Adam's Sleep Study

This Thursday night, I took Adam for a sleep study. Adam has trouble hearing and is needing a second set of ear tubes. When his new tubes are put in, the doctor will also remove his adenoids. Adam's speech is really being affected by all of this. Also, Adam's tonsils are huge and could possibly grow even bigger after the adenoids are gone. So the doctor ordered a sleep study to see if Adam has any type of sleep apnea. If so, the tonsils are coming out too. Not sure about sleep apnea, but he does snore like an old man!

Here are some pics of Adam's sleep study. I could not get the pictures in the best order. So pic #2 should be pic #1

This is Adam with most of the sensors placed on his head. As you can tell, he is absorbed into some cartoon playing on the tv. And of course blanky and snoopy came too!
This is a pic of him just getting started. They were also sensors on his chest, legs, and toes.

After all of the sensors were placed, the technician wrapped his head in gauze. And then he had a ponytail of wires. Adam never fused, complained, or cried. He was such a champ! And slept great that night.

Here is Paul, the technician, fixing up the tv. I slept on a couch in the same room. It was really very easy and went very smoothly. Adam did a great job, and we are awaiting the results.

A Kept Promise

Patrick kept his promise! School was canceled due to all of the snow. So when Patrick returned to school this week, they celebrated Valentine's. Patrick brought home a big bag of stuff. And just like he promised, he shared everything with his brother. Check out Adam's sweater...it is full of stickers. And Patrick shared one of his favorites--a ring pop! Here is a picture of them enjoying their ring pops. What a good big brother!

Adam's Good Nature

Here is a picture of Adam sharing chocolate. Look closely and you can see a pink Hershey Kiss in Patrick's hand. Here's what happend...Adam had his Valentine party last week and came home with a loot of candy and trinkets. Patrick's party was not until the next day, but he was so upset that Adam had candy and he did not! Immediately, Adam began promising away his goodies to his big brother. I was so worried that Adam was about to get robbed by his big brother. But Patrick promised me, that tomorrow he would share. In fact at one point he looked me in the eye and said, "Mom, you know I always keep my promises!" I guess we'll just have to wait and see!

Enough Snow? Enough Snow Pictures?

I hope I'm not boring anyone with the snow pictures...but this was totally unbelievable for Texas. After all the snow fell, we received about 9 inches!!!

We went outside to make a snow man, but no one was interested in helping mom. They were busy playing "Help! My Truck is Stuck in the Snow!"

Adam pretended that he worked for the city, and his job was to remove all the snow from everyone's driveway. I think he needed more than a wheelbarrow and a John Deeer Gator!

The boys had a difficult time walking through the snow. We lost our boots quite a few times!

Dad planted this runt of a tree last summer, and we all teased him. Dad loves to plant Live Oak trees! But as you can see, this tree was trying to hang on. What a survivor!

So no one helped mom make a snowman, so I built a snow fort instead. But then we were were leaving our house to go eat lunch, and I forgot about it and backed into it. Oh well, it was going to melt anyway!

SNOW DAY!

We woke up to a very very snowy morning...

Patrick pretended to be a snow plow....

Adam made snowballs and then ate them...

The snow kept falling and falling and falling...

Seven inches of snow and it was still coming down!

PFAPA Syndrome????

Monday was a big day for us! A mystery has been somewhat solved! Here's the story...

Ever since Patrick was a baby, he would run a really high fever, sometimes up to 105. His fever would last for 5-6 days, and our life came to a sudden halt as we administered Motrin around the clock. Our pediatrician was never really worried. After mouth swabs and urine samples, she always just claimed it was a "fever virus,"--in her Indian accent. I love Dr. Achala Ellepola!

Well after the first year, we began to really see a pattern, just about every 4 weeks. I began to wait for these episodes to occur. And just one look at Patrick, and I knew the fever was back. His eyes were always red and glassy, and as he grew older he would start to come to me and say, "Mom, I am not sick today." Well, that was a dead give away. Patrick was terrified to go to the doctor to get his mouth swabbed.

Dr. Ellepola has always assured me that this would be something he would out grow. And the time between episodes has increased, so things seemed to be improving. I know other people would have gone for a second opinion, but I have always trusted Dr. Ellepola. Especially after she diagnosed his urinary reflux when he was just 2 months old. She has always been so calm and right on the money. I really felt comfortable with her advice, and just began documenting his fevers and not bringing him to the doctor. We have spent a small fortune in copays and probably a larger fortune in Motrin!

Patrick is now 5, and he'll be starting kindergarten in the fall. When his last episode occurred in January, I was convinced he had strep throat. His throat looked horrible, so I brought him in. Again and as always..."Just a Patrick Fever Virus." Since Patrick will be in school soon, Dr. Ellepola suggested we go and see the top pediatric immunologist in DFW--Dr. Wasserman.

After looking at his records of reoccurring fevers, Dr. Wasserman diagnosed him with PFAPA Syndrome. It is a rare disorder where a patient experiences periodic high fevers, swollen glands, oral ulcers, joint pain, and stomach pain. Patrick's glands always swell, and during one of the last episodes he did have an oral ulcer! There is a name for this! It is not just a "fever virus."

But I still love Dr. Ellepola. She was really right all along. Dr. Wasserman, really thinks that one day Patrick will outgrow this. Each year, he sees 4-6 cases in his clinic. And most of his patients have outgrown the syndrome. But here's the really really weird part...there is really no known cause for these fevers. And it is more commonly seem among Mediterranean races. Chris' grandfather was from Sicily???

So weird, but glad to now have a name for Patrick's fever episodes--PFAPA Syndrome

A Table for Two

Tonight I had a very special date! Patrick and I went out to dinner. At first he said he wanted to go to Pei Wei, but after I told him Pei Wei didn't have any good desserts he changed his mind. Patrick said he wanted to go anywhere that had chocolate cake! So to Sonoma Grill we went. Mom could enjoy a very nice dinner, and Patrick would get his chocolate cake. It would be a real date--just the two of us!

All the way to the restaurant he complained about how Dad and Adam would probably have more fun than us--things weren't looking so good. But once we sat down and I let him order a coke, the fun was on!

He ordered a cheese pizza, and I ordered the Ahi tuna. Whenever I gave the waiter my order, Patrick replied, "Ooh yuck, tuna is for cats, Mom!"

During dinner we talked about important things, like what he'll be for Halloween this year--Anakin Skywalker! And about his best friends at school: Addison and Mariah. Both of them are girls. He's very upset because he and Addison were friends last year, and now Addison and Mariah are friends. And he claims that Addison does everything Mariah tells her. At that moment my heart was breaking for him. I think he has a secret crush on Addison!

After dinner we ordered the chocolate mousse cake with ganache, and he ate the whole thing.

We both left very happy. And on the way to the car, he said "Mom this was a lot more fun that I thought it would be!"

And then on the way home, he told me he wanted to learn how to "beatbox" better. We spend a lot of afternoons watching Electric Company, and he has grown fond of rap music. And then stupid me, promised him I would teach him! I must have forgotten that I am a white mom from the suburbs!