Inspire® Therapy brings ‘life-altering’ changes for New Mexico family now that son can sleep better

Kim and Dave struggled to rest at night because their son Wyatt struggled to breathe at night.

Wyatt has Down syndrome and autism spectrum disorder. He also has severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).

Wyatt is nonverbal and uses sign language to communicate. Kim and Dave took turns sleeping in a bed next to his to provide him with care when he needed it.

Wyatt didn’t sleep more than a few hours each night even while using a Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) machine.

This didn’t allow Kim and Dave to get proper rest either.

The New Mexico family became eventually became aware of Inspire® therapy.

Wyatt qualified and received the implant in the spring of 2023. Kim said it was “life altering.”

“It has truly been life changing for our whole family,” Kim said. “My husband and I can sleep now, because we know he can breathe.”

Wyatt’s OSA diagnosis came after he turned five-years old.

The condition didn’t qualify as severe back then. Other health conditions and a lack of sleep eventually worsened Wyatt’s OSA.

Wyatt began to use a CPAP machine before he turned 14. It didn’t help.

Doctors had him try a Bi-level Positive Airway Pressure (BiPAP) machine. That didn’t work either.

Wyatt had too much carbon dioxide in his bloodstream from the lack of oxygen at night. This is a condition called hypercapnia which can be a side effect of severe OSA.

His parents also worried about the strain on Wyatt’s heart, especially since he had heart surgery before. This lasted a few years.

“He wasn’t getting the results he needed from the CPAP or BiPAP machines,” Kim said. “The pressures were just so high. It was a lot of force. I mean, I tried it, and I could understand perfectly why he wouldn’t wear it.”

Kim and Dave rotated who slept in the bed next to Wyatt to make sure he remained compliant.

They woke up three or more times a night to put the mask back on Wyatt’s face.

Both learned about Inspire therapy when his doctors mentioned it as a possibility.

Wyatt still needed to wait until he turned 18. Inspire wasn’t FDA approved for children aged 13-18 with Down syndrome until February 2023.

Wyatt did receive the Inspire implant eventually. The improvements were dramatic following activation.

He went from barely sleeping to sleeping over nine hours per night.

Sleep apnea events decreased significantly – from 64 per hour to under 10.

His energy also increased. And best of all, his cardiac issues stabilized.

“It’s the most amazing thing to see him with his angel face just sleeping soundly and breathing and not choking or gasping for air,” said Kim. “It’s absolutely mind blowing.”