3-Year-Old Has Never Fallen Asleep

local6.com ^ | 5-9-08

[kingattax]

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- A 3-year-old Florida boy with a rare condition has not slept in three years.

Doctors said Rhett Lamb of St. Petersburg apparently has a condition called chiari malformation that puts pressure on his brain. Click here to find out more!

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.

[TommyDale]

Rock him to sleep!

[CindyDawg]

I don’t see how this is physically possible. I used to say my youngest did not sleep the first 3 months of his life. In truth though he probablly napped 10 or 15 minutes every hour. When he would wear himself out, then a bit longer.

[Tennessee_Bob]

Here's the starter kit:

[mysterio]

There are severe cases of insomnia where the individual doesn’t sleep for years.

[Normal4me]

Give him a bowl of sleeping pills for breakfast. ;-)

[BlueStateBlues]

Vodka. Ought’a do it.

[armymarinemom]

I lost a very close friend to a Arnold-Chiari malformation. She arrested post op.

[CindyDawg]

sleep is when the body heals. Without it, we die. They may have had trouble sleeping for years but none?

[Levante]

Play recordings of Al Bore’s Globull Warming crap lectures...

Kid will be snoozing within 15 minutes...

[TornadoAlley3]

[Normal4me]

[Kimmers]

Wow, I fell sorry for this entire family....this really has to be hard on a marriage

[JRandomFreeper]

Normal people go sorta... well... NUTZ after about 72 hours without sleep. I've seen the hallucinations myself. I darn sure couldn't perform my assigned tasks properly.

God bless and heal this child, and bless his parents for being loving and caring.

/johnny

[Kimmers]

I am sorry for the loss of your friend.....sad

[dragonblustar]

Best thing we can do is offer some prayers for the family.

[Slings and Arrows]

Put him in one of my classes. At the start of the lecture, I'll say "This material WILL be on the exam, so pay attention."

He'll be out like a light for 50 minutes, guaranteed.

[Mr. Silverback]

I recall reading about a man who also never slept, or at least claimed he never did. A team of researchers watched him for a week in shifts, and all he ever did for rest was sit and read newspapers.

[LurkedLongEnough]

Maybe his parents told him that they were gonna vote for obama.

[frankjr]

“David, has given up his job to care for their child.”

Sign me up. Is it contagious? If so, time for a play date.

[KarenMarie]

[Joe 6-pack]

"Normal people go sorta... well... NUTZ after about 72 hours without sleep. I've seen the hallucinations myself. I darn sure couldn't perform my assigned tasks properly."

At about 60 hours, I start seeing bears, particularly if I'm driving. By 72, I'm beginning to discover their beautiful language.

[RichInOC]

Let me run through this...toddler literally has not slept a wink since he was born three years ago. Not to say this is impossible, but I know how toddlers can be. (I certainly know how I was.) How is this possible without either the boy or his parents (or all of the above) dying of exhaustion?

[RichInOC]

“How would I cure Rhett Lamb? As Preston Brooks said about Charles Sumner...‘I’d hit it.’”

[heartwood]

I thought people died without sleep - familial insomnia kills less than a year after insomnia sets in. You can torture people to death by not letting them sleep.

[heartwood]

If you google “chiari malformation” and “sleep” you get a lot of stuff about sleep apnea but not sleeplessness.

[mysterio]

I have searched all over the net, but I can’t find the article. The guy was a sheep herder or something and he hadn’t slept in more than 20 years.

[pcottraux]

[Titan Magroyne]

First three words to pop into my brain upon reading the title: “His poor parents!”

[highimpact]

At about 60 hours, I start seeing bears, particularly if I'm driving. By 72, I'm beginning to discover their beautiful language.

LOL! Once I didn't sleep for a few days straight, and then I got a few hours sleep one night. When I woke up the following morning at the sound of my alarm, I thought the smoke detector was going off. I leapt out of bed and unscrewed the light fixture in the hallway, burst into my mom's room with it in my hand, and yelled, "I can't turn off the FIRE ALARM!" Lack of sleep does some crazy things to your brain.

[mountainbunny]

Please accept my condolences on the loss of your dear friend.

Prayers for everyone affected by this condition.

[TommyDale]

ROFL! That was my thought.

[metmom]

I googled this up and it makes no mention of sleeplessness being a part of the condition.