Sleep study

After a year of being woken up by Miss A for no apparent reason we went to see a sleep specialist. The occupational therapists and social worker at The Centre for Cerebral Palsy ( TCCP ) had been trying for 8 months to improve her sleep and behaviour with no luck. So I enquired about going through the public system and to get an initial appt the wait was about 4 months. The same Dr who works at PMH, Annie O'Donnell, does private work so we got a referral to see her. Luckily the wait was only a month and we saw her in her private rooms at St John of God Hospital. The initial appointment was after Miss A's kindy party and she was tired and not happy....
Dr Annie O'Donnell seemed really nice as we went through A's background and at the end she said it was 3 things she was looking out for:
1. Sleep apnea
2. Restless leg syndrome
3. Hypo ventilating

So we had to wait a few days until Thursday to speak to the hospital and book her in for an overnight sleep study. The costs were covered by HBF private health cover, so I'm glad we went private and didn't have to wait. When I rang to book in I was told then and there that they had a last minute cancellation for that night.... So much for preparation. No social stories, no explanation just 4 hours to pack and go!
Miss A was only told the very basics of what to expect and she seemed fine with it. It was also her last day of 3 year old kindy and the morning had been spent eating party food- bad timing.
We packed our bags and drove in needing to be at the hospital by 5:30pm.
She fell asleep on the way. :( A bad start.

When we got there she ate some sandwiches they gave her for dinner,  then she had ice cream and played games on the iPad while they wired her up. As I've mentioned before she has reduced sensation in her face so a lot of the time she barely noticed what they were doing. She was half asleep and very happy with her iPad games. She had wires on her head, neck, stomach and legs. All together it took more than 30min for 2 ladies do hook her up.
Then we had more games then quiet time. At her usual bedtime of 7:30pm I turned the lights off and went to the parent lounge. Within 5min the staff came running (and I do mean running! She sounded hysterical) to get me as she was crying out for me. She wanted the toilet and hated that I left her. So unhook the leads and off we go. She then didn't want me to leave so I lay in the cot next to her and tried to read my own book without talking to her. For nearly an hour and a half she fought sleep. At 9pm she was gone and out for the night.
Throughout the night she tossed and turned and threw herself all over the bed. Several times the oxygen was disconnected or leads had to be reattached so the staff came in at least every 30 minutes. Her tossing was so violent and sudden it was ripping the wires odd.
She woke twice at her "usual" times so that pattern can be seen at least.
In the morning I was shattered with having no sleep and they woke us at 6 as we had to leave early.
Off home for a shower to remove all of the sticky glue in her hair and on her body. She complained more about me washing her hair then when they put the leads on, typical!
So now we have to wait until January when the Dr is back from holidays to see the results. I for one am glad it's over.