Success Stories
A Grandmother's Story
My twin elementary-school-aged grandsons sleep over at my home frequently so I had a good opportunity to observe Brody's sleeping over many visits. Unlike his brother who likes to stay up and talk with me at night, Brody would be exhausted at night and he'd be asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. Then, once he was asleep, he snored very loudly. I also noticed that he had a tendency to stop breathing all together.
My husband has sleep apnea and it was becoming clear to me that Brody also had some kind of sleeping problem. It was making him very lethargic during the day; he was simply exhausted. So his mom and I talked, and his doctor agreed that Brody should have a sleep study at Alexian Brothers Sleep Center.
The sleep technician at Alexian really put him at ease. They had a teddy bear there waiting for him. She was very kind and explained in simple and reassuring ways what she was going to do and what would happen next. I slept in the room next to his with a glass window between us, and as usual, he was so exhausted he went right to sleep.
The results were shocking, really. Brody had 115 apneas in an hour; he literally was stopping breathing 115 times per hour. We had expected to be called back for a follow up appointment, but because of the severity of Brody's case, his physician recommended a tonsillectomy which he had the very next Friday. Today he is able to breathe more freely and has stopped storing. Now he sleeps so much better, it's wonderful. Alexian Sleep Center runs a wonderful operation.
JoAnna D, grandmother of Brody
A Mom's Story
Two years ago, when our son Jimmy was 11-years-old, he was having terrible difficulty falling asleep. When he couldn't sleep he'd come wake my husband or me and we would do everything we could think of to try to help him fall asleep. When he did finally manage to sleep he twitched all over his body. It was extremely rare for him to get a good night's sleep, and when he'd come home from school he was too tired to do things that most young boys enjoy doing.
Our pediatrician recommended that he have a sleep study at Alexian and we followed the doctor's advice. I was supposed to sleep in the room next to Jimmy's, which was divided by a window, but he was having a very restless night and was unable to fall asleep. So the technician actually allowed me to lie down next to him so that he could relax and fall asleep. They were so kind and patient.
The test results showed that Jimmy had moderate sleep apnea; he stopped breathing about 76 times during the night of the study. The recommendation of an Ear, Nose, and Throat specialist was to have his tonsils and adenoids removed, which we did.
Following his recover from the surgery, he began to sleep so much better. The sleep study was very important to us. It was critical to know that his breathing was being affected. Now he sleeps better, and we're all sleeping better, and that's a beautiful thing!
Kathleen L. and Jimmy
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