Snow Day!

Logan had a busy day yesterday. He had his first snow day from school, and chemo that afternoon. He really enjoyed staying in, watching movies and playing in the snow.

Then, off to chemo. Logan did great as usual. He even asked the nurse if she had poked him yet when she accessed him, because it didn't hurt. His numbers looked great, and are staying in the therapeutic range. He is just going into yet another course of steroids. This is our least favorite part of the month, since he gets so hungry and cranky. We forgot to take a movie with us, so we occupied ourselves writing on the treatment chart on the wall and taking pictures.

The Big catch up (Part 2)

OK, where were we? We had just gone over Light the Night, but I forgot to include how much our team raised. Logan's Avengers raised $2,542! We are so thankful to everyone who donated and also those who came out to support Logan and our family. Then I included pictures from the camping trip to Utah. OK, onward...

We came back home to school and chemo that next week. Logan's numbers were actually right where they like them to be. His ANC was 1450 which is right in the "therapeutic range." Then the kids enjoyed their Fall Festival, and the next week was Halloween! Logan had been looking forward to being Ant Man, and this is what he wore to the Fall Festival at school. Then all of a sudden he wanted to be Hulk. No biggie, it was a costume he already had, and he wore that to trick or treat at the Children's Hospital event. Then he promptly changed his mind back to being Ant Man for the big day. The kids had fun trick or treating with friends, but Logan got tired pretty quick and did not last long. Unfortunately I did not get a picture of him as Hulk, but here are some pics of Ant Man:

That same day, he had his last soccer game and got his trophy. He enjoyed soccer, but did get tired pretty easily and did not like that.

Other than that, Logan has just been a regular kid. He enjoys school, and charms his teachers every day. He has made so many friends, and likes to go to birthday parties. He has chemo next week, so hopefully his numbers will be good.

The big catch up (Part 1)

OK, so it has been over a month since I updated the blog, sorry to all of Logan's followers. I have not been on my computer much at home, so have not updated. Here goes...

At the last update, Logan had just had IV chemo and spinal chemo, and his numbers were pretty low. They were low enough that they stopped all of his oral chemo pills. After that, we had a little scare the next week because he developed a fever and ear/jaw pain. Usually with an ANC below 500 and a fever, it is an automatic trip to the hospital for an admission. Thankfully, our doctor and nurse had us just come into the clinic to check Logan out. Turns out that he had an ear infection, but they took blood cultures just in case. After that, we went in the next week for a blood test to see if he was ready to restart his medications. The ANC was even lower at 200! This was pretty alarming to us all, especially with a camping trip pending. Because we had planned on going camping in Utah for Fall Break, they had us come in the Friday before for a recheck. Thankfully, the numbers were up high enough for us to travel. Yay!

Light the Night: We had a blast at the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society event. First, that day was "Logan day" at the kids' school. Third grade sold Logan's Avengers stickers to the whole school for 25 cents each, and actually raised $550 just from the sticker sales. Unbelievable. This paired with Kindergarten and 3rd grade wearing their shirts, and other supporters wearing superhero shirts was great. When the kids got home from school, we finished packing up and left for the event. Since we got there early, we were able to set up our space with a shade tent, cooler of popsicles, and our sign. Then we could get checked without waiting too long in line. By then, kids and families from the school had started arriving. We were so impressed by the turnout from the school. There were several kids from 3rd grade and also many kids from Logan's kindergarten class. We were just blown away by the turn out from the school including families, several teachers, staff, and the principal. All of this combined with family including NeNe, Grandma and Grandpa made the night so special to Logan and our family.

For Fall break, the kids had a great time camping in Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah:

To be continued...(this is what I get for waiting so long to update)

Still wouldn't know it

Logan has been doing well this week. Just the normal hungry and sometimes needy boy that his usually is the week after chemo when he is on the steroids. He did well at school for the two days after chemo even going to soccer practice after school. I am glad that he had Friday off and got to spend it with NeNe taking it easy.  Logan is really excited to take a week off of taking his medications now that he is done with steroids. Hopefully that will do the trick and his immune system will bounce back. We still cannot tell by how he is acting that his numbers are so low. He seems to be feeling well, and we are so thankful for that.

We had fun on Thursday at the kids' school painting shirts for Logan's Avengers. Third grade all painted and Logan's Kindergarten class came up too. We were also joined by a few other teachers which was really exciting. I then gave a short presentation to Logan's class about his leukemia and treatment. They all got a kick out of seeing a picture of him with a bald head. All of the kids are wearing their shirts to school on Thursday to show their support.

