Logan has turned into such a sweet little boy. Yesterday, we were at my dad's house and he had already left. We still had about 15 minutes until we needed to go pick up Nick from work, but I went ahead and got Logan's coat and shoes on. Everyday, when we leave my dad's, I hold Logan's hand now and he walks to the car because he's a big boy. So yesterday we picked up all his toys, and I was sitting there watching the TV for a minute. All of the sudden, Logan walks over to me, sticks his hand in the air, and looks at me like "come ON mom, it's time to go get Dad!". I grabbed his hand, turned off the TV, and we left, even though it was still too early. He was holding it so tightly, and my heart just felt overwhelmed with joy. I cannot love this little boy any more than I do already. There is no way! Moments like these make me grin from ear to ear.
He's been doing a lot of hand holding lately. When we're sitting on the couch (mostly me, not so much Daddy), he'll walk up, lean with his back to the couch and just hold my hand. It is the sweetest thing.
He's in a Mommy phase I think. I had to take him to the grocery store the other night because he wouldn't let me put him down. He scream and cry every time I put him on the floor. Last night, I had to hold him while I made dinner. It may make things difficult in the short term, but I love that he loves his Mommy.
Love you Log!
Friday, October 23, 2009
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Pumpkin Patch
Well, we braved the rain and muck yesterday and headed out to Maris Farms in Buckley, Washington. At first we decided not to go yesterday because when we woke up it was pouring but after a couple of hours the sun kept trying to poke through so we just went ahead and went.
It's not too far from here, maybe a 35 minute drive (thank you freeways)! We pulled in and you could see the huge pumpkin field and an even bigger corn maze.
We bought our admission tickets ($10 apiece and they gave us $2 each in Maris coins because one of their attractions was closed due to the rain.) we put on our bracelets and headed inside. We walked around for awhile because this was a huge place with so much to do we weren't sure what to do first! Finally we settled on the animal barn.
Logan saw the bunnies, sheep, pygmy goats, chickens and roosters, and of course they were all DOGGY! It was too cute. We were the only ones in the barn so that was neat. Then we walked out the other end and see ponies tied up in a little circular track thing. There was lots of whisper between Martha (my mother-in-law) and I about if they'd let Logan do it. Finally I just asked and they said yep!
$5 and Logan got his first pony ride. He rode Snowfire who was also a Doggy, but who he liked very much. We got to pet her/him (I didn't catch which) and Logan liked that too. I held Logan on the saddle as the horses were led in their circle. Logan had a grin most of the time.
When we got off, we decided to do the corn maze while it wasn't raining. We parked our wagon under the entrance tent and ventured into the short maze. They gave us little papers with clues on how to get out. We had to solve riddles and questions whenever we came to a sign. We solved the short maze in about ten minutes and the sky was still holding, so even though we were getting muddy we went ahead with the long maze. This time we were stuck in there for a good 45 mins but it was a lot of fun for the big people anyway. I haveno idea what Logan was thinking but I'm sure he thought we were all going bonkers.
When we got out of the maze we headed to the kiddie play area. We let Logan ride a mini sized tractor and then he went on what they call
The Cow Train. It is a bunch of little cars decorated like cows pulled by a giant tractor. There is only enough room for a little one on this train so Logan was a big boy and went alone. He had a good time. I followed it but he didn't even look for me. The poor kid in front of him screamed the whole way.
The rain was starting to pick up by this point so we headed to the pumpkin field to get our perfect pumpkins. Logan had fun touching them and then riding in the wheel barrow.
Off to pay and then we were out of there. It was a nice afternoon and not ten minutes after we left the Heavens opened up and the rain started pouring.
We sure had a lot of fun and going to the pumpkin patch is a tradition I can see happening in our family for a very long time.
-Kristin
It's not too far from here, maybe a 35 minute drive (thank you freeways)! We pulled in and you could see the huge pumpkin field and an even bigger corn maze.
We bought our admission tickets ($10 apiece and they gave us $2 each in Maris coins because one of their attractions was closed due to the rain.) we put on our bracelets and headed inside. We walked around for awhile because this was a huge place with so much to do we weren't sure what to do first! Finally we settled on the animal barn.
Logan saw the bunnies, sheep, pygmy goats, chickens and roosters, and of course they were all DOGGY! It was too cute. We were the only ones in the barn so that was neat. Then we walked out the other end and see ponies tied up in a little circular track thing. There was lots of whisper between Martha (my mother-in-law) and I about if they'd let Logan do it. Finally I just asked and they said yep!
$5 and Logan got his first pony ride. He rode Snowfire who was also a Doggy, but who he liked very much. We got to pet her/him (I didn't catch which) and Logan liked that too. I held Logan on the saddle as the horses were led in their circle. Logan had a grin most of the time.
When we got off, we decided to do the corn maze while it wasn't raining. We parked our wagon under the entrance tent and ventured into the short maze. They gave us little papers with clues on how to get out. We had to solve riddles and questions whenever we came to a sign. We solved the short maze in about ten minutes and the sky was still holding, so even though we were getting muddy we went ahead with the long maze. This time we were stuck in there for a good 45 mins but it was a lot of fun for the big people anyway. I haveno idea what Logan was thinking but I'm sure he thought we were all going bonkers.
When we got out of the maze we headed to the kiddie play area. We let Logan ride a mini sized tractor and then he went on what they call
The Cow Train. It is a bunch of little cars decorated like cows pulled by a giant tractor. There is only enough room for a little one on this train so Logan was a big boy and went alone. He had a good time. I followed it but he didn't even look for me. The poor kid in front of him screamed the whole way.
The rain was starting to pick up by this point so we headed to the pumpkin field to get our perfect pumpkins. Logan had fun touching them and then riding in the wheel barrow.
Off to pay and then we were out of there. It was a nice afternoon and not ten minutes after we left the Heavens opened up and the rain started pouring.
We sure had a lot of fun and going to the pumpkin patch is a tradition I can see happening in our family for a very long time.
