Late update

So, I am a little behind in updating this blog, and I really have no excuse except that life is in full swing. And this is good news because Logan has been feeling great and really is back to his old self with a little extra 3 year old ornery thrown in.

I took Logan into the doctor for his lab check on Thursday. His labs were just fine for him to pass and receive chemo on Friday, but they have dropped considerably since the last check. His ANC is still 1000 which is below normal, but still pretty good (and it must be 750 or greater to pass for chemo). His platelets however were 83,000, which is down from somewhere in the ballpark of 350,000 ten days before (and they must be greater than 75,000 to pass). What all this means is that he was fine for chemo on Friday, but may not pass for the next dose especially since they escalate the dose each time in this phase. Just to keep close tabs on him, they are having us come in on Thursday next week to do a lab check before the weekend. We actually were not scheduled for any visits next week, but this one is now added in.

Still, Logan is chugging along and you would never know that he has leukemia and is undergoing chemotherapy. He is happy, energetic, and our little ball of fire. The only indicator might be that he does not have much of an appetite, but that is all. He is certainly not letting this slow him down. Here is a picture of him playing a Cars racing game while getting his chemo yesterday:

Contest winner: Logan the Cancer Avenger

OK, finally the conclusion of the blog naming contest. It took longer than I was expecting because at first we did not get that many entries, and then life has just been crazy. So, I figured right after Logan's birthday week was as good a time as any to reveal the new name: Logan the Cancer Avenger. This is for many reasons. Logan loves the Avengers (see picture of him in his newly decorated room below). The Avengers are all about fighting the bad guys, and to Logan this is how we have explained the Leukemia. He has "bad guys" in his blood, and he has to keep taking medicine to fight the bad guys. He is so strong and never quits, and he does his best for it not to break his stride. He is Avenging his health, and will never give up because he has so much power, strength and special talent inside.

Thanks to all of the entries, there were some great ones from Candice and Seth, Shannon, the Fritzes, Stacey and Tom, Elena, and Eric (who still thinks it should be: Hulk SMASH! Logan's Cancer).

Wish bracelets broken

When Logan received his custom painted shoes from Peach's Neet Feet, it came with this hope bracelet. We were supposed to make a wish when tying the bracelet on our wrist. Logan wore it for a day, then decided I was supposed to wear it. We also ordered some for the rest of the family including Alexis. Hers came off on the first day of school, and she did not notice when so it was lost somewhere. Then, mine came off just two days later. I am sure that you can guess what our wishes were, and also that we will need to wait and see if those wishes ultimately come true and stay true. Here is a picture of Logan on his birthday wearing his PNF shoes which matched the Superman theme:

And the birthday week is over

It has been a great birthday week for Logan. He had a total of 4 parties, mostly small, and I think he became used to all the attention and gifts. Here is a picture of Logan's Superman cake that I made for his birthday:

 Logan has been asking about this cake and when he would have it since June. Once it was finally done, he wanted to eat it right away, but we put him off until Saturday for the party. So, Saturday morning came, and the first thing he asked for when I went into his room was "I want cake." Again, we had to put him off until the party. So, of course, when we had the decorations up and people started arriving, he wanted cake. Finally after lunch and presents, it was time for cake. He was so excited to blow out the candle and have a piece. After running and playing in the backyard with his friends, Logan was tired out:

Thanks to Gary and Donna for the care package of gifts for the kids. Also thanks to Lilly and Kim for the gift cards to Chili's and Coldstone for our dinner on Tuesday, and thanks to Peggy for bringing over pizza for the family on Friday. We have been the recipients of so much love, that it is humbling. Family is so wonderful and supportive whether they are here visiting us or supporting from afar in Oklahoma (and other states). And our friends and coworkers have also been such a source of support and love.

It keeps going...

Logan had a great birthday. He wore his birthday shirt all day with its cape, and had a good time. He loved all of his Avengers and superhero gifts. And of course he had to put on his costume and mask immediately. Here are a couple of pictures:

Happy Birthday Logan!

Today is Logan's birthday! He is now 3 years old, and he is very excited. He has been counting down until "August 21" for a long time. Back in June after we found out about his diagnosis and had returned home from the hospital we started asking about what kind of party, cake, etc. that he wanted. At that time he was loving Superman, so he picked out a Superman cake and I ordered Superman decorations. Now he is much more into Avengers, but still wants his Superman cake. That is good since everything for his party is themed with red, blue and big Superman shields. His gifts are just mostly Avengers themed.

