Avner’s pediatrician finally saw a small part of what we had been experiencing and suggested that we take him to the local hospital emergency department. Like frogs in a slowly warming pan of water, daily exposure to Avner’s changes of mood and affect had failed to make the impression that urgent action was required. Instead, I continued searching for the perfect solution instead of the immediately available one. Kleine Levin
I stumbled into a description of Kleine Levin Syndrome almost as if by divine providence. I suggested to our family therapist that Avner’s extreme behavior problems might be directly related to sleep, instead of sleep being a response to another primary behavioral problem. When he suggested that we pursue that possibility, I started looking for an explanation. It seems odd to me now that I was looking for a medical
One night, as we watched tv on our living room sofa, I found something different than all the results for narcolepsy. It was a Wikipedia article about a very strange disorder called Kleine Levin Syndrome.
The third poem in a series from 2017 explores that feeling that KLS takes our own children from us and leaves us to care for someone who isn’t quite the child that was there before. Parents of children with Kleine Levin Syndrome express this sentiment in conversation and our online support group.
It occured to me, that maybe we have been reading this story of the binding of Isaac all wrong. It’s not a test of Abraham’s will, or devotion or even his ultimate morality. It’s not a test at all. Through Abraham’s eyes it’s a journey of the father who faces an impossible task regarding a child he loves. Abraham has no choice in the matter. His only option is to move forward through the horror ahead.