As you know, Lion has been having trouble sleeping. He dozes off in the middle of the day for a few minutes or hours at a time and then can’t sleep at night. Yesterday, he kept dozing off and we thought he’d be up all night again. It seemed to start out that way. It was well after 1 when I drifted off. Lion said he finally went to sleep at 2:30. At 5:30, I woke up as he was heading to the bathroom. I watched him crash into the door jamb, the door and then the counter. By the time I got in there, he was swaying back and forth near the toilet. I steadied him and helped him back to bed.
I asked him how many pills he’d taken and he told me he’d taken two sleeping pills. It was clear he wasn’t very coherent so I assumed he’d taken one sleeping pill and two of the other pain meds. He settled in to sleep on his right side. I woke him again to tell him he couldn’t sleep on that side. He wondered why. That’s the side the surgery was on. He didn’t remember the surgery. Yup. Definitely not with it. I helped him get comfortable on his left side and he said the pillow he was now snuggling was the best idea ever. Within minutes, however, he was on his right side again. This time there was no moving him. I crossed my fingers that he wouldn’t hurt himself and went back to sleep.
I woke up again at 8:30. Lion was peacefully snoozing. On his right side. I tip-toed out and hoped the dog wouldn’t wake him. At 11:30, I heard the dog waking him. Lion hasn’t slept that late in ages. He was amazed as well. We both hope this is the shape of things to come. He desperately needed that sleep to get back on track. Now if he can just stay awake during the day so he can get another full night’s sleep, we might be onto something.
Last night he also said he was horny. And he is again (still?) this morning. I haven’t decided if I should just edge him or let him come again. He seems to think he’s ready for some more extensive play. He earned himself a punishment yesterday for spilling food on his shirt. To get around this potential infraction, he’s been taking his shirt off before eating. It’s a loophole that I’ve allowed so far. These will be his first swats in well over a month. I wonder how he’ll react to them. I’m sure he’ll say he’s a poor Lion and pout a little. And just like that, we’ll be on our way back to normal.
