St Judes & Pulmonology (Sleep Study Results)

Monday, October 16th:

We had a super busy week leading up to my Hoho's Girls Trip. On Monday morning Theo and I headed down to Peoria for his three month ultrasound and check up with St Judes. Right before we got to the ultrasound room Theo had a massive blowout - pants, shirt, and wheelchair were all covered 😭😭 Luckily, the ultrasound tech was running behind, so I was able to get him all cleaned up and changed before she arrived. 

[Theo hates having his diaper changed, so you can imagine the trauma that comes with a blowout]

[Feeling better]

After his ultrasound we headed to St Judes for a check up.

[Everyone was super jealous of Theo's slippers]

Theo's check up went well and the ultrasound didn't show any issues. We will come back in three months for another scan and check up.

[We lost to the Cowboys - how embarrassing]

Theo had one observable seizure today.

Tuesday, October 17th:

Theo headed off to school, Josh went to work, and I went north to get my allergy shots. It's amazing how much better I feel, but it is a long process.

While at school Theo and the rest of his school participated in a fire drill. Ms. Jess said Theo did a great job! After school I took Theo to PT/OT and then to The Legacy Ranch. Ms. Jess was able to come with us and Theo did a great job riding Sherman!

Theo had five observable seizures today.

Wednesday, October 18th:

Theo and I made another trip back to Peoria to see Dr. Stewart with Pulmonology. 

First we talked about Theo's seasonal allergies. It seems like he has pretty bad post-nasal drip and when all that mucus gets into his stomach it causes acid reflux. Sometimes his reflux is so severe that it causes him to cough, gag, and throw up. Dr. Stewart and I discussed his allergy meds and she determined that we should take him off of Zyrtec and Singular and start him on Hydroxyzine twice a day. She said that should help dry up his sinuses.

We then talked about his sleep study results. She said there were a few instances where Theo's oxygen dropped. He is also doing something that Dr. Stewart called "guppy breathing." This is when Theo will take very deep breaths while he is sleeping. She then showed me Theo's sleep cycles. She asked me if I noticed anything strange. I looked closely and noticed that Theo is not going into REM sleep at all. Dr. Stewart explained that Theo was spending a lot of time in deep sleep and then he starts to move out of deep sleep and towards REM sleep. But instead of going into REM sleep like he should in the sleep cycle, he skips it. REM sleep is super important (as are all the various stages of sleep). Dr. Stewart told me that REM sleep is important for development and memory. She prescribed Theo some melatonin and said that over time that should help his sleep cycles become regular.

We then talked about Theo's oxygen levels. Dr. Stewart ordered us a pulse ox that will be delivered to our house. She is ordering a two night study, so they can see exactly what his oxygen levels are doing at night. 

Dr. Stewart then looked at Theo's x-ray results and said his lungs look clear and healthy. Our goal for this winter is to stay out of the hospital and to not take any steroids. Sounds great to me!

I got Theo's costume all ready for Halloween! Can you guess who he will be?!

Theo didn't have any observable seizures today.

[This is insanely accurate]