[daer0n]

Doctors said Rhett Lamb of St. Petersburg apparently has a condition called chiari malformation that puts pressure on his brain.


Rhett has never taken a nap or gone to sleep at night, forcing his parents to keep watch day and night.

"(My husband) has the day shift and I kind of have the afternoon shift," mother Shannon Lamb said. "We share the night shift because no one can sleep in the house when he is up anyway."

Lamb said she is working extra to pay for Rhett's large medical bills. She also said her husband, David, has given up his job to care for their child.

"I would give anything for Rhett to be this normal little boy who plays and has a good time," Lamb said. "If it takes going to every single solitary doctor, I will do it."

According to the May Clinic, chiari malformation is a rare abnormality where brain tissue protrudes in the spinal canal.

Part of the skull is abnormally small and puts pressure on the brain.

Rhett checked into a hospital for an experimental surgery Thursday.


Source

[KatJ]

Wow, those poor parents. I've never heard of that condition. Hopefully the surgery will go well.

[jacquelyna]

I've never heard of it either, it's so sad!

[-Liz-]

the poor little family, how does he function without sleep?

[pinksugar]

dear lord I hope my future children never have that. Imagine never sleeping!

EEP!

I hope his surgery goes well, poor kid

[beaglette]

Man alive. I can't imagine a night without sleep, let alone 3 years.

Bless that baby's heart. And, whew, those parents must be well medicated !

Warmly,

Brandi

[Darla_G]

it was bad enough when my daughter was an infant and had colic real bad. she would fall asleep in the car or if you put her bouncy chair up on top of the dryer.

[Adrienne]

I watch a video on this on msn a couple days ago and i couldn't believe that he had never gotten a good night's sleep since day one! According to the doctors, he may not see improvement immediately but hopefully a year from now there will be a significant difference in his sleep patterns although it may not be as dramatic as they'll hoping.

[akbaby]

wow, thats terrible.. i can't imagine what it'd be like to go without sleep, its one of my favorite hobbies!
I feel bad for the parents too..having to go through that..

[akathegnat]

The poor little guy. If you look this up, they can do surgery for him. I've heard of this before because it's also a cause of Migraines. So he's probley in server pain also. I know of a few people that have had the surgery for it, but they have to wait till they are a little older. (Having migraines forever made me recognize it)

[glitter_vertigo]

Wow, I wonder how he's survived this long with no sleep?

[Bec688]

Wow, that is horrible, that poor family must be so stressed. I really hope the surgery goes well for the little one.