Click to view attachment [Rhett Lamb, 3, is often irritable, but it's not just the routine growing pains of a toddler's life that has affected him. It's the fact that Rhett can't sleep.

"We went to the doctor after he was born, and I kept telling him something was wrong. He didn't sleep. They thought I was being kind of an anxious mom, and we went back and forth", Rhett's mother, Shannon Lamb, said. "Finally, they (were) starting to realize now that he really doesn't sleep at all. But we've had a lot of different diagnoses and nobody really knows."

His sleep deprivation caused made him very irritable.

"That's going to have a great impact on his behaviour during the day -- his irritability, his ability to eat -- and I'm sure it also impacted the parents tremendously," said Marie Savard, an ABC News medical consultant.

Rhett is awake nearly 24 hours a day, and his condition has baffled his parents and doctors for years. They took clock shifts watching his every sleep-deprived mood to determine what ailed the young boy.

After a number of conflicting opinions, Shannon and David Lamb finally learned what was wrong with their child. Doctors diagnosed Rhett with an extremely rare condition called chiari malformation.

"The brain literally is squeezed into the spinal column. What happens is you get compression, squeezing, strangulating of the brain stem, which has all the vital functions that control sleep, speech, our cranial nerves, our circulatory system, even our breathing system," Savard said.

In order to relieve the pressure on Rhett's brain stem, doctors performed surgery this week that they hope will allow him to sleep properly for the first time in his life. Surgeons made an incision at the base of Rhett's skull to the top of his neck and removed the bone around the brain stem and spinal cord, which produced more space.

"Doing the decompression, relieving that pressure, should absolutely improve those symptoms," Savard said.

Still, doctors said the Lambs may not see major changes for several months or possibly even a year. But Rhett's parents hope their son will be able to get some rest and be normal.

"There is a 50-50 change that sleep will improve," Shannon Lamb said. "Once the sleep improves, we can work on the behavioral stuff.
He's very irritable all the time."

"I would love to see him play and have a good time and be happy," she said.


ABCNews.com


This poor little guy, and his family...I have never read anything like this, and hope the surgery goes well so he can be a typical toddler

I hope that the operation works. sleep deprevation is almost the worst feeling in the world...

I agree, and the fact that toddlers who don't get enough of sleep are handfulls, I can imagine what this poor baby must be like..The parents have to have the patience of a Saint...

I know how feel when I don't get enough sleep. But a 3 year old 8in a bad mood hell of wheels.

Being sleep deprived is horrible...I can barely function when it happens...I'm hoping theres a follow-up on the story...I would love to hear how the little guy is doing

jeez I know what my 3 year old is like if she doesnt get her 10 hours at night and her 2 hour nap during the day. Poor little bugger wouldnt know what a real life is being like that.

And his parents, going through the agony of trying to convince all those doctors that they arent just over anxious parents.

I think at some point with a newborn we're all a little over anxious, being a first time parent. My girls had a night problem with sleeping, and only took short naps during the day...I was totally worn out, seemed like I always had a little one on my hip But this little guy had a consistant pattern and thankfully the parents found doctors who looked further into his case...

And I thought I was a bad sleeper with about 4 - 5 hours a night - I really feel for this kid. My case is bad enough, but no sleep...? That poor, poor kid and his poor, poor parents.

I do hope he gets better, even if it's just another hour or two.

The poor parents as well, a child that age needs constant supervision so they would also be badly lacking in sleep. I hope the operation works out well.

Hi Tia, I put a follow up story on this llittle guy up also...So far he has been sleeping at night, so here's hoping

That is fantastic news. The poor child would not have lived for long in his condition. Serious sleep deprivation can cause multiple health problems.