Giving thanks

Happy Thanksgiving from Logan and our family! As hard as this year has been for us, we still have so much to be thankful for. Logan is responding to treatment, and he is feeling pretty good right now (extra feisty since his blood transfusion). His hair is starting to grow back a little. We are thankful for our entire family. Eric and I have two great kids in Alexis and Logan. We also are thankful for Nene and Papa, Grandma and Grandpa, all of whom have been traveling here to Colorado from Oklahoma often to help us keep Logan isolated and healthy during this difficult phase of chemo. We are thankful for Big Granny, Big Papa, Uncle B, Aunt Nic, and the kids' new cousin Emma. We are also thankful for all of the extended family of aunts, uncles, cousins, etc that are all supporting us from afar. I would also add the vast family of friends and supporters that we have here at home and across the country through Logan's support page. You are all loved and appreciated by our family.

Almost...

Logan has been a little more energetic, though still quite pale. We were hoping he was on the upswing and would not need blood today, but we were wrong. We went in for his blood counts, and got some good and bad news. His platelets are holding strong over 100,000, and his ANC is 800. Those are pretty good numbers, and if he were due for chemo tomorrow he would pass. But, then they took a look at his hemoglobin, and it was 6.4. That meant a trip up to the Children's Hospital for a blood transfusion. Bummer. Oh, well. Maybe this will perk him up a little for Thanksgiving and he will feel better. He has been doing better, but still very needy and a bit cranky. It would have helped if he napped over the weekend, but he would have none of that. I wanted to say thanks to Sheri for bringing dinner last week. Here is a picture of Logan eating his chicken nuggets waiting on his blood, and another of him napping on the way to the hospital:

Squeaked by again

Logan has been feeling more tired and is pretty pale, so we figured he may need blood or platelets today after his lab check. We went in, and is is still holding in there. His hemoglobin was 7.7 (they would transfuse under 7), and his platelets are still good at 119,000 (they give him some if below 10,000). So that was good news since we did not have to go up to the main Children's Hospital. Logan's ANC is still showing up as 0, but there were some more white cells in there when compared to last time.

Logan has been pretty pitiful the last few days, but still is staying positive. He is such as trooper, and we are so proud of him. He gets tired, and is nauseous a lot. He does not eat much, and his tummy hurts when he does eat. But, you can see him bouncing around and playing in between all that when he has a burst of energy. He is currently falling asleep on the couch each afternoon for at least a couple of hours, even though he normally does not nap at home. But, at least this gives him the energy to push through and play in the evenings. My little man is hanging in there, and he will even tell you: "Bald is Brave."

Zero?!?!

Well, we took Logan in for labs today to check his numbers. He is in a phase of his treatment that he may need a blood transfusion or platelets, so we are going in twice a week just for lab checks. I made a gamble and did not put numbing cream on his port just hoping that his numbers would be fine. Well, the gamble paid off, and no blood or platelets were needed. His hemoglobin was 8.2 (must be below 7 to transfuse), and his platelets were 152,000 (must be below 10,000 to give him some).  But, his ANC is 0. Yes, 0, which I did not even know was possible. Essentially the white cells were so low that it was impossible to even calculate an ANC. This just means that he is very susceptible to infection, illness, etc. We have kept him home from daycare, and plan to keep him isolated for at least the next three weeks. They expect his other numbers to go down, and will recheck on Friday to see if he needs blood or platelets. Hopefully he will stay well, because with no immune system he will go directly to the hospital even with a little fever. The good news is that he still has some energy, though it comes in bursts. He can be pretty feisty most of the time, but is also a little happier than last week. He is all done with me giving him shots of chemo (yea for that!). Here is a picture from a few days ago as he starts to make his Christmas list:

Finally the week is over

This has been a long and trying week. Logan has just not been himself. He is whining, crying, and very needy. I don't think he feels great, but then he pushes through and plays like a champ. But, when we went in for chemo today, it got even harder. He didn't want me to put the numbing cream on his port. Then he wanted to be carried into the clinic. He was pretty clingy getting his blood pressure taken, and then would not let go when we took him into a room. Once in there, he stuck to me like glue. Needless to say it was not a smooth visit for accessing his port and getting the chemo. He even asked for a finger poke instead of the "Bob poke." But, he needed chemo so we had no choice. Thankfully it was just a quick blood draw and one small amount of chemo. It didn't take too long, and he was done with that. He had a quick check and we talked about his numbers. His ANC is down, but still pretty good at 800. Hemoglobin is down to 9, but that is not too bad considering all the chemo he has had over the past week. So, he is holding strong, but will probably get lower next week. We have made arrangements for family to come back over the next few weeks so we can keep him isolated as much as possible. We go in next on Tuesday for a blood check, and we are hoping he does not need any blood products at that time. Wish us an uneventful weekend.

