Molly Caldwell Crosby: "Asleep"
http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2010-03-01/molly-caldwell-crosby-asleep
A sleeping sickness epidemic in the wake of the 1918 influenza pandemic has been nearly forgotten. Scientists still don't know what caused it and why it suddenly disappeared, but they fear it could happen again.
Guests
Molly Caldwell Crosby
author of bestseller, "The American Plague."
Comments
Please familiarize yourself with our Code of Conduct and Terms of Use before posting your comments.
A few months ago my 15 year old son suddenly started sleeping for 17 to 18 hours a day. He was extremely hard to rouse and if awakened (it took about 45 minutes) he would beg to go back to sleep and could fall asleep while you were talking to him. Everyone thought it was mononucleosis but the tests were negative. Our pediatrician was totally baffled and suggested that my son was doing drugs. He was not. We finally found a terrific neurologist who ruled out encephalitis and said that she thought it was an unknown virus. After about 12 days, my son gradually started to sleep less and to return to normal activities. A month later, the son of a colleague in my office had the same symptoms-lethargy, no interest in any of his normal activities, and falling asleep for 15-20 hours. He recovered a bit more quickly than my son. No one has ever suggested what this was. Has anyon else had a similar experience?
A few months ago my 15 year old son suddenly started sleeping for 17 to 18 hours a day. He was extremely hard to rouse and if awakened (it took about 45 minutes) he would beg to go back to sleep and could fall asleep while you were talking to him. Everyone thought it was mononucleosis but the tests were negative. Our pediatrician was totally baffled and suggested that my son was doing drugs. He was not. We finally found a terrific neurologist who ruled out encephalitis and said that she thought it was an unknown virus. After about 12 days, my son gradually started to sleep less and to return to normal activities. A month later, the son of a colleague in my office had the same symptoms-lethargy, no interest in any of his normal activities, and falling asleep for 15-20 hours. He recovered a bit more quickly than my son. No one has ever suggested what this was. Has anyon else had a similar experience?
To me this was one of the more fascinating bits of history from the post-WW1 era and an interesting bookend to The Great Influenza of 1918-1919. The personalities involved and the dedication of medical experts at the time devoted to finding the cause and cure of this mystery make for good reading. I urge anyone who is interested in history, particularly related to the 1918 influenza pandemic, to pick up a copy of Ms. Crosby's book and learn more about this interesting medical mystery.
genie, is it possible that your son just went through a big growth spurt around that time frame? I remember myself at that age needing to sleep a lot more for stretches at a time while I was growing in my teenage years. I'd even find myself fighting to stay awake in classes, but after a week or so I'd be "normal" again and a month later I'd nothice that my pants would be too short. :-)