He had chemo yesterday which went really well. He still does not seem to be phased by the treatments, and just takes it in stride. Honestly the worse part about going in for chemo is that he has to wear the surgical mask when the access his port. If that is the worst, then we are doing OK. After chemo, the clinic staff came into the room with a Superman cake and singing Happy Birthday. He was so excited, and blew out the candles. Then they gave him a Lego set, and he was even more excited. It was so nice and they made him feel very special and we appreciate that so much.

Here is a picture from this morning in his birthday shirt. It has Superman on it and a cape!

Let the birthday week begin...

Well, Logan's birthday is this week. He kicked off with a birthday box from his grandparents over the weekend. Then he celebrated today at daycare with his friends and some cupcakes, and he received a sword and shield that go nicely with his birthday crown that Cathy made him. His actual birthday is on Wednesday, but his party is on Saturday. A little confusing for a little guy, so it really is a birthday week.

Logan went to the clinic today for a finger poke, and he passed to have his Chemo tomorrow. He does not seem to have any residual cough from his bout with croup. So, that is all good news. He keeps just marching on.

Doing better

Logan has been holding steady through the weekend. He is back to playing and does not seem sick. It is strange that we can end up in the ER with no prior warning and he recover so quickly. But, I am very grateful for it, and am happy seeing him run around. He is doing really well. We will go in tomorrow to check his blood counts to see if they are good enough for the next dose of chemo on Tuesday.

How am I doing? Well, I am up and down. This has been a hard week. Being back at work is hard for me. I am struggling with the guilt of not being home all the time for Logan. It's not that I don't know he is in good hands and having fun. I do. I would be having a hard time even if it was Eric staying home with him while I am at work, or grandparents. So, I am trying to let that go, but it is hard. I have not been sleeping very well, and even less so with the trip to the ER. Logan being sick and not feeling well added to it all. When he was tired and feeling lousy on Friday, he was even asking for chemo. Is there anything sadder than a little boy asking for chemo because he thinks it will make him feel better? We keep telling him that he has to get chemo to fight the bad guys in his blood and make him feel better. I could not believe he was actually asking to go to the doctor's office for a dose. So sad, and the pitiful voice he used was heartbreaking. My house is in disarray due to a large DIY project that was started before Logan's diagnosis. My bedroom is now in the dining room. And while I know this is temporary, I am struggling with it. It makes it more difficult to keep things ordered and clean which is stressing me out. And Logan's birthday is this week, and I realized that I really have done no prep work for his party. We are keeping it small, but I still need to be ready. OK, enough of the pity party. I have dumped it all out, and am going to try and let it go. Thanks to Jen and Candice for giving me a really nice break last night, I had a great time with you two.

Thanks to Julie for providing dinner for our family on Tuesday, and Brenda for providing dinner for our family on Friday. Thanks to Candice for watching Alexis on Thursday night when we took Logan to the ER.

Late night ER visit

Well, this has been a crazy week. I have not updated the blog for various reasons: no MD appointments this week, Logan has been doing really well, our daughter started 1st grade, and my work has been crazy. All of these in addition to a few evening activities have combined to zap all of my time and energy. I try not to update the blog at work. It just doesn't feel right, though I have edited or published during my lunch break.

Like I said, it has been smooth sailing all week. The ladies at the clinic invited Logan's big sister Alexis to a Germ Lite Princess Party at the clinic, and she had a great time. She even took her friend Brailey, and a good time was had by all. Logan went with me to drop the girls off and he was having a good time. It was hard to get him to leave. Partly because he was playing with Delaney's costume. She came to the princess party dressed as Darth Vader. She is such an amazing little girl with her own individual personality. So, instead of not going to the fun party at the clinic, she came her own way. Impressive for such a young girl. Of course, Logan was inspired and had to go straight home and put on his Darth Vader costume.

So, everyone had a great time and then we came home and put the kids to bed just like normal. Logan had been running around and playing like any other day. Imagine our surprise when we heard him coughing and crying at about 9:30. We went into his room and he was coughing and trying to catch his breath and crying. It was more than a little scary since we were having a hard time getting him to calm down and his breathing was so labored. We called the doctor's office, and they advised us to go to the emergency room. We packed a bag just in case, and headed off to the ER. The good news is that he never had a fever and just has croup. They gave us a dose of steroids to calm the inflammation of his airway and sent us home. It is a virus so no antibiotics, so that is good. We have a prescription for another dose of steroids if he has trouble again tonight.  And I can already tell they have kicked in. Not only does his cough sound better (though he is not really coughing), but he is super hungry. He has eaten three times already this morning. Here's hoping it is a calm, uneventful weekend.

After the first treatment

Well, Logan was a trooper during his chemo on Friday. He really does not like wearing a mask when they access his port, but other than that there was no issue. One of the infusions took about 15 minutes, and he played while that was going in. He is not used to being hooked up to the IV, so it was hard to keep up with him pulling the IV pole. He tolerated the medications well, and was outside playing in the evening.