Thanks to Joyful Givings for sending the kids a care package. They really appreciate it.

Better update

Logan is doing much better with eating and energy. Though he has been acting a little off yesterday and this morning. He was really sad when I had to go to work yesterday, which did not make leaving any easier. Last night, he just had a little breakdown at bedtime. For some reason he did not want to go to bed, and felt that if he had to go to bed, Mommy should stay with him. This is very unusual for him. We gave him some extra TLC and he settled down and went to sleep. Then, at 5:20 this morning, I hear a very chipper voice: "Mommy, my tummy hurts." Yes, you read that correctly, he was chipper. You see, my son is not dumb. He is charming and smart and knows how to wield this power. He also knows what will get me out of bed at 5:20 in the morning instead of ignoring him in hopes he will go back to sleep or entertain himself at the very least. If he says his tummy hurts or he needs to throw up, I will inevitably go in to help. So, I accompany him to the bathroom, where he pretends to dry heave, then looks at me and says "I tried." Then we went and snuggled in bed for about 10 minutes. It was nice to have snuggles, but there was no hope of going back to sleep with him in my bed. Then he started talking, and I figured he was ready to get up. So, we got up and situated him on the couch and I went to get ready. Now, don't get me wrong, I believed that he did not feel wonderful. But he was still pretty chipper all morning, so really I think he is fine.

We finally got him his reward for taking shots at home, a giant Spiderman balloon. When asked what he wanted for being such a brave boy, all he could think of was a balloon. Even when given the choice of a toy, book, movie, anything else, he did not want anything else. When we went to the store to get it, I again asked if we should get him anything in addition to the balloon, and his reply was: "We should get another balloon for Alexis." Doesn't that just melt your heart? He is the sweetest.

Strong little man

I forgot over the weekend to say thank you to Peggy and Susan for bringing food last week. It was very much appreciated and came at a time when I did not have a spare moment or ounce of time or energy to spare.

Logan continues to recover from his long chemo Friday. Even though he had several other chemos that day, we really think it is the spinal chemo that does it to him. He is able to pretty much take it all in stride with a little nausea, until he has those doses. He often has headaches, even though we have him lay flat for an hour and have them give him fluids each time. Unfortunately right now we cannot even give him anything for the pain because it could mask a fever. And he just seems to crash later in the day with those spinal doses. I guess at least he does not have those every time, but it is hard on him when he does.

Good news is that he is starting to eat more, and is perking up nicely. He is playing and smiling, and even likes jumping around in the leaves outside (after they have been raked into a pile, of course). He is such a trooper when it comes to taking his medicine. Right now he has oral chemo each night and the medicine for nausea, and then on the weekends he has the antibiotic to prevent pneumonia. Not to mention those fun shots each morning. At lease we gave him the last one of those this morning (until we start giving them again this weekend). He is so strong, and just accepts it as part of life. I am so proud of him, that words cannot express all the feelings. He makes me stronger, and I am so lucky to have him in my life. This has to keep working.

Rough couple of days...

Sorry for the late update on how Logan is doing, but it has been a pretty busy/crazy couple of days. Logan was a trooper for his all day clinic visit on Friday for chemo. We arrived at 8 am, and he promptly had his port accessed and they started his fluids for "pre-hydration." Apparently the chemo he received on Friday can be pretty toxic to the kidneys, so they do lots of IV fluids before and after giving it. Logan did pretty well for his spinal chemo and sedation for that. Unfortunately, Logan is starting to have fluctuating emotions during his sedation. He used to just become really giggly, but now he fluctuates between crying and giggling. It is a little pitiful, but we just snuggle him and get through it. They then gave him his Cytoxin, and then four more hours of fluids. Daddy went and brought back some lunch, and we just continued to watch movies and try and occupy Logan. The nurse then came in to teach us how to give Logan his chemo shots at home for the next few days (and another few days in a week). Yes, I now have chemotherapy in my fridge. It is a little unsettling to see the bright yellow hazard bag with warnings all over it sitting next to the yogurt. But, Logan has done great with getting his shots the last two days. He does not like it any more than I like giving them to him, but he is doing better than expected.

