simply frustrating.
Take care.
Randy