The next treatment is not for ten days after the first, so that means we do not have any doctor's appointments this week. This will be the first week without any kind of doctor's appointment since we learned of his diagnosis. Exciting and nerve wracking all at once. But since this is back to school week, with activities also in the evenings, it will be nice to have that break.

We still have not had any ideas for our contest (see the last post), so please go back and think of ideas for us to rename this blog.

Thanks to Peggy for providing dinner on Friday night. Also thanks very much to an anonymous group of donors for a generous delivery for the family as a whole and also Alexis individually, we are so thankful and humbled. You know who you are, even if we do not.

It was a superhero kind of day yesterday. Here is Logan fighting the bad guys (Dad), as Spiderman and as Iron Man below.

What's in a name?

Well, when I started this blog, Logan was still in the hospital. We were struggling to adjust to the shock of his illness, and to be honest my brain cells were not firing on all cylinders. "Logan's fight" is actually the second name. The first name was actually "Logan's Journey" which is part of why I chose the generic background that has a road and some scenery. Then, the more I thought about it, I realized that it is not a Journey, it is much more than that. This is a fight, and it is taking all we have. But I am still not satisfied with the name. My creativity, however, is not kicking in. All of my mental energy is spent on starting the school year at work and for Alexis as well as keeping Logan healthy and going through the treatments.

This is where YOU come in. We are having a contest to rename the blog. I want something creative and fun that reflects our little Superhero. He is our hero, and he is obsessed with superheros right now. His favorites are Superman and the Avengers (of which Iron Man is his favorite).

What do you win, you ask? Well, you will be recognized on this blog. You get bragging rights. What else do you need? OK, well, if you come up with something great and we decide to do any fundraising, you can get a free item. Sound like a plan? I may also launch a separate Facebook page just to get the word out there and help others. But that is not happening right now.

Some of our favorite creative blogs, pages, etc. with great names are: Go Bald or Go Home, Cancer Can Kiss My Stache, Peach's Neet Feet, Craic Addicts, Love Hope Strength.

Round 3: Interim Maintenance 1

Well, Logan "passed" yesterday, so he starts his third phase of chemo today. In this phase he gets 2 kinds of chemo in his port (Bob) every 10 days. One of the medications, Methotrexate, will be in increasing doses each time. But, the catch is that he must "pass" before each treatment. If he does not pass then we wait 4 days and try again. What it takes to pass is for his ANC is above 750, and his platelets have to be good too. I cannot remember the number right now.

Spread the love

We love and appreciate all the support, and wanted to share the love. I have mentioned that Delaney goes to the same clinic we do, and lives close. She has the same diagnosis as Logan, but is about 4 months ahead of us in her course of treatment. It gives us a glimpse of what is to come, but it also gives us hope to see this spunky little girl take everything in stride and keep on fighting. Here is the link to Delaney's blog: No More Adventures or you can check out and like her Facebook page: Cancer Can Kiss My Stache.

Also thanks to Amber for providing food on Tuesday for our family, and Kathy for bringing the family a goody basket of activities and generous gifts. Also thanks to Margaret for having Taste of Philly delivered tonight (a long distance order all the way from Maryland).

Big day

Well, we all survived our first day back to "normal." I went to work, and Eric dropped the kids off. It was a long but productive day, and it was great to spend some time with new teammates. When I picked Logan up, the report was good. He had a great day, sticking close to Alexis, but overall getting back into the swing of things. We did write a letter to the daycare parents, and gave some info to the daycare provider. Cathy has been great in helping to implement more precautions, and we are so thankful.

Another exciting thing that happened yesterday was that we picked up and set up his big bed. He has been in a toddler bed, and now he has a full size bed. We had let him pick out his comforter the other day, and has been asking for his "Avengers Bed" ever since. At first, he was a little worried that Hulk was going to smash him, but then we explained that all the Avengers were going to protect him and all was great. It goes great with the analogy for Leukemia that we have used all summer: There are bad guys in his blood, and the chemo/medicine is the superheros going in and fighting the bad guys so he can get better. He was so excited about his bed, and slept right in the middle all night.

Last day home

Well, the day has finally come: it is the last day of summer break. Bummer. Don't get me wrong, I love my job. It is fun and never boring. But it is a little harder this year because of Logan being sick. Not that you would know it. He has been running around like a madman, and it is wonderful to see. His energy is up, and he is just being a kid. He loves playing with his Avengers umbrella (thankfully it has been raining lately), riding his bike, and digging in the dirt.

