This post is a combination of my need to laugh and cry simultaneously. TIA for letting me get it all out.
Im a mother who has been deprived of sleep every single night (and pushed to the limit every day!) since DS was born nearly 3.5 years ago. DD joined the family 20 months ago and fit right in - hasn't slept a full night either since birth. Now add in chronic ear infections from 0-2yrs for DS (even tubes didn't stop the infections) + visits to the psych from around 2.5yrs for sleep/behaviour issues (namely night terrors & constant massive meltdowns during the day, possible ADHD &/or ASD). DD had an impressive episode of mastoiditis before she was 1, which resulted in radical emergency surgery to prevent brain infection + subsequent common ear infections (with tubes in place as well). Her first visit to the psych was at 15mos, at our doctors insistence to investigate her 'night terrors' (no daytime behavior problems with her, at least compared to DS). Both children have also had regular hearing tests for the obvious reason. That fun little list basically covers the "specialist" side of things, so now add in all other standard appointments you go to with your children for immunization/well-check etc - because we've been to all of those, too.
Up until recently, DH and I'd been taking all this in our stride. After all, most of what the children had gone through was normal-ish childhood type stuff and enough doctors/specialists had checked them over to allay any fears. They are both big kids (>97% for height and 75% for weight), very physically advanced and clearly bright. No cause for concern at all in theory and yet something has continued to make daily life (and a good night's sleep) a struggle for us all. Cut to this week, when nearing breaking-point I decided to take the kids to see a visiting Pediatrician...
Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) was his clear-cut diagnosis. I'm somewhat sad to say that this didn't surprise me, as I had watched the children struggle to breathe night after sweaty, snoring, gasping, screaming night. What really made me want to laugh and cry simultaneously was the fact that I had stated these things probably 100 times to our assortment of doctors and specialists to no avail. Why were they not listening, you ask? The first ENT surgeon we saw when DS was 8 months old summed up the 'mental block' well, I think - "In all my years of experience, no child [that has endured such chronic hearing impairment since birth] has been that developmentally advanced." The Ped. we saw this week had a completely different take and one which makes the most sense, IMHO - "Your children's advanced development is somewhat remarkable considering the difficulties they've had to overcome. It would be my guess that they're both HG+ but perhaps 2E currently."
Anyway, the surgery for both DD and DS is being organized now and while it may not solve all the problems, it has given me hope that there's the possibility of a sound sleep and a less tumultuous day, just around the corner... fingers crossed!
