Sweet Sleepy Samantha

One of the symptoms of having growth hormone deficiency is excessive tiredness and the need to sleep.

Samantha has always been a good sleeper since she was about 6 months old. She suffered from colic as an infant; however, once she was able to sleep through the night she did so with ease. Samantha has slept routinely for 10 hours per night for years, well prior to us discovering she had growth hormone deficiency. She will take a nap in the afternoon from 1-3 hours if she is able to on the weekends. Clearly, Samantha's body needs the rest, how growth hormone deficiency is the cause I don't know.

On most evenings Samantha recalls the need to take her medication and if not either her father it I do. Last night Samantha fell asleep studying for an exam and did t take her shot. About 15 minutes after she fell asleep her father reminded me. Instead of waking her up, I prepared her shot and brought it to her bedroom. Samantha was fast asleep. I didn't wake her and instead administered her shot in her upper arm; hoping she wouldn't move. As I inserted the needle in her arm, Samantha's eyes remained closed. She furrowed her eyebrows slightly, showing me that she did feel something while she was asleep; however she never fully woke up.

This experience showed me that Samantha's body, mind, and spirit, even while asleep, is committed to her treatment. Most children I would imagine would awaken and scream or become scared and cry. Not Samantha. This isn't the first time I've given her medication to her while she was asleep; however it's been a while since I have and I was unsure if she would awaken. I didn't see her eyes open.

For me, this is nothing short of amazing. For others reading this, one may find it mundane. If you find yourself to have the opportunity to see a child who needs to take medication daily by injection, watch them. You will be utterly amazed at their inner strength; it is far greater than ours in many ways.