He does ask about "medicine for my mouth?" during the day since he is still taking the oral chemo at night. He also asks about "medicine for Bob" which is when the doctors put chemo into his port. He dreads the finger pokes, but is a trooper when we go. He cries when they poke him, but then recovers quickly and is ready for his toy. These things do intrude into our fantasy of a normal healthy kid, and bring the reality of his cancer into the forefront of our minds. But, you know what? He is a normal kid. And he is getting healthy. We are going to cherish this time when he feels great and can run around. The next couple of months shouldn't be too hard on him, so we are going to take advantage. We still have to be careful with germs, and do not want him to get sick so we are taking precautions. So far, he really has breezed through the chemo. We cannot complain. He has not had to go back into the hospital, and has taken it all in stride.  But, we know what is coming in the fall, and it will not be quite so easy on him. So, we are going to spend our last day home running errands and having fun, because tomorrow will be here quickly.

Thanks so much to Christie for giving me a great massage, and thanks to Peggy for taking Alexis to the pool, she had a great time.

Polarizing topic

OK, this blog is about Logan and his fight against Leukemia. And this post is about something that many people have very strong feelings about on either side, but this is a story about how it impacts an actual family, our family. The Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare.

One of the first worries that entered my mind when we found out about Logan's diagnosis (after the initial shock and fear over losing him) was how we were going to pay all the bills. Yes, I have healthcare insurance through my job. But there is still a significant out of pocket expense, and added to that my plan year starts on July first. So what that means is that we would max out all of our deductibles and out of pocket maximums in June, and then it reset in July and we had to start over on those. And we are looking at the maximum out of pocket expense for the next 3 years (actually 4 "plan years" to my insurance). This could be potentially devastating to our family. Enter Obamacare. Under the new healthcare law (some of the provisions that have just recently gone into effect) children with disabilities can qualify for a buy-in program of Medicaid that is essentially a secondary insurance. Our income is too high for him to qualify for full Medicaid, which is fine by us, but we can pay a monthly premium and it will pick up what our insurance does not pay for. Ironic isn't it? We make too much to qualify for aid, but would really struggle paying the bills. We were contemplating getting second jobs. Call me selfish, but spending less time with my children when one of them has cancer is not appealing to me. I feel like I need to be spending as much time as possible with him in his time of need. He is scared at times and doesn't feel well a good chunk of the time. So, we filled out the application, jumped through a few hoops, and were approved. This is a huge weight off of my shoulders right now. I can focus on my child and helping him get well.

Another benefit of this new health care law is that Logan cannot be denied health care coverage his entire life. In the past, a child with Leukemia (or any other cancer) could and would be denied coverage. They were considered a risk to insure because of their history. Or, if he did obtain coverage, then his "preexisting condition" of cancer would not be covered. That means that if there were any relapses or other cancers that happened, he would not be covered. Now, he is guaranteed coverage. I don't know about you, but I don't think a child should suffer their entire life because they had cancer. That in itself is enough suffering. It certainly was not a choice, and we wouldn't wish it on our worst enemy.

I know Obamacare is not perfect, even by a longshot, but it is saving us and Logan now and for many years to come.

This is a picture of Alexis, Logan and I with our Love, Hope, Strength bracelets. Alexis wanted Love, because what 6 year old girl doesn't? Logan had Hope, and I had Strength.

Friday doctor appointment

Well, I think I am recovered enough to write something for this blog. Working really threw me for a loop. Granted, I am not used to sitting in front of a computer all day, and that was part of it. Give me a room full of preschoolers any day! Thankfully, I was working with an amazing group of women on a worthwhile project. But it really drove home the fact that I have been very fortunate to be home on summer break with Logan during these first couple of months. Timing was definitely on our side.

Logan had a doctor's appointment this morning just for a check of his blood (the dreaded finger poke) and exam. He has really been doing well this week. He has not been getting sick, and his appetite has improved. Energy is also on the rise, and he is playing more and more. Logan loves to ride his bike and run around in the yard with his friends, and it has been great to see him get back to these. Blood work during his appointment showed that his numbers look good. His ANC was 2500 (up from 1600 last week), and unless it tanks (knock on wood, cross your fingers, etc.) then he should be good to go for starting the next phase next week. This was considered his "week off" because he did not have any chemo in his port, spinal fluid, etc.

Thanks very much to Cathy, Brenda and Carol for taking Alexis this week when I was working. She had a fun time each day, and I knew she was in great hands. Also thanks to Emily and Wade for bringing dinner on Tuesday, and to Peg M for bringing food for dinner tonight. Thank you to Elena and Maggie Moos ice cream shop for inviting us in and letting the kids have a fun ice cream day. You are all amazing, and much appreciated!