The Limb

Sleepwalking Arm
photo by brettanicus.

Last night I slept wrong on my arm. I woke up in the middle of the night with this aching pain running down the length of my arm: it had fallen asleep. I tried to move it, but it wouldn’t budge. With my other hand I searched around for it, becoming frightened that it was so dead that it wasn’t lying where I thought it was. Then my fingers came in contact with my forearm. It was cold and lifeless, like a slab of meat. Images came to mind of “The Godfather” and the movie producer that awoke in the morning to find the severed head of his horse under the covers. With my left hand I lifted my right arm and set it down in a position in which blood could start flowing again. I cannot describe the agony of the next several minutes, like when a frostbitten foot begins to warm up again.

Why do I have such trouble with my limbs?

Many people sleepwalk. Several years ago I had a similar condition, only with an unusual twist; only certain limbs would become animated while the rest of me slept. One night I awoke to see at the corner of my vision a clawed hand hovering just above my head. It was my right arm, sticking straight up in the air, my hand reaching down as though to smother me.

I screamed, and the arm collapsed at my side.