-Kristin
Friday, October 16, 2009
Firsts
Well, last night I thought we were going to have to make our very first Emergency Room visit. Nick went downstairs to let Pat in and Logan got reall excited so he went running across the hard wood floors. Somehow he tripped over his own feet and went face first into the floor. I ran and picked him up and he already had a face full of blood. I yelled for Nick to come back upstairs and by the time he ran up the stairs (he heard the fall) there was blood all over the floor and myself.
We couldn't tell at first how bad logan's mouth was because he wouldn't let us look inside but it bled heavily for a solid ten minutes. I was panicked. Finally we were able to tell that his two top teeth had punctured the lip but not gone through. It stopped bleeding and I gave him an ice pack to chew on. It was so scary!!!
Where is that instruction manual???
Now he's got a big fat lip and you can see where his teeth went it poor baby. But he is such a trooper and was fine after the first ten minutes.
Tonight we built our very first sheet fort, he could have cared less. We finger painted for the first time too. He liked that for a couple minutes bit was done quickly.
Tomorrow we are off to the pumpkin patch in the rain!
-Kristin
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Tired Little Boy
Last night, Logan was such a tired little boy. We brought him home and he was playing and very active as usual, (he's turned into QUITE the toddler). He started falling down a lot and getting whiny, his new tell tale signs that he's sleepy, around 5:30 as I was cooking dinner. So he and Daddy were snuggling on the couch. When dinner was ready, I made a comfy bed on the chaise lounge with our big fleece blankey and Logan curled right up in it with a pillow. He slept from 5:30-8! He was so sweet. I got a really cute picture that I'll upload soon. At 8, I tried to catch him but he went feet first and slid off the couch.. oops! He only cried for a second though.. phew.
I changed his diaper, and got him some milkies. I put his little skelly pajamas on him (those things are the cutest!) and then we went upstairs for a book. Daddy was gone, so it was nice just to cuddle with him. I read him "Where the Wild Things Are" while we cuddled. :)
Then it was time for a tooth brushin'! He's so funny! I did notice that we finally have one whole molar, yay! Only 3 more to go for now.
After that, we walked to his room, and I put him in his crib. I had his Mickey Mouse stuffed animal do the "Hot Dog Dance" which he finds hilarious. Then Mickey got tired, so Mommy kissed Mickey, and Logan kissed Mickey, and he got tucked in on the changing table. Then it was Logan's turn. :)
I tucked him in, left the room, and didn't hear a single peep until 4 am!!!! That is AMAZING! He hasn't been sleeping well lately and was still waking up at least 3 times a night, so for him to not cry at ALL all night is simply wonderful!
I love my little man.
I changed his diaper, and got him some milkies. I put his little skelly pajamas on him (those things are the cutest!) and then we went upstairs for a book. Daddy was gone, so it was nice just to cuddle with him. I read him "Where the Wild Things Are" while we cuddled. :)
Then it was time for a tooth brushin'! He's so funny! I did notice that we finally have one whole molar, yay! Only 3 more to go for now.
After that, we walked to his room, and I put him in his crib. I had his Mickey Mouse stuffed animal do the "Hot Dog Dance" which he finds hilarious. Then Mickey got tired, so Mommy kissed Mickey, and Logan kissed Mickey, and he got tucked in on the changing table. Then it was Logan's turn. :)
I tucked him in, left the room, and didn't hear a single peep until 4 am!!!! That is AMAZING! He hasn't been sleeping well lately and was still waking up at least 3 times a night, so for him to not cry at ALL all night is simply wonderful!
I love my little man.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Wow, it's been a long time.
I can't believe I've let it get to be a few months since I've written here! I am a bad Mommy!
First, a very important update: Logan is just fine! We got news in August, after sending new biopsies off to Seattle Children's hospital that his tumors were in fact Fibrous Hamartoma of Infancy, and still benign after all! Then, the even better news came when the lumps started going down, and we realized it was just scar tissue that had built up quickly, not the tumors regrowing as we had feared! We just had a check up on Monday, and he's still looking great! No sign of tumors, and now we don't go back for six months! Dr. Gandhi said the longer we are out from the recurrence, the less likely they are to come back! Yay!
Logan had his 15 month check up last Friday with Dr. Alleman. He was 22 lbs, 11 oz and 31 1/2 inches long. He is at the 25th percentile for weight now and the 50th percentile for height. Dr. Alleman said he got a little skinnier just because he's walking and almost running, and just being generally more active now.
He is growing up so well! I can't believe how big my baby has gotten! He is such a little ham, and has such a funny little personality. He loves tickling Mom and Dad, and now he dances to the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse hot dog song! He has a whole routine he does! He stomps his feet and then spins in circles, and does it over and over, all the while saying "ah dog, ah dog!" It is the funniest thing.
He is in the process of getting all four of his one year molars. That sure has been fun. NOT. He hasn't been sleeping very well, so of course Mom and Dad are pretty tired too. But we are all surviving.
Some of his favorite things right now are:
1. Fans. He loves seeing fans.. ceiling fans, stand up fans, box fans.. it doesn't matter. Anytime he sees one if he can reach it, he'll go stand by it and start talking to it. It's a favorite passtime at Poppa's house, and we even call it Mr. Fan (and Mr. Vacuum too!). He holds entire conversations with them.
2. Logan-ese. His said language with the fans, we have no idea what he's saying. He will start repeating what you say though, especially if it is something like "Boogity boogity boo."
3. Hiding all sorts of food in his high chair for later. He loves to make little piles of food in his high chair so he can swing back by later and snack while he's playing! Or if it doesn't like it, he'll stick it next to his legs and then wiggle them very quickly back and forth so all the food goes out the leg holes. Or for the food he REALLY doesn't care for, he'll just dump it over the side of the tray.
4. Throwing himself back for his sippy cup. Our sweet little boy still hasn't learned how to sit UP and hold a cup, he must lay down to drink, so as soon as he sees his cup (even if its empty), he throws his head back and lays down. It doesn't matter where he is. He could throw himself down on Poppa's shoe, right at his high chair leg, right onto the hard wood floors, or, when he's feeling particularly cute, he'll grab a pillow first and then lay his head on it.
5. Opening doors. That's his new trick this week! We have the lever style doors in our house, and the little stinker has figured out how to open them! We better watch out, no more using the bathroom in peace again!
6. Picking up toys. This is one of my favorites. He has learned that anytime he puts toys in his toy box, Mommy will clap her hands and go "Yayyyy Logan!" He thinks it's hilarious, so he picks up ALL his toys. (and then proceeds to take them all out again!)
7. Reading books. He will sit and read his books over and over for a good 20 minutes, and in toddlerworld, that is an eternity! Dr. Alleman actually asked us while we were there if he did this, and he was very impressed when I told him yes. (He said he seemed very smart and attentive for his age!) He really likes his dinosaur book with the different textures and the bright colors in it.
8. Putting on his shoes! He knows exactly where his shoes go, and he loves getting them on his feet now! He even has started handing me his feet. I'm also excited to say that yesterday, he did his own velcro!
9. Brushing his teeth. I am a bad Mommy and for the longest time, forgot to brush his teeth, but we've been very good for the last few weeks to brush them. He is so good about it, I think it feels good on the ones that are coming in. He just opens right up and sits there drooling. It is quite precious!
and one more funny thing,
10. Every single animal, on TV or in real life, is a Doggie. It is the cutest thing. It could be a horse, or a bug, it is a Doggie. :)
It is amazing how much he's growing up, and how fast. I'm going to try and be a little better about writing here. So many times I've thought lately about writing, just a few minutes a day. There are so many things he does, like give me a hug and wave bye bye every morning when I drop him off, that I don't want to forget. I let this blog get to be about only the big things, but I want to remember the little things too. I'm going to try really hard to write at least a few times a week about the mundane. I need to for myself. I want to look back in five, ten years, and read all these things that made me laugh, made me frustrated, and made me smile. I don't want to forget the cute little voice that says "Hi" to me everyday, and I'm afraid I will.
I need to stop and smell the roses. I'm so busy with life, that I'm not taking time to enjoy it.
I graduate school in six weeks. Then, it's off to the "real world". It's hard to remember that I'm already there.
First, a very important update: Logan is just fine! We got news in August, after sending new biopsies off to Seattle Children's hospital that his tumors were in fact Fibrous Hamartoma of Infancy, and still benign after all! Then, the even better news came when the lumps started going down, and we realized it was just scar tissue that had built up quickly, not the tumors regrowing as we had feared! We just had a check up on Monday, and he's still looking great! No sign of tumors, and now we don't go back for six months! Dr. Gandhi said the longer we are out from the recurrence, the less likely they are to come back! Yay!
Logan had his 15 month check up last Friday with Dr. Alleman. He was 22 lbs, 11 oz and 31 1/2 inches long. He is at the 25th percentile for weight now and the 50th percentile for height. Dr. Alleman said he got a little skinnier just because he's walking and almost running, and just being generally more active now.
He is growing up so well! I can't believe how big my baby has gotten! He is such a little ham, and has such a funny little personality. He loves tickling Mom and Dad, and now he dances to the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse hot dog song! He has a whole routine he does! He stomps his feet and then spins in circles, and does it over and over, all the while saying "ah dog, ah dog!" It is the funniest thing.
He is in the process of getting all four of his one year molars. That sure has been fun. NOT. He hasn't been sleeping very well, so of course Mom and Dad are pretty tired too. But we are all surviving.
Some of his favorite things right now are:
1. Fans. He loves seeing fans.. ceiling fans, stand up fans, box fans.. it doesn't matter. Anytime he sees one if he can reach it, he'll go stand by it and start talking to it. It's a favorite passtime at Poppa's house, and we even call it Mr. Fan (and Mr. Vacuum too!). He holds entire conversations with them.
2. Logan-ese. His said language with the fans, we have no idea what he's saying. He will start repeating what you say though, especially if it is something like "Boogity boogity boo."
3. Hiding all sorts of food in his high chair for later. He loves to make little piles of food in his high chair so he can swing back by later and snack while he's playing! Or if it doesn't like it, he'll stick it next to his legs and then wiggle them very quickly back and forth so all the food goes out the leg holes. Or for the food he REALLY doesn't care for, he'll just dump it over the side of the tray.
4. Throwing himself back for his sippy cup. Our sweet little boy still hasn't learned how to sit UP and hold a cup, he must lay down to drink, so as soon as he sees his cup (even if its empty), he throws his head back and lays down. It doesn't matter where he is. He could throw himself down on Poppa's shoe, right at his high chair leg, right onto the hard wood floors, or, when he's feeling particularly cute, he'll grab a pillow first and then lay his head on it.
5. Opening doors. That's his new trick this week! We have the lever style doors in our house, and the little stinker has figured out how to open them! We better watch out, no more using the bathroom in peace again!
6. Picking up toys. This is one of my favorites. He has learned that anytime he puts toys in his toy box, Mommy will clap her hands and go "Yayyyy Logan!" He thinks it's hilarious, so he picks up ALL his toys. (and then proceeds to take them all out again!)
7. Reading books. He will sit and read his books over and over for a good 20 minutes, and in toddlerworld, that is an eternity! Dr. Alleman actually asked us while we were there if he did this, and he was very impressed when I told him yes. (He said he seemed very smart and attentive for his age!) He really likes his dinosaur book with the different textures and the bright colors in it.
8. Putting on his shoes! He knows exactly where his shoes go, and he loves getting them on his feet now! He even has started handing me his feet. I'm also excited to say that yesterday, he did his own velcro!