We are really looking forward to Light the Night (and Logan day at school that day as the kids put it). If you are able to donate, we really appreciate any you can give. Here is the link to Logan's team page.

Here is a picture of Logan and his friend Elyse (they are pretty good buddies when their older sisters are playing soccer. Then the bottom picture is of Logan's shirt that we painted at school:

Chemo rock star

Logan had chemo today, and he rocked it even more than usual. We went in at 8, and they accessed his port pretty quickly. Everything went smoothly and he was giggly with all the sedation. That is a good thing about how Logan does under sedation: he is a happy drunk. He just starts laughing and being sweet. This is much better than the few times he was sad and crying. I think those times had more to do with how he was feeling overall than just the sedation. Logan sailed through the spinal tap with one extra poke since he flinched the first time. Afterward, he ate a good breakfast, received the rest of his chemo, and we were on our way. We made a quick stop at Target, then home for rest. Except he was feeling great, so he wanted to play. Below is a picture of him today playing with a new toy.

The only bad news from the clinic visit is that his ANC is only 300. That is pretty low, but they are attributing it to the higher doses of medications. He was still able to get all of his chemo, but they have told us to stop all oral chemo for the next two weeks. Unfortunately, Logan still has to take the steroids for the next 5 days (at a slightly higher dose since he has grown), but otherwise, no medications. I think Logan will like this, but hopefully it will not be too much of a struggle when we restart. They seemed pretty surprised when they realized it was the first time he has had to stop the meds since he has done so well.

The Logan's Avengers team for Light the Night (Leukemia and Lymphoma society) is going strong. The kids' school has even joined in for fundraising and awareness. Many of the kids are even coming to the walk to support Logan and our family. We appreciate it all so much, and cannot wait until the walk.

Logan the charmer

I am well aware of Logan's level of charm, and his ability to get everyone around him to love him. With that being said, he has stepped up his game since starting school. He has wrapped his teachers and the office staff around his little finger, and I am pretty sure they all love him. I am also impressed with how he is doing in school. He still needs occasional rest breaks and naps at school, but is doing well. He has always been a bit silly, but I am proud of how he works hard to do the right thing and clip up on the behavior chart. (Though I am sure he has his moments.) He has been making some great friends, and he is super happy. All in all, we are pleased with how he is doing. We just have to encourage him to try and make it through the whole day, because sometimes we think he may be charming his way into taking a rest period. Sometimes it is hard to tell. One thing we know: he is in good and caring hands. This makes us very appreciative and confident about him being at school.

We are still raising money for Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Light the night. Here is a link to Logan's team page, if you are able to donate. We appreciate all the donations so far, and any future donations for our team. Alexis and I have met our individual goals, but our team goal is still short.

And the countdown begins...

So, Logan made it through his first chemo since school started, and there are some different things coming up than before. I think before, Cathy downplayed how hungry he was on the steroid weeks, or maybe I never noticed how often he wandered into the kitchen for a snack. I have been packing 4-6 snacks in his backpack, and he has been eating them all. He also is getting tired. He is grumpy, and even took a nap at school today.

His blood work looked pretty good, though his ANC is still high at 2040. This could mean a couple of things: his dose is still not high enough, or he is fighting off something like a cold. I am leaning more toward him fighting off a cold because his sister had a brief bout of coughing and runny nose. Otherwise, things look pretty good. They continue to monitor all of his blood work including liver function because of the kind of chemo he takes. He did very well during the appointment, and hammed it up for everyone as usual. Then even presented him with a cake and sang happy birthday to him. He was so surprised and the look of joy on his face was priceless. He was also thrilled that they gave him a Batman Lego set.

The most exciting thing about chemo, was that they gave us an end date! Wait for it...August 9, 2016 he will be done with treatment. The end is in sight! And it is actually a little sooner than I was thinking. I wasn't sure if it would be in August or September of next year, so I was pleasantly surprised. Now, the party planning begins.

I want to extend a big thank you to the anonymous donors who have donated to my Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Light the Night fundraising. I have already exceeded my initial goal thanks to you. I actually got goosebumps and almost started crying when I got the email right before work, so thanks for that too. Our daughter Alexis is also raising money, so if anyone is planning to donate, please go to her page linked here. If she raises $100, then she gets to have a lantern in the walk as well.  Here is a quick video she made about why she wants to raise money for LLS and Logan's team:

Happy Birthday Logan

Logan had a great birthday on Friday and party on Saturday. He had lots of family including great grandparents, both sets of grandparents, many old friends and some new friends from school. He was so excited about it all. I included a picture of his cake, which  shows some of our little Avenger's personality.