So, after we got home Friday at a little before 4 pm, we got settled and Logan did start to slow down a little from his bouncing ways. Then just as we were about to eat dinner, he really got sick. Poor thing was so nauseous that he really hasn't eaten much or kept it down since then. He did eat a couple of crackers at one point yesterday, and he is keeping his medicine down so that is good. We are back on a medicine that he has to take at night on an empty stomach. That is a little tricky considering it is hard to keep him awake until his 7:30 bedtime, but on the other hand he is not eating much so that makes it easier.

He does seem to be feeling a little better today, so here is hoping it stays that way! Here are a couple of pictures from Logan at the clinic on Friday:

Here we go

Well, it was an eventful day at the clinic today. Logan went in for a finger poke, and the results came back the same as last week. ANC 500, so that means he would not pass for chemo again this week. But they looked at the results, and thought it warranted a second look. They had the doctor look at a slide of Logan's blood under the microscope and manually calculate the number again. He said that often this is a more accurate number, and it came out as 1800 which is plenty high to pass for chemo. Why would it be so off? They had no explanation, but at least it means that we can get on with this phase. We go in for a full day at the clinic tomorrow starting at 8am. More tomorrow...but first, a couple of pictures of Logan practicing his funny faces for the camera:

Wow

Logan is having a good week. He is playing and being his crazy self. We are enjoying this time in which we can take him around others, while still being vigilant in keeping him away from germs and friends who are sick. (A special thank you to Colton's mom, who kept her son home an extra day from daycare just to make sure Logan was safe) I was having a bit of a crabby evening last night and this morning, but woke up to find Logan's page's likes had jumped to over 100, and had doubled by the time I was finished with work today. Amazing! I had not really been promoting or sharing much other than just updates on Logan's progress, so it was no wonder it had a slow start. But, thanks to another little warrior fighting out there, we have increased support and more thoughts, prayers, and well wishes coming our way. We appreciate all that support and outpouring of love.

Logan goes in tomorrow for a finger poke to check his labs and see if he is good to go for chemo tomorrow. If he passes, then he has chemo all day on Friday. As much as I am not looking forward to this next month of intense chemo, I am ready to get going with it.

Thanks to Jen from work for the gift card for dinner last night, our favorite!

Here is Logan's little charming self (he loves to wiggle his eyebrows at us):

Great support

Throughout this battle with leukemia we have found that we have a really great support system, that includes a community that is so willing to give and lift us up. We were the recipients of this generosity yet again this past weekend. Our daughter is on a new soccer team this year because her "old" coach was not coaching anymore. This led us to join a new team with some old friends, and now many new ones. They have welcomed us, and supported us. Many of the families ask about Logan and how he is doing each week. And this past weekend, at the last game, we were presented with a gift bag that held many giftcards that will buy several meals for our family and also some treats (Build a Bear and Coldstone). We are again left astounded and unable to fully express our gratitude. Thank you to the families of the Super Pink Sparkles! The S to the P to the S!

Logan has been doing really well through the weekend, though we do not stray far from home (or really the clinic just in case). He is fond of telling people (while pointing to his head) "I don't have any hair!" He also tells everyone "My dad looks like Uncle B!" which he kind of does right now. Here is a picture of Logan watching a movie with his sister:

Happiness and Frustration

Logan is doing really well. He had so much fun dressing up yesterday and trick or treating. He wore his costume to watch his sister in her school parade, he went to his daycare party, and also went to the clinic for labs dressed as Iron Man. Everyone got a kick out of, and he had lots of fun. His energy has been great, and he was even a little sad when we were finished Trick or Treating wanting to go longer. Though he was certainly getting tired, since we had needed to carry him the last few houses.

Well, he did not pass his counts to have chemo today, but his counts are better. They are improving, but not quite high enough for this next round. So, he gets a reprieve for a week. They said he can go to daycare, and he should hold steady for a couple of weeks and then his numbers will probably be back down. But, for now, we are going to enjoy him having some energy and feeling fine.

On a more frustrating note, we (us and the doctors/nurses/etc.) have had a hard time locating the medication Logan is supposed to take this next month. Apparently there is a market shortage, but many people have been working on it and we think we have found some.

Thanks to Cindy who brought dinner on Tuesday, and Susan who is bringing it tonight.