Past Perfect: A Sleepless Child (Review)

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Olivia laid in her bed, awake. It was 3 in the morning and she couldn't sleep. She [vocab word=twist]twisted[/vocab] and turned in her bed for nearly 5 hours. Her mother [vocab word=tuck in]tucked her in[/vocab] at 10 pm last night. She hadn't slept a minute since then.

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When Olivia was a child, she slept only three to four nights a week. She would [vocab word=turn in]turn in[/vocab] early, but she could not [vocab word=fall asleep]fall asleep[/vocab]. Sometimes, she would [vocab word=stay up]stay up[/vocab] until the morning. She would close her eyes and try hard to sleep, but she still could not sleep. On a good day, she would fall asleep at around 2 am, but would not [vocab word=wake up]wake up[/vocab] until 8 am. By then, the school bus had already left, so her mother had to drive her to school.

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It had been hard on both Olivia and her mother. Because Olivia was not getting enough sleep, she was [vocab word=fall behind]falling behind[/vocab] with her schoolwork. She had little energy in school and was unable to [vocab word=concentrate]concentrate[/vocab] during classes. At home, she would frequently [vocab word=zone out]zone out[/vocab] even in the middle of a conversation. She was tired all the time. She felt sad and [vocab word=powerless]powerless[/vocab]. Her mother was worried to death and wanted her child to grow up without [vocab word=stress]stress[/vocab]. She had tried many ways to help her child until she realized none of them were really helpful. She had given her hot milk before bed, but that didn't work. She had told her child not to drink any coffee or eat chocolate. She had bought her child some sleeping [vocab word=pill]pills[/vocab], but these weren't helpful either. She had taken Olivia to many doctors. By the age of twelve, Olivia had seen a dozen doctors and [vocab word=psychiatrist]psychiatrists[/vocab].

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The doctors couldn't find any problem, at least not with her body. One child psychiatrist said Olivia was feeling a lot of stress. She said some children her age did have [vocab word=insomnia]insomnia[/vocab], so Olivia was not alone. The psychiatrist gave Olivia's mother some medicine. The medicine worked for a while, but [vocab word=eventually]eventually[/vocab], it didn't work any more. The psychiatrist said she could give Olivia more medicine, but Olivia's mother had to [vocab word=think over]think it over[/vocab]; she didn't want Olivia to become [vocab word=dependent]dependent[/vocab] on medicines. Olivia's mother looked up many ways online to help Olivia, but nothing seemed to work.

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Olivia [vocab word=go on]went on[/vocab] to [vocab word=suffer]suffer[/vocab] from insomnia throughout her high school years. Her mom supported her emotionally, and she went on to university and eventually obtained a Master's degree. Today, she lives with her husband and two little children. She works as a mechanical engineer for a large company. She still suffers from insomnia, but it's less [vocab word=severe]severe[/vocab] now than before. She learned to live with her insomnia. She does not let it rule her life. Looking back, Olivia now understands how much her mother helped her during her childhood. She is determined to give the same kind of support and love to her own little children.