Life with The Leivas: Point Defiance Zoo

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Point Defiance Zoo

We love the Point Defiance Zoo. It's only 20 minutes from our house, the parking is free. It's a small enough zoo to walk throug in a few hours but there are still a lot of different types of animals. During our last trip we also learned that it's one of only 2 zoos in North America where they rotate the animals on and off exhibit several times a day. We got to see them take the female tiger off exhibit and put the male tiger on exhibit. It was really neat to listen to the zoo keeper show us how the male tiger was looking for clues that the female tiger had left behind. Rotating the animals on and off exhibit also means that no trip to the zoo will ever be exactly the same! Right after Mike got back from California he had a 3 day weekend and we took advantage of the sunshine at the zoo.

We do not have fun pictures from the zoo. You could get better pictures of animals elsewhere and Olivia was having too much fun to sit still.

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MPS/Sanfilippo Syndrome

In October, 2008 Olivia was disgnosed with MPS III or Sanfilippo Syndrome, type B. MPS stands for: Mucopolysaccharidoses. It is a genetic lysosomal storage disease (LSD) caused by the body's inability to produce specific enzymes. Normally, the body uses enzymes to break down and recycle materials in cells. In individuals with MPS and related diseases, the missing or insufficient enzyme prevents the proper recycling process, resulting in the storage of materials in virtually every cell of the body. As a result, cells do not perform properly and may cause progressive damage throughout the body, including the heart, bones, joints, respiratory system and central nervous system. While the disease may not be apparent at birth, signs and symptoms develop with age as more cells become damaged by the accumulation of cell materials.

Babies and young children with Sanfilippo Syndrome appear normal, but symptoms begin to appear with age as more and GAGs build up in the cells of the body. There are 3 stages to the disease. Stage 1 the child begins to lag behind peers and begins to display difficult behaviors. Stage 2 the child losing his/her language, becomes hyperactive, chews on everything, and has sleeping difficulties. Stage 3 the child slows down, becomes dependant for all mobility and loses the ability to chew/swallow. There is no treatment or cure for Sanfilippo. Life expectancy varies.