More than a Tumor: January 2017

Ben turned 7 in December, but had his "friend" party in January.

Wow! I can't believe it's already the end of January! This month has absolutely flown by and with good reason. We seem to always be on the go, but it's all worth it. This month has been filled with hockey, basketball, yoga, birthday parties, some drama (isn't there always??), and some preparation for what lies ahead.

Benjamin fills his days with sports, sports, sports. It's crazy! He plays hockey 3 (sometimes 4) times a week and basketball twice a week. Although he can be quite the emotional little boy, it's worth the exercise and the pride that he feels when he's done something well. He also does yoga (with hesitation) with Nate. Nate absolutely loves yoga! "Sun salutation, dance with the sun..." :)

Nathan is quite satisfied with yoga and doesn't have a ton of interest in sports, which is fine by me. He does love to dribble a basketball and play a game of "interception" at home, but that's about it. Whatever makes him happy! I wish he was old enough to participate in a theater or a similar program; aside from potential stage fright, he would be perfect for it.

If you've been following along with my previous posts, you'll know that the sleep situation in this house has always been an issue. And if you know me in real life, I'm a statistical nerd when it comes to data. I like to keep track of things (mainly sleep) that I know can affect them in the long run. I'm hoping one day, I can stop keeping track of it, but it doesn't look like it's going away anytime soon. Nathan has never been a good sleeper, but has been making small strides recently. In the past, he was the kid who fell asleep at 10:30, was up on and off all night long (usually hysterically crying every time), and was up for the day before 5. Ugh! I do not miss those days. Now, he falls alseep around 8:30 and is up 1-3 times a night with "through the night" sleeps thrown in there. He is typically up for the day between 5:00-5:20, with some "lucky" mornings of making it until 6 (which happens 1-2 times a month). For example, for those of you that struggle with non-sleepers, here's the comparison: for the past 4 months, Nathan has slept through the night (that means 8:30-5:20) 62% of the time. This is amazing from where he was coming from! However, these past 2 months have been a struggle for a number of reasons (more on that later). For December & January, he has only slept through the night half the time. Sigh.....

Benjamin used to be a great sleeper, but of course, now that Nathan is improving, he has to take over the non-sleeping role! Ha! He struggles to fall asleep due to being anxious, stay asleep due to nightmares, and wakes up early. Fun! On the bright side, he's been really trying the past week to improve these behaviors and has slept through the night (which is typically 8:45-6:00) 6 out of 7 nights! Amazing! For those of you that are interested, here are his stats: for the past 4 months, Benjamin has slept through the night 45% of the time. Wow...I never would've thought Nate would be the better sleeper! How things change! Each night is different for them and it's always a work in progress. :)

Now, onto Nate's health stuff. It's always something, right? In my last post (I think!), I talked about Nate needing some dental work done in February. Well, he had his pre-op physical appointment with his pediatrician last week, and not surprisingly, he did not clear him for it due to the appearance of large tonsils and the potential sleep apnea that seems to be going on (hence the lack of sleep these last 2 months). Before I press on, let me remind you that he's had his adenoids out twice, yes twice. For those of you that aren't aware, adenoids can grow back. He had them removed in March 2014 and then again in December 2015 (at this time, I did ask about the tonsils and she didn't seem concerned). This kid doesn't mess around. He is back to snoring, mouth breathing, and sometimes choking himself awake in the middle of the night (sounds fun, right?!). His adenoids did not show up on his most recent brain MRI, but that doesn't mean they haven't grown back, that just means they weren't enlarged in November. So....I went into overdrive last week because I know his teeth are starting to cause some pain and discomfort. Prior to going to the pre-op, I called the anesthesiologist to find out how they were going to sedate him, just in case his pediatrician wanted to know. Once I found out that we needed to get his ENT (who is in Boston) involved prior to surgery, I called his dentist to see if we could do the X-Ray in the office (they were going to do it under sedation to not traumatize him more than necessary) to see if there had been any deterioration of his teeth. They were able to get us in that afternoon. Amazing! They were able to get the X-Ray done without sedation. Nate was awesome and so very proud of himself (and I was too!). He has come such a long way!! I can't say enough about his new dentist either. Unfortunately, his teeth are not doing well so he REALLY needs this surgery to be done sooner than later. Initially, the only appointment I was able to get with his ENT was for March 1. His dental surgery is scheduled for February 8. I called the ENT office back and begged and pleaded to find some time for him. They were able to squeeze us in for February 1. Thank God! So, now we wait for Wednesday. We hope that his tonsils are healthy enough to get through the dental surgery and then we can figure out the tonsils, snoring, and sleep apnea later. If not, we'll revise the plan to whatever keeps Nate the healthiest. Until then, keep him in your thoughts and prayers. Thank you, as always, for all of your support!