Surgery or no Surgery?

      Mason had a sleep study done 2 months ago showing he had a severe case of Sleep Apnea. Sleep apnea is when the baby stops breathing. In Masons case he would stop breathing longer then 10 seconds and have more then 100 sleep apneas in one night. 

                                                There are 2 types of sleep apnea

                                        *Obstructive sleep apnea which is obstruction of the upper airways, which tend to be smaller in children with Down syndrome by enlarged tonsils or adenoids. The cause of the obstruction is usually treated through surgery and this tends to be very successful. 

                                        *Central sleep apnea is a much more rare condition and is caused by neurological disorders of breathing control. The cause of the problem in these cases is much harder to treat the symptoms may be alleviated if the child wears an oxygen mask at night.

      The doctor looked at Masons tonsils and adenoids to see if they were large and causing Mason to stop breathing but he didn't think so. He wanted to cover all his tracks so today we had an appointment with an ENT doctor (Ear, Nose and throat) He reviewed Masons sleep study results, looked down Masons throat and said to me "Well I don't see a problem here. As I looked over his sleep study he only had a couple of obstructive Apneas, as I look at his tonsils and adenoids they aren't big enough to cause a problem."

       I thought this was what I wanted to hear because Mason wouldn't have to have surgery but the more I thought of it I wasn't in love with what he had to say. I mentioned to him I thought it was common for babies who have down syndrome to have obstructive sleep apnea. He told me 30-60% of kids who have down syndrome have obstructive sleep apnea, and the problem can be resolved with removal of tonsils and adenoids. 

      I told the doctor I was in hopes he would tell me Mason needed surgery, he would get his adenoids and tonsils removed then no longer have sleep apnea or need oxygen. He told me he understood but with Central sleep apnea it wasn't that easy. Basically his brain forgets to tell his body to breathe. The only hope was the possibility of growing out of it. 

      I left the clinic a little upset and disappointed. Only because the oxygen is the only way to keep Mason from having lot of apnea, there's no telling when and IF he will grow out of it. When I first learned about Mason having sleep apnea I realized I better educate myself about it.  Approx. 38,000 deaths occur a year in babies from sleep apnea.  With the oxygen level dropping it can cause seizures, high blood pressure, heart attacks, death and more. 

      Whats next? I plan to make an appointment with Masons doctor to discuss what the ENT said. He will probably have to stay on oxygen and we pray he out grows this. I don't fear of him having sleep apnea I know oxygen is treating it at the moment I fear what could happen. I find myself checking Mason alot through the night to make sure the oxygen tubes don't come off, which they do often even when taped to his face. Although I will go to bed a little sad I will hold my head up, continue to pray. My researching shows it is common for babies to out grow this at a year old. Well, Mason has 2 weeks! :p