9. Brushing his teeth. I am a bad Mommy and for the longest time, forgot to brush his teeth, but we've been very good for the last few weeks to brush them. He is so good about it, I think it feels good on the ones that are coming in. He just opens right up and sits there drooling. It is quite precious!
and one more funny thing,
10. Every single animal, on TV or in real life, is a Doggie. It is the cutest thing. It could be a horse, or a bug, it is a Doggie. :)
It is amazing how much he's growing up, and how fast. I'm going to try and be a little better about writing here. So many times I've thought lately about writing, just a few minutes a day. There are so many things he does, like give me a hug and wave bye bye every morning when I drop him off, that I don't want to forget. I let this blog get to be about only the big things, but I want to remember the little things too. I'm going to try really hard to write at least a few times a week about the mundane. I need to for myself. I want to look back in five, ten years, and read all these things that made me laugh, made me frustrated, and made me smile. I don't want to forget the cute little voice that says "Hi" to me everyday, and I'm afraid I will.
I need to stop and smell the roses. I'm so busy with life, that I'm not taking time to enjoy it.
I graduate school in six weeks. Then, it's off to the "real world". It's hard to remember that I'm already there.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Never Thought We'd Be in This Position..
Over the last few weeks, we've been going through a really tough time with Logan medically wise. His tumors have been growing uncontrollably since his last surgery in June and we don't know why. To update this easily, here are the emails I've been sending my family the past couple of weeks.
Well it's time for another update!
Logan's actual birthday went well. Mommy, Daddy and Logan spent the evening together, and Logan had his first cupcake! His party is tomorrow afternoon, so I will get pictures out sometime next week. I can't believe he is one! Thanks everyone for being such a great support system for us this year.
Unfortunately, we've had some not so great news. Over the weekend (11-12th) we noticed that he was becoming swollen and thought we noticed some masses down in his scrotum again. I started actively researching fibrous hamartoma of infancy, and also came up with a possible second diagnosis, thinking perhaps we have a misdiagnosis, of lipofibromatosis. Basically a sister diagnosis to FHI.
We had a regularly scheduled check up on Wednesday and I was hoping the doctor would tell me that it was just scar tissue and not to worry, but he didn't. Logan's tumor has grown back VERY aggressively just one month after his last surgery. Dr. Ghandi seemed completely shocked. He took the information I had found on lipofibromatosis and said it could be a possibility. He and I both agree that surgery is not the answer, or not the whole answer at this point. He has a plan of action, which I will talk about in a minute, but in the meantime, we are watching Logan very closely, making sure that he continues to pee. If at any point he stops being able to urinate, we will end up catheterizing him until we can figure out what we will be doing.
Here is his plan of action, which things should already have started by now.
1. He was going to call the pathologist's office and have them re-review the slides of his biopsies of both surgeries. He mentioned that he also might send it to a second office for another opinion.
2. He was going to do a literature search on both Fibrous Hamartoma of Infancy, and lipofibromatosis to try and learn more about both since he's never seen either condition.
3. He was going to contact a pediatric urologist up at Seattle Children's hospital who's also been at Boston Children's and a hospital in Denver, and see if he knows anything about it, or knows someone who does.
4. He is going to post to an online forum for pediatric urologists to try and find a doctor who has worked with the condition before.
Basically, he is fighting for us. He is trying to find a doctor anywhere in the country who has dealt with our condition. I don't know at this point if he would just consult with this doctor over the phone, or if we would end up flying somewhere for treatment. I don't know if there are any other treatment options. I don't know if we even have the correct diagnosis.
After our appointment on Wednesday, I found another possible diagnosis that sounds more like how Logan's condition is presenting, and the next time I'm able to talk to Dr. Ghandi, I will discuss it with him. He definitely seems open to all the ideas I'm throwing at him. It's called Aggressive Fibromatosis. From what I was able to find, that kind of tumor grows back within 3 months (his grew within 1), within the same area, over and over. Some of the treatment plan can include chemotherapy, radiation, and a medication. But we will cross that bridge if and when we get there.
Right now, it's just a whole lot of waiting. It is so hard. I feel like I should be doing more. I'm his mom and I'm supposed to fix everything that's wrong. Dr. Ghandi is very capable and he's working really hard on our case. I will let you know what happens as soon as I know something more.
________________________________________________________________
Hello Everyone!
Well, we were able to get in to see the doctor yesterday. I'm glad that they are accommodating! They told me to come in at 11, and we might have to wait for a little while, but they would squeeze us in. It took about 45 minutes, but that's ok.
Dr. Ghandi said that it didn't seem like the tumors grew too much since last Wednesday and that part of it might actually be a little swelling that we were feeling, so that was good. We are going to start giving him Motrin every 3-4 hours, I just need to swing by the store and pick some up.
He also talked to the pathologist's office, and they reworked the slides that they had made already of both surgeries. They came back again as the first diagnosis of fibrous hamartoma of infancy. When Dr. Ghandi told them that it had grown back, they were as shocked as he was! Together, they decided that they would reslice the tumors, and send the new ones up to Seattle Children's were they could run some very extensive testing with different inks looking for different markers. At this point in our conversation, the word malignant got thrown around a couple of times, so I guess there is still a possiblity that we could be looking at cancerous cells.
Since the diagnosis came back as FHI again, Dr. Ghandi went ahead and had a literature search done with FHI cases, in Logan's area (the scrotum), within the last 15 years, and English speaking cases. There were only a handful of cases that matched those criteria. The good news that came out of that is that he either knows of the doctor that worked on the cases, or knows the doctor personally, so he will be able to contact them. He had the articles pulled, so he should have them by tomorrow and will be able to start studying them.
He was going to call his friend up at Seattle Children's yesterday (during his lunch hour even), and discuss the case with him to see what his take was.
He also is more than likely going to go ahead and send us to a pediatric oncologist down here at Mary Bridge sometime this week. He said there is an excellent doctor that he knows that he'd like us to meet.
I also asked about getting a scan done because I'm a little worried about the tumors moving out of the pelvic area. He said he'd like to wait for now. He wasn't sure if an ultrasound would detect these kinds of tumors, he said more than likely it probably wouldn't. An MRI has a lot of risks associated with the dye that they use to highlight, the greatest being kidney failure. Not one we want or need to take at this point. A CT scan has the effect of 350 x-rays, which is a LOT of radiation, and we don't want to do that over his testes right now if we don't have to. He said that if at some point we need to do a radiation treatment down there to get rid of the tumors, he doesn't want to have already done a CT scan on top of it. He wants to keep the radiation down as little as possible down there, because it has been linked to future cancer just in the last 18 months.
So, we are at least on the road to some answers. They may not be the ones that we want, but at least we are getting somewhere I guess.
Please just keep Logan, (and us too) in your thoughts.
I have one week left of school and I'm off until September 10th. I'm only working 2-3 days a week, and have been taking more time off from work than that, but it's obviously making money very tight, so if you could just keep all of that in your prayers too that would be great. We'll make it through this, but it's going to be a long, emotional road.
Dr. Ghandi said he will call me tomorrow if he has any new information or not. He knows how worried I am and he knows I'll probably end up back in his office if he doesn't keep in contact with me personally, because he knows how proactive I am being!!
I wish I could just take all of this away from Logan and do it myself, I would do it in one heartbeat, but I know my son is a fighter. He will be ok. We all will.
Love you all,
Kristin
Well it's time for another update!
Logan's actual birthday went well. Mommy, Daddy and Logan spent the evening together, and Logan had his first cupcake! His party is tomorrow afternoon, so I will get pictures out sometime next week. I can't believe he is one! Thanks everyone for being such a great support system for us this year.
Unfortunately, we've had some not so great news. Over the weekend (11-12th) we noticed that he was becoming swollen and thought we noticed some masses down in his scrotum again. I started actively researching fibrous hamartoma of infancy, and also came up with a possible second diagnosis, thinking perhaps we have a misdiagnosis, of lipofibromatosis. Basically a sister diagnosis to FHI.
We had a regularly scheduled check up on Wednesday and I was hoping the doctor would tell me that it was just scar tissue and not to worry, but he didn't. Logan's tumor has grown back VERY aggressively just one month after his last surgery. Dr. Ghandi seemed completely shocked. He took the information I had found on lipofibromatosis and said it could be a possibility. He and I both agree that surgery is not the answer, or not the whole answer at this point. He has a plan of action, which I will talk about in a minute, but in the meantime, we are watching Logan very closely, making sure that he continues to pee. If at any point he stops being able to urinate, we will end up catheterizing him until we can figure out what we will be doing.
Here is his plan of action, which things should already have started by now.
1. He was going to call the pathologist's office and have them re-review the slides of his biopsies of both surgeries. He mentioned that he also might send it to a second office for another opinion.
2. He was going to do a literature search on both Fibrous Hamartoma of Infancy, and lipofibromatosis to try and learn more about both since he's never seen either condition.
3. He was going to contact a pediatric urologist up at Seattle Children's hospital who's also been at Boston Children's and a hospital in Denver, and see if he knows anything about it, or knows someone who does.
4. He is going to post to an online forum for pediatric urologists to try and find a doctor who has worked with the condition before.
Basically, he is fighting for us. He is trying to find a doctor anywhere in the country who has dealt with our condition. I don't know at this point if he would just consult with this doctor over the phone, or if we would end up flying somewhere for treatment. I don't know if there are any other treatment options. I don't know if we even have the correct diagnosis.
After our appointment on Wednesday, I found another possible diagnosis that sounds more like how Logan's condition is presenting, and the next time I'm able to talk to Dr. Ghandi, I will discuss it with him. He definitely seems open to all the ideas I'm throwing at him. It's called Aggressive Fibromatosis. From what I was able to find, that kind of tumor grows back within 3 months (his grew within 1), within the same area, over and over. Some of the treatment plan can include chemotherapy, radiation, and a medication. But we will cross that bridge if and when we get there.
Right now, it's just a whole lot of waiting. It is so hard. I feel like I should be doing more. I'm his mom and I'm supposed to fix everything that's wrong. Dr. Ghandi is very capable and he's working really hard on our case. I will let you know what happens as soon as I know something more.
________________________________________________________________
Hello Everyone!
Well, we were able to get in to see the doctor yesterday. I'm glad that they are accommodating! They told me to come in at 11, and we might have to wait for a little while, but they would squeeze us in. It took about 45 minutes, but that's ok.
Dr. Ghandi said that it didn't seem like the tumors grew too much since last Wednesday and that part of it might actually be a little swelling that we were feeling, so that was good. We are going to start giving him Motrin every 3-4 hours, I just need to swing by the store and pick some up.
He also talked to the pathologist's office, and they reworked the slides that they had made already of both surgeries. They came back again as the first diagnosis of fibrous hamartoma of infancy. When Dr. Ghandi told them that it had grown back, they were as shocked as he was! Together, they decided that they would reslice the tumors, and send the new ones up to Seattle Children's were they could run some very extensive testing with different inks looking for different markers. At this point in our conversation, the word malignant got thrown around a couple of times, so I guess there is still a possiblity that we could be looking at cancerous cells.
Since the diagnosis came back as FHI again, Dr. Ghandi went ahead and had a literature search done with FHI cases, in Logan's area (the scrotum), within the last 15 years, and English speaking cases. There were only a handful of cases that matched those criteria. The good news that came out of that is that he either knows of the doctor that worked on the cases, or knows the doctor personally, so he will be able to contact them. He had the articles pulled, so he should have them by tomorrow and will be able to start studying them.
He was going to call his friend up at Seattle Children's yesterday (during his lunch hour even), and discuss the case with him to see what his take was.
He also is more than likely going to go ahead and send us to a pediatric oncologist down here at Mary Bridge sometime this week. He said there is an excellent doctor that he knows that he'd like us to meet.
I also asked about getting a scan done because I'm a little worried about the tumors moving out of the pelvic area. He said he'd like to wait for now. He wasn't sure if an ultrasound would detect these kinds of tumors, he said more than likely it probably wouldn't. An MRI has a lot of risks associated with the dye that they use to highlight, the greatest being kidney failure. Not one we want or need to take at this point. A CT scan has the effect of 350 x-rays, which is a LOT of radiation, and we don't want to do that over his testes right now if we don't have to. He said that if at some point we need to do a radiation treatment down there to get rid of the tumors, he doesn't want to have already done a CT scan on top of it. He wants to keep the radiation down as little as possible down there, because it has been linked to future cancer just in the last 18 months.
So, we are at least on the road to some answers. They may not be the ones that we want, but at least we are getting somewhere I guess.
Please just keep Logan, (and us too) in your thoughts.
I have one week left of school and I'm off until September 10th. I'm only working 2-3 days a week, and have been taking more time off from work than that, but it's obviously making money very tight, so if you could just keep all of that in your prayers too that would be great. We'll make it through this, but it's going to be a long, emotional road.
Dr. Ghandi said he will call me tomorrow if he has any new information or not. He knows how worried I am and he knows I'll probably end up back in his office if he doesn't keep in contact with me personally, because he knows how proactive I am being!!
I wish I could just take all of this away from Logan and do it myself, I would do it in one heartbeat, but I know my son is a fighter. He will be ok. We all will.
Love you all,
Kristin
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Party Planning and Contest Entering!
Well I am right in the middle of planning Logan's sailboat party! It's going to be fun! We've just got a lot to do in two weeks!! I'm not going to say much, because I don't want to give it away!!
Today I entered Logan in a Beautiful Baby contest! The Grand Prize is $5000 and a professional photo shoot! Wow! Voting starts July 6 and ends July 30, and then judges help pick the winner who will be announced on August 3. I hope we have a chance! Logan is pretty darn cute if I say so myself, so if you could help us out that would be great! Here is the link:
Vote Here Starting July 6!
And here is the picture that I entered:
So cute!!
Today I entered Logan in a Beautiful Baby contest! The Grand Prize is $5000 and a professional photo shoot! Wow! Voting starts July 6 and ends July 30, and then judges help pick the winner who will be announced on August 3. I hope we have a chance! Logan is pretty darn cute if I say so myself, so if you could help us out that would be great! Here is the link:
Vote Here Starting July 6!
And here is the picture that I entered:
So cute!!
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
11 Months 10 Days
Wow, these last few weeks have really flown by! I guess that's what happens when your head and heart are so full of emotion. On June 6, Logan and I went to my friend Tessa's baby shower. He was playing with all the girls I work with, and crawling around with Mason and Dylan, Kara's boys. He was having a great time!
On Sunday, I realized that I saw a lump in his scrotum again. I knew right then in my heart that his tumor had come back. I thought it had during his 9 month appointment in April, but the doctor thought it was probably scar tissue so I didn't worry about it.
Since it was already almost time for our checkup with the surgeon anyway, I decided to call first thing Monday morning. Well the morning rolls around, and when I went to change his diaper, he had not peed all night. I knew that was very bad because Logan will fill an entire diaper over the course of the night since he finally sleeps through. As soon as the surgeon's office opened, I gave them a call. They squeezed us in at 10:45am. We got in to see Dr. Pohlson, and she was very concerned that he wasn't peeing. She immediately sent us to the best pediatric urologist in town (well, right outside!) because she thought he needed a catheter. She also thought that he might be admitted to Mary Bridge that day. Nick and I were both extremely worried, and upset, as I'm sure most every parent would be. We thought we were done with this!
So we run home and pack a little overnight bag just in case. I didn't want to be stuck without a bag if we had to get Logan to the hospital. Then we drove out to Puyallup to meet with Dr. Ghandi.
Right away, I liked our new doctor. He was very thorough, and quick! He checked Logan's bladder and there was only 1 oz. of urine in it (he had finally been able to pee a little!) so we opted not to do a catheter. Thank goodness!
Then he did a physical examination. Logan's tumor was back in full force. He could feel them, and told us it was in three different places. One above and one below the urethra, and then one near the testes. He wanted to get us into surgery as soon as possible.
What?! 2 days ago, my son was a healthy little boy, playing with his little friends!
So he tried to get us in on Tuesday, but they were booked. So we scheduled for Thursday morning. The rest of the week until his surgery, Logan was becoming more and more agitated. I kept alternating Motrin and Tylenol to keep him out of pain, and we monitored wet diapers very closely. His tumor was growing so fast, you could literally see the difference in just a couple of days. It was also blocking the lymphatic vessel which caused a lost of swelling and discomfort.
So Thursday morning, we had to be at the hospital at 7:30am. Logan played with some toys and flirted it up with the nurses a little bit, but he was very hungry (couldn't eat formula since midnight, but hadn't had any since 7pm), and getting very tired. At about 8:45, they gave him a medicine that made him really loopy. He was talking to the wall, couldn't keep his eyes open, and when he reached for something, he couldn't tell where it was. We have a video I'll post of it soon.
At 9, Dr. Ghandi and the anesthesiologist came in to answer questions. Because everything had been a whirlwind on Monday, I had a whole list that Nick and I compiled. Dr. Ghandi didn't mind, and answered everything we wanted to know. Have I said how much I like him?
At 9:30 on the dot, a nurse came and took Logan from me. She didn't let us say goodbye to him and I was so upset!! I wanted to chase her down the hallway and give my baby a kiss, but she walked too fast.
We went up to the waiting room where Dad, Doug and Martha (inlaws), Dad's pastor Heather, and my friends Jeanene and Noelle were waiting. Little did we know we'd be waiting for a long time! At 10:30, the volunteers phone rang. It was for us. My heart dropped. I was so scared to answer the phone, but I knew I had to be strong for my little boy. I answered it and thank God, it was only the nurse giving me an update (everything was going great), and telling us they'd give us another call if it went on for another hour.
I wasn't expecting a phone call at all, because the last surgery only took 45 minutes or so. It must be standard procedure, but it wasn't one we were prepared for! At 11:30, I am sitting waiting for a call. The volunteer says that Dr. Ghandi will be up in a few minutes so she puts us in a smaller private waiting room instead. Nick and I leave everyone and go wait in there.
It feels like an eternity, and Nick and I are seriously feeling ill at the moment. I looked at the garbage can and contemplate moving it closer to us just in case because that is how nervous we were. Finally, Dr. Ghandi comes in about an hour later. Why we sat in there so long I don't know.
He said they'd just finished closing him up and that he thought they were able to get it all. He recircumcised Logan, and then he had 2 other incisions as well. Poor guy.
We finally got to go down to recovery at 1:15, almost 4 hours since we'd seen him! The PACU (pediatric ambulatory care unit) was completely full, so we had to wait in the recovery room with him. He was passed out. They had given him some Demorol for the pain because he was definitely hurting. That was very hard sitting in that room, because we had to listen to a lot of other babies and young children waking up and crying after their surgeries. It broke my heart. Finally, about 1:30 or so, we got a room back in the PACU.
We were waiting for Logan to pee, and then they were going to send us home. I already didn't feel comfortable with that, because Logan's incision looked SO bad. At about 3, Noelle and I were the only ones in the room, and the nurse came in to check to see if he'd peed. A couple of minutes prior, Logan woke up absolutely screaming, and then fell back asleep in about two minutes. So the nurse opens up his diaper, and it was full of blood. Oh my God. I was so scared and upset. My poor baby! They paged Dr. Ghandi who was in another surgery and we had to wait for him to get out.
Finally, at about 4, he came in and explained that it was more than likely a blood clot that came out. He could see on my face that I really wasn't comfortable with leaving, so he asked me if I wanted us to stay, and I said yes. He immediately changed the orders. Have I mentioned I REALLY like this doctor??
So Nick, Doug and Martha left to go get some stuff for us to spend the night, and Noelle had to leave to go pick up Syris. Logan and I waited around in the PACU until 6:30 when they finally got us a bed in the regular ward.
The nurses in the ward were very nice. They brought in a chairbed for me to sleep in, and kept making sure we were ok. Not just Logan, but me too. About 3am, Logan had another blood clot with a diaper full of blood. I was so scared again, and I am so glad we spent the night! He was also running a fever of 101, so he received two doses of antibiotics through his IV.
The next day, around noon, Logan finally woke up from his anesthesia/pain med sleep. At about 4, Dr. Ghandi came back in and we went over discharge paperwork. He was explaining what we would need to come back in or call for, and then he said this "Listen to your Mommy intuition, as long as I've been a doctor, I've found that that is 99% right. But maybe it was my mom who told me that soooo...". I was so happy. To have a doctor actually say that was so awesome!
Anyway, so we took Logan home, and he has been steadily recovering. He was crawling around that night. He ended up sleeping in our bed for a few nights. One of us would take the couch and the other would sleep with Logan. By the Wednesday after the surgery, he was off the pain meds all together.
Sunday, Father's Day, he took his first steps. He walked from his toy to me which was about 3 steps.
Monday, I took him in for his post-op appointment and Dr. Ghandi said everything was looking great. We go in again on July 15, and he will be able to feel and hopefully tell us that it hasn't started growing again. Then we will be going every month until Dr. Ghandi and I feel comfortable graduating to longer time periods.
I am so grateful that we were placed in such excellent hands. He has been so proactive in Logan's treatment and recovery. I'm SO happy.
Now, we are trying to plan a first birthday party! Wow!! He can't be almost a year already, right?
On Sunday, I realized that I saw a lump in his scrotum again. I knew right then in my heart that his tumor had come back. I thought it had during his 9 month appointment in April, but the doctor thought it was probably scar tissue so I didn't worry about it.
Since it was already almost time for our checkup with the surgeon anyway, I decided to call first thing Monday morning. Well the morning rolls around, and when I went to change his diaper, he had not peed all night. I knew that was very bad because Logan will fill an entire diaper over the course of the night since he finally sleeps through. As soon as the surgeon's office opened, I gave them a call. They squeezed us in at 10:45am. We got in to see Dr. Pohlson, and she was very concerned that he wasn't peeing. She immediately sent us to the best pediatric urologist in town (well, right outside!) because she thought he needed a catheter. She also thought that he might be admitted to Mary Bridge that day. Nick and I were both extremely worried, and upset, as I'm sure most every parent would be. We thought we were done with this!
So we run home and pack a little overnight bag just in case. I didn't want to be stuck without a bag if we had to get Logan to the hospital. Then we drove out to Puyallup to meet with Dr. Ghandi.
Right away, I liked our new doctor. He was very thorough, and quick! He checked Logan's bladder and there was only 1 oz. of urine in it (he had finally been able to pee a little!) so we opted not to do a catheter. Thank goodness!
Then he did a physical examination. Logan's tumor was back in full force. He could feel them, and told us it was in three different places. One above and one below the urethra, and then one near the testes. He wanted to get us into surgery as soon as possible.
What?! 2 days ago, my son was a healthy little boy, playing with his little friends!
So he tried to get us in on Tuesday, but they were booked. So we scheduled for Thursday morning. The rest of the week until his surgery, Logan was becoming more and more agitated. I kept alternating Motrin and Tylenol to keep him out of pain, and we monitored wet diapers very closely. His tumor was growing so fast, you could literally see the difference in just a couple of days. It was also blocking the lymphatic vessel which caused a lost of swelling and discomfort.
So Thursday morning, we had to be at the hospital at 7:30am. Logan played with some toys and flirted it up with the nurses a little bit, but he was very hungry (couldn't eat formula since midnight, but hadn't had any since 7pm), and getting very tired. At about 8:45, they gave him a medicine that made him really loopy. He was talking to the wall, couldn't keep his eyes open, and when he reached for something, he couldn't tell where it was. We have a video I'll post of it soon.
At 9, Dr. Ghandi and the anesthesiologist came in to answer questions. Because everything had been a whirlwind on Monday, I had a whole list that Nick and I compiled. Dr. Ghandi didn't mind, and answered everything we wanted to know. Have I said how much I like him?
At 9:30 on the dot, a nurse came and took Logan from me. She didn't let us say goodbye to him and I was so upset!! I wanted to chase her down the hallway and give my baby a kiss, but she walked too fast.
We went up to the waiting room where Dad, Doug and Martha (inlaws), Dad's pastor Heather, and my friends Jeanene and Noelle were waiting. Little did we know we'd be waiting for a long time! At 10:30, the volunteers phone rang. It was for us. My heart dropped. I was so scared to answer the phone, but I knew I had to be strong for my little boy. I answered it and thank God, it was only the nurse giving me an update (everything was going great), and telling us they'd give us another call if it went on for another hour.
I wasn't expecting a phone call at all, because the last surgery only took 45 minutes or so. It must be standard procedure, but it wasn't one we were prepared for! At 11:30, I am sitting waiting for a call. The volunteer says that Dr. Ghandi will be up in a few minutes so she puts us in a smaller private waiting room instead. Nick and I leave everyone and go wait in there.
It feels like an eternity, and Nick and I are seriously feeling ill at the moment. I looked at the garbage can and contemplate moving it closer to us just in case because that is how nervous we were. Finally, Dr. Ghandi comes in about an hour later. Why we sat in there so long I don't know.
He said they'd just finished closing him up and that he thought they were able to get it all. He recircumcised Logan, and then he had 2 other incisions as well. Poor guy.
We finally got to go down to recovery at 1:15, almost 4 hours since we'd seen him! The PACU (pediatric ambulatory care unit) was completely full, so we had to wait in the recovery room with him. He was passed out. They had given him some Demorol for the pain because he was definitely hurting. That was very hard sitting in that room, because we had to listen to a lot of other babies and young children waking up and crying after their surgeries. It broke my heart. Finally, about 1:30 or so, we got a room back in the PACU.
We were waiting for Logan to pee, and then they were going to send us home. I already didn't feel comfortable with that, because Logan's incision looked SO bad. At about 3, Noelle and I were the only ones in the room, and the nurse came in to check to see if he'd peed. A couple of minutes prior, Logan woke up absolutely screaming, and then fell back asleep in about two minutes. So the nurse opens up his diaper, and it was full of blood. Oh my God. I was so scared and upset. My poor baby! They paged Dr. Ghandi who was in another surgery and we had to wait for him to get out.
Finally, at about 4, he came in and explained that it was more than likely a blood clot that came out. He could see on my face that I really wasn't comfortable with leaving, so he asked me if I wanted us to stay, and I said yes. He immediately changed the orders. Have I mentioned I REALLY like this doctor??
So Nick, Doug and Martha left to go get some stuff for us to spend the night, and Noelle had to leave to go pick up Syris. Logan and I waited around in the PACU until 6:30 when they finally got us a bed in the regular ward.
The nurses in the ward were very nice. They brought in a chairbed for me to sleep in, and kept making sure we were ok. Not just Logan, but me too. About 3am, Logan had another blood clot with a diaper full of blood. I was so scared again, and I am so glad we spent the night! He was also running a fever of 101, so he received two doses of antibiotics through his IV.
The next day, around noon, Logan finally woke up from his anesthesia/pain med sleep. At about 4, Dr. Ghandi came back in and we went over discharge paperwork. He was explaining what we would need to come back in or call for, and then he said this "Listen to your Mommy intuition, as long as I've been a doctor, I've found that that is 99% right. But maybe it was my mom who told me that soooo...". I was so happy. To have a doctor actually say that was so awesome!
Anyway, so we took Logan home, and he has been steadily recovering. He was crawling around that night. He ended up sleeping in our bed for a few nights. One of us would take the couch and the other would sleep with Logan. By the Wednesday after the surgery, he was off the pain meds all together.
Sunday, Father's Day, he took his first steps. He walked from his toy to me which was about 3 steps.
Monday, I took him in for his post-op appointment and Dr. Ghandi said everything was looking great. We go in again on July 15, and he will be able to feel and hopefully tell us that it hasn't started growing again. Then we will be going every month until Dr. Ghandi and I feel comfortable graduating to longer time periods.
I am so grateful that we were placed in such excellent hands. He has been so proactive in Logan's treatment and recovery. I'm SO happy.
Now, we are trying to plan a first birthday party! Wow!! He can't be almost a year already, right?
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Holy Moly!
Well, Logan is almost 11 months old now. Can you believe it? I surely can't. The time has flown by all too quickly it seems. He's such a big boy now! He's almost walking.. I'm sure by the time he's one he'll at least be taking a few steps. He is such a funny little kid. He's definitely got his daddy's personality, that's for sure! He laughs at everything, and now he's started trying to scare people. He will sit in his highchair and pretend to be asleep and then throw his hands in the air and go "ahhh!". He cracks me up. He also makes this face where everything is scrunched in together and then he wheezes!
He's eating a lot more food now, most of the time we just give him a little of whatever we are having. If we don't, we better watch out!
He loves to wrestle too. If Daddy or I (or both of us) are laying on the floor, we better be prepared for a pummeling of little body. He has absolutely no fear of anything. Not strangers, jumping of the bed, falling over toys or Mom and Dad.
For Memorial Day weekend, we were so lucky that we got to fly out to Colorado to see Amanda and my Mom. Amanda graduated High School (tears) and was the salutatorian of her class. Her speech made me bawl. She graduated with a class of 30 people (a lot different than my 350!!) and they took the time to say very nice things about each graduate. The graduate also got to write a thank you list that the announcer read. When they got to Amanda's, she made me cry so much (I think you can hear it on the video lol). She thanked Dad for being her hero, and I would just like to say right now that I feel the same way and that we all bawled for that. Then she thanked me for always knowing how to cheer her up. That was so sweet and I was really very touched by it. She also thanked Mom for being a good mom.
Logan did remarkably well during the trip. