AJ

AJ is my middle child. I used to say if there was a study on middle child syndrome, he would make the perfect subject. He seem to be the one that got left out and because he wasn't first or he is not the baby he is just there. Sounds horrible, right? Actually sometimes it feels horrible but when I really sit back and think about him, I think he will be the one that once he becomes a man, he will be the one I will worry about the least. I think it is because I worry about him so much now. I will give you a little history.

When he was about 17 months old he was admitted to the hospital three times for about 10 days each time. The last time he was sick with spinal meningitis. One of the side effects from this illness is hearing loss but because he was so young when he had it, it was not until the third grade when we discovered he could not hear. Imagine the time and information lost simply because he could not hear. We fixed that problem and everything seem to be fine. Well, in the seventh grade, he started falling asleep in class. I mean pretty much to the point where he did not try to hide it. I took him to the doctor and we had him tested and he was then diagnosed with ADHD. His type of ADHD was inattentive. He is not a bad kid and discipline is not a problem so I was shocked when the doctor said at night it was like his mind could not rest. We immediately medicated him and again everything seemed fine. Well, this year the medicine that was used to help him sleep at night stopped working and because he maxed out on his dosage we had to figure out why he could not sleep. This time we took him to a sleep specialist and they did a sleep study and we found out his oxygen was extremely low during the night for a child his age. The last specialist discovered that he has a deviated septum. This probably occurred during a break in the nose as a toddler. Funny thing is no one remember him having an accident as a child that would have broken his nose. I have spent the last two days trying to think of one time he would have harmed himself in a fall or bump or ANYTHING. Can't think at all. This has probably lead to his sleep apnea and the loss of oxygen at night.

The course now is to decide if he should have a tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy or if a C-pap would benefit what he is going through. I keep a positive attitude that once all of this is complete and he get a good night's rest for a change we may be able to remove him from the medication he take during the day that helps him stay focus.

I know there are a lot of other children that have far worse conditions that he does but I tell you when it is your child, it seems as if nothing else matters. The reason I chose to share this because no matter what this kid has faced, his attitude has been great. His grades are tanking right now but he don't blame what he is going through and he does not use excuses. He gets mad at himself not at me for having to take away privileges. I tell you when you see the way he reacts to this it is tough to punish him for his shortcomings. He takes the bad with the good and he will still give you a hug and tell you he loves you.

He has faced so much during his near 15 years but I think he will be a strong man and will be able to endure life because of this. AJ is my middle child and I love him with all my heart.

Peace.