Bishara Family Blog

I think this is going to be my last post for a while…although I enjoy reflecting on what’s been going on and preserving it for posterity, it has started to feel like an obligation these days with all that’s going on, and I really don’t need any more obligations! I really have so little spare time and am so behind on other things that I need to refocus on doing some of those things and making more time for myself. Also, I started it as a tool to stay in touch with people, and it just seems too one-sided (from my side - like I’m a conversation hog!) now. I’ll be happy to communicate with people directly over e-mail or over the phone if you’re interested in knowing how we’re doing/what’s going on…I think both Mark and I would appreciate knowing who’s thinking about us and to have people check in on us in a more concrete and obvious way. I’m not sure how many people actually read this, so maybe my hiatus won’t really even bother anyone!

Well, since the last entry, we had a nice long visit from Nana and Papa, who came early for Alex’s birthday so that Mark could go to Mobile for a night. The boys loved having extra attention, and I sure appreciated the extra hands. Patrick reluctantly went to school on the couple of days he had it while they were here, and was very upset on Thursday when only I came to pick him up! Nana and Papa helped me muscle through Alex’s one-year pictures, which was a huge help…check out Alex’s web page to see some of the few good shots we were able to get…he really doesn’t enjoy getting his picture taken! We were able to get some nice ones, so that was a relief. Next time we get pictures in a couple of weeks, we’ll all be in the pictures, so hopefully that will be easier on Alex…he wanted me to hold him all the time, so it was a challenge to get him to let go AND smile! On Friday morning (Alex’s birthday), we took him to the doctor to hear the results of his sleep study…the results were “surprising” (another one!). Alex has obstructive sleep apnea…a normal number of apnea episodes for an infant/child his age is less than one per hour, and Alex had four episodes per hour. He had several episodes when his carbon dioxide levels were too high, but not enough episodes to call it a disorder or disease; he also had several episodes where his oxygen levels were too low, but not enough episodes to call it a disorder or disease. He also didn’t have a normal percentage of REM/non-REM sleep, which didn’t surprise us. And, Alex has “Associative Sleep Disorder” (which we knew and were not surprised to hear) - basically he requires too many things (holding, rocking, touching, etc.) to fall and stay asleep. We think we can easily fix that problem once we are confident that his other problems are corrected; we are happy to have an answer on his sleeping, but we still aren’t convinced it is THE final answer, and are waiting to get the evaluation of the pediatric allergist. We can’t start the medication that the sleep doctor prescribed (to help shrink his tonsils and adenoids, which is what seems to be causing the obstruction) until after his allergy tests, so we will keep on keeping on like we have been until then. Patrick is on one of the medications (a nasal steroid) since he has always snored (Alex doesn’t snore much, so that is one of the reasons the diagnosis is a “surprise” - also, because it’s (again) very uncommon in children his age), and he’s done well with it, so hopefully the same will be true for Alex. So, since we have to wait on the medications, we are going to wait on the training, as well…since we hope the medications will make it easier for Alex to sleep for longer periods of time, the training will be less traumatic for all of us if we don’t have to do it all night long! We hope the medications work, too, because Alex is too small/young for surgery to remove his tonsils and adenoids, and that is really the only other effective treatment. And treatment is vital because apnea can cause all kinds of serious long-term effects like delayed learning and development, behavior problems, heart problems, and obesity. From our understanding, this is one of the diseases pediatricians most often overlook/miss, so Alex is giving the doctors yet another lesson in diagnosis and “considering all possibilities…even the supposedly impossible”! Alex will have to have another sleep study in 6 months; although we don’t look forward to that, we are happy to have the ear and attention of a doctor who won’t let this go and will keep close tabs on him!

Grandma and Grandpa arrived on Friday afternoon, so Alex got to spend his birthday with all of his grandparents. The weather was very warm here, so we spent a good bit of time outside…Alex seems most happy/least grumpy when he is outside! We had his party on Saturday (Halloween) at lunch time, but he didn’t seem to enjoy it…he cried at his cake and the singing, and just seemed to want all of the fuss and noise to stop. Patrick really enjoyed opening up and playing with all of Alex’s presents, and Alex was happy with the envelopes, wrapping paper, and boxes! I forgot to videotape all of the party festivities, but now I think God was telling me not to tape it…we wouldn’t want all of Alex’s fussing and crying preserved forever! We were able to get some pictures of him not doing those things with his cake and his candle, and watching us sing to him.

In the afternoon, Mark carved a jack-o-lantern with the boys, and we all enjoyed getting ready for trick-or-treating. Patrick actually loved to wear his costume, and would’veworn it longer had it not been so darn hot! It was still really warm in the dark, so after going to a few houses to say “trick-or-treat” and “thank you,” he changed into some summer jammies and sat on the porch handing out candy to the other kids. He even told some of them “what do you say?” when they didn’t say “thank you” after getting candy!! We LOVE Patrick’s awesome manners!! Alex went around in the stroller in his costume, but he also seemed uncomfortably warm in it…it barely fit him (it was too small for Patrick last year, and he was 7 months older than Alex when he wore it!), and he didn’t like having a hood on his head (it’s a good thing we don’t live up North!). It was a busy and full day…and we had that extra hour!

Things have gotten back to “normal” here - it’s cooled off a bit, so we’re able to go outside…that is when we’re able to go to the park and don’t have to stay home because of a punishment. Patrick bit someone at school yesterday (I knew that he was going to learn that from that kid who constantly bit him at school!!), so we didn’t go yesterday…we stayed inside and played, and it was really nice anyway! Patrick is amazing at understanding people’s feelings/emotions…the other night when he was stalling to get ready for bed, I had a frustrated look on my face…he said, “Mommy, you’re frustrated because I’m not cooperating?” When I picked him up and learned about the biting incident yesterday, I was SO mad, and he could tell. He said, “You’re upset with me, Mommy?” He has an AMAZING vocabulary and grasp of what’s going on. And if there’s ever a doubt that he’s not paying attention or always listening even when it seems like he’s not, he told me yesterday, “I don’t feel so good. I need a sleep study. I better go see Dr. Kakkar.” How funny is that?? Luckily, I think Patrick’s snoring and sleep apnea are so obvious that we wouldn’t need to put him through that!

Well, Alex is awake from too short of a nap, so I need to close. Until next time…whenever that is…