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Good night's sleep brings terror for Lucas' parents
TWO-year-old Lucas Hibbert looks like any smiling and happy young boy. But every night brings fresh fears to his mum and dad.
Lucas' parents Joanne and John stay up for hours at night to keep watch over him, fearing another attack triggered by their son "forgetting" to breath.
Now Sheffield Children's Hospital Charity has launched an appeal as they switched on the hospital's Christmas lights to help children like Lucas who suffer from life-threatening episodes in their sleep.
At the age of three months, Lucas stopped breathing for the first time.
The mother-of-four thought it was a one-off incident until it happened again and Lucas' lips turned blue. She dialled 999 and followed instructions from the emergency services to save her son's life.
Joanne said: "I managed to remain calm and began massaging him. The emergency services talked me through mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and his breath returned."
The incident was the start of a condition which has seen Lucas rushed to hospital dozens of times.
Lucas started having fits every hour of the day and night. He was diagnosed with epilepsy.
At eight months old, Lucas once again started to have terrible breathing problems when he fell asleep. Further sleep studies helped to diagnose obstructive sleep apnoea, where the patient stops breathing in their sleep.
He had a number of operations to remove tissue at the back of his throat, including his adenoids, to improve his breathing.
He was also wired up so he could be monitored during sleep.
Lucas is now having fewer fits than before.
Sheffield Children's Hospital Charity aims to raise 30,000 to buy equipment to help doctors better assess patients with abnormal sleeping patterns.
Dr Rob Primhak, consultant in respiratory paediatrics, said: "Sometimes children do not breathe properly when they are asleep. Either they forget to breathe or their breathing becomes obstructed, leading to potentially life-threatening situations.
"It is difficult to comprehend that something as natural as trying to get a good night's sleep could be fatal to some children – yet it can."
Sheffield Children's NHS Trust is one of the leading centres in the UK specialising in sleep problems. The sleep laboratory allows staff to assess children for treatment.
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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