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: