What We Do in the Shadows

As the day draws to a close, RLS sufferers such as myself find themselves waking from our stupor, resembling creatures that roam in the darkness, only ever heard of and almost never seen.

Pale white skin, the only sign of my human features the dark circles under my eyes — telltale symbols of a night spent tossing and turning in the grips of our oppressor.

My RLS symptoms spurred a transformation

During my time on this rotating blue planet, I managed to collect a few friends. They were much coveted and quite often steeped in alcohol, leading to the ingestion of copious amounts of coffee matched with bacon rolls slathered with tomato ketchup.

When my dreaded RLS symptoms first started to raise their ugly head, the transformation started, from daytime walker to nighttime lurker. My limbs flailed like a garage mascot, only ever seen in the shadows, wearing a well-trodden pathway into the flooring, the same route taken every day.

Friendship came and went

Exhaustion was my new pal. Under the cover of darkness we laughed, sang, contemplated existence, and walked the journey together, hoping that, as the sun started to rise, relief would be forthcoming with sleep on the horizon.

We spent our lonesome hours streaming popular series, watching films no company would consider, and reading books out loud (as following text can be troublesome when you are teetering between sleep and wakefulness!).

Friendship of the humankind came and went. These people I had classed as companions dropped away when texts went unanswered and calls unreturned. The heartfelt conversations of the past ended up being full of hollow promises once my medical condition turned my life on its head.

Sleeping during the day comes easily to me

Luckily, I sleep like a log! Whether the sun is blazing through a clear blue summer sky, breaking through my closed curtains and heating the air surrounding me, or the moon's dappled rays are bouncing off the snow-covered walkway outside my apartment — as the days become so short that it signifies the forthcoming holiday seasons, sleeping for 8 hours during the day comes easily to me. RLS allows me this peacefulness most times.

Fortunately, in recent times when the pandemic bore down upon us, the world started to morph towards helping people who were unable to leave home, as this was the vast majority of us at that time! Hot food deliveries became all-encompassing, and grocery deliveries commenced during the small hours, reaching through to the late evening. Perfect for a night dweller such as myself!

Finding friends and support from others with RLS

Huge technological steps were made in such a small space of time, allowing the disabled community to feel embraced by the larger world. If only now the world would see that not everyone's day is 7 AM to 10 PM; some of our days start then. Not just because we are working, but because people have conditions that do, in fact, turn our lives upside down, inside out, and reversed from black to white.

RLS can cause us frustration, anxiety, and pain on a daily basis. If we are lucky enough to find one another on communities such as these, then we can empathise, sympathise, and metaphorically beat up RLS with the other night owls around us. A friendship of sorts.

This is what WE do in the shadows.