The other night I was out for coffee with a friend, whom I met from Twitter. We were discussing the marvels of Twitter and I shared a story which he encouraged me to write and share with all of you. So here it goes...
As mentioned before I am a single mom. What I have not necessarily mentioned are the various issues my little guy has faced in his two years of life. Not only did he have colic but he also had infant reflux and night terrors.
Even before I left my marriage I was often left home alone at nights because B's dad has always worked nights. This meant that when night terror episodes occurred I was pretty much on my own.
For those that don't know about sleep terrors - it is a condition in which transitioning from one level of sleep into a deeper sleep is difficult. This causes one to scream as if trapped in a nightmare and unable to wake up. Much like sleep walking there is not much that can be done.
After nearly six months of sleep terror free nights B had a relapse. Here's where Twitter saved the day. I tweeted a cry for help and put a hashtag to help spread the word in twitterverse beyond my regular followers. Less than 24 hours later Sue Atkins (@SueAtkins) of Positive-Parents.com responded. She sent me a link to an article she wrote about sleep terrors and said if I needed further help to let her know.
Sue Atkins is "passionate about making life with children easier and more rewarding, and am extremely enthusiastic about helping to bring up happy, confident, well-balanced adults; today's children - tomorrow's future". Her credentials include regular radio spots with the BBC. Yes Sue Atkins is in the UK. I'm in Canada. We could only have connected so quickly through Twitter. She had a breathing technique that I had never heard of before despite my diligent research into the condition. The next episode I tried it. It worked. Simply hugging my little guy and breathing calmly and deeply he was able to slip into a deeper sleep and stop screaming.
If I ever make it over to the UK I hope to have a tweetup with Sue Atkins. Just one tweet impacted my life, my ability to cope and parent profoundly.