I was talking to Logan today about the upcoming week, and told him I would be picking him up from school early on Tuesday for chemo. Immediately I get the "awww" from him. Then the part that kills me: "I don't like it," "I hate it," and "I wish I had never had it." The past few months he has had some variation of this either toward chemo visits at the clinic, the chemo meds he takes every night, or just the cancer itself. I think he is pretty much over it (like we all are), but I just have to encourage him that there is only a year left of treatment. It will be over soon, but to a 5 year old boy, a year is just forever.

On that note, we are once again walking in the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Light the Night walk. We are raising money which goes to research. If you are interested, here are the links to my fundraising page and Logan's team page. Events like these help LLS raise money for research and improve the survival rates of adults and kids just like Logan. Any help would greatly be appreciated. This is a great event that Logan has really enjoyed the past couple of years.

Start of school: Kindergarten edition

Logan had a great end to his summer. We continued going to the pool and staying active, and then he and Alexis spent some time in Oklahoma with family. They had a great time, and are both still talking about it.

While the kids were in Oklahoma, the school year started back for me, and I am so excited to see all the returning and new preschool students at all of the schools that I visit. Some old faces, some new faces, and even some sibling faces from previous students are going to make for a great year to come.

Logan started school last week, and it was a roller coaster! He was so excited about starting school, and is in love with his teacher. He is in the full day Kindergarten class, and even though we stayed busy over the summer, he was exhausted. Of course he got a headache the first day, but thankfully it was not a migraine. I think between the chaos of first day and his fatigue, it just hit him. He ended up sleeping for almost two hours in the Principal's office and then going back to class as happy as can be. I am so thankful for the teachers and staff at his school being understanding of his cancer diagnosis and just taking care of him.

There is a lot more stress sending Logan to school than there was sending his older sister. I worry about every potential germ, the fatigue, headaches, getting hit in his port, whether or not he can keep up, and really every little thing. Cancer does that to us. It takes away normality and replaces it with anxiety and constant worry. I know he is in good hands, and he is having the best time so far. So, I just take it one day at a time.

Thankfully I have Logan's birthday to look forward to/get ready for this week. His birthday is on Friday, and the party is on Saturday. I have already started preparations for his cake, so stay tuned for pictures.

Update

We have been keeping Logan busy this summer. He has had fun taking a trip to Oklahoma. He is learning to be a great swimmer. He has enjoyed time bowling. And he has also had fun at soccer camp (one down and one to go). Logan is also loving spending time with the puppies which are growing so much. We went to a party for our friend Delaney who is finally finished with her leukemia treatment, and saw Dr Tom there celebrating too. It was great to celebrate such a happy thing. We have had chemo (including one spinal) this summer, but he doesn't let it slow him down much. Overall we stay busy, but he may need some downtime in the afternoons. He enjoyed having fun at his sister's birthday party (I think he liked terrorizing her friends). Otherwise, no news is good news! (Sorry, pictures are in order from most recent to oldest)

Endings and beginnings

Logan had a great last day of preschool. Well, actually he kept telling me he was not having fun. When I asked him why, it was because he didn't want it to be his last day. What more can I ask? Below is a picture of him on that last day with his teachers.

Eric and I also recently had a meeting with his Kindergarten team including the teacher, principal and nurse. We came up with a plan for next year, and now we know more of what to expect and the procedures everyone will follow to keep him healthy. A big thanks to all of them,  as it helped relieve some of the anxiety.

We then had his last day of daycare. It was a bit emotional for us all. Now, I won't say I will miss writing a check each week (sorry Cathy), but we will miss it. Cathy is like a member of the family since we have known her over 7 years now. And she has certainly made us feel like a part of her family, sharing her family with us too. Unfortunately I was too scattered to get a picture with her that last day. Below I did include a picture of the custom sign from Arty Annie's that we gave her.

Now, on to the beginning of summer! We have lots of activities planned including swimming, bowling, movies and even a trip to visit family in Oklahoma. Busy, busy. The only bad part was that we had to start off the first week of summer with a chemo appointment. Logan was then on steroids and pretty needy. That was not good since we were also very busy, which cut down on his couch snuggling time with me. That did not go over well, but now that he is off of steroids that is getting better. We are just crossing our fingers for no major headaches. Other than that, his numbers were good, so the doctor's office was happy. No changes for now, and we go in at the end of the month for his spinal tap/chemo appointment.

Puppies!

We have been staying busy since the last posting. Logan had chemo and his numbers were down, but they didn't seem to worried. It was high enough to get chemo, but a little below where they prefer for their "therapeutic range." It could have had something to do with the fact he had been sick the week before. Since then, we have gotten two puppies, and Logan (as well as Alexis) are both thrilled beyond belief. The puppies keep us on our toes, and the kids are learning to keep everything picked up off of the floor unless they want it to become a puppy toy. The puppies are also pretty sweet and snuggly as well as intuitive. Logan had a migraine last week and another yesterday, and the puppies did not want to leave his side yesterday. They snuggled him when he rested on the couch. When we set him up in a chair with a blanket outside while the rest of us planted the vegetable garden, they planted themselves in his lap and at his feet and did not budge until we all went in. It was pretty sweet, and they even kept watching him when he would get up. It is safe to say that we are all tired of Logan getting these headaches that make him sick and bring him down.

Today is a new day though, and Logan is a different person from yesterday. He is eating, smiling, talking and happy to be feeling better. He is excited about his last week of school this week with celebrations. And next week is his last week at Cathy's for daycare. I will then be off for the summer and we will all be home before the school year starts, and Logan is in Kindergarten. I cannot believe he is ready for this new chapter in his life. I am excited and worried at the same time. I am meeting with his teacher and a few others to figure out what we can put in place next year to ensure he stays as healthy as possible. I am not sure what I can do to help this, so if anyone has any suggestions please share. For now, I will leave you with some pictures of the puppies:

Keeping busy

We have been staying busy with work, school, and clinic visits. At the last chemo appointment, they increased all of Logan's medications since he has grown. Because of this, they wanted to check his blood levels at the half-way point instead of waiting the full month. We went in last week and his numbers look good. They are considerably down from two weeks ago, but that is good. His ANC was 1900 which is closer to the range that they like to see. Overall, Logan has been feeling pretty good and he has not had any major headaches since finishing the steroids for the month. That was a relief.

Logan is still enjoying school, but does complain that it makes him tired. I think it is good he gets two afternoons a week at Cathy's for some extra rest, even though it leads to not going to sleep as quickly those nights. He has also been enjoying soccer on Saturdays again. Last weekend we went to a party given by Peach's Neet Feet all about spreading kindness through art and doing for others. It was a great afternoon and we even got to meet Peach. This is the same organization that painted Logan's custom shoes right after he was diagnosed. It really is a great non-profit with an amazing message.

I had Friday off, so I took the kids to see a movie. As you can tell, Logan is really excited about the new Avengers moving coming out this week:

Smoother sailing

I know it has been a long time since I updated, so sorry if this is long. Logan did get over the croup from last month, though it took longer than usual. He had chemo which went pretty smooth, but then had another migraine. It seems to be happening about a week after the steroids, but also coincides with a change in barometric pressure. That time, I took him into the clinic, but they did not have many answers for us. We are just keeping an eye on it and hoping it does not happen too often. Once he was healthy enough to go, he had a dentist appointment to fill a tooth. It seems that the chemo may be weakening his teeth a bit, but he was such a trooper for the whole process with no crying or anything. We then had Spring Break, and got to spend some relaxing time with family. It was great to get back to Oklahoma and see family, and it was the first time we have gone back since Logan's diagnosis.

After break, it was back to normal, and back to school. We had a fun Easter, and spent lots of time outside hunting for eggs and just playing in the nice weather. The kids had a ball! Logan had chemo last week with a spinal tap. He struggled in the morning with hunger and was really grumpy. After his labs came back, they found out that his blood sugar was pretty low, so that explained why he was not acting like himself. After he was able to eat some breakfast and drink some milk, he was back to his normal self. Logan has been really enjoying school, and even went in the afternoon after chemo. All of that combined with the steroids made for a needy, hungry Logan for the past week, but hopefully that will subside soon. The increased the dosage of all of his medications because he has grown, so hopefully that will not make his numbers drop too low. He continues to be all over the place with his lab results each month, so we do not really know what will happen over the next month. We have to check in next week for a lab draw, so they can just check on him and we will know then.

I want to say welcome to our many new followers on Facebook, we now have 535 likes! I do not know how the word is getting out about Logan, but we welcome you all and appreciate any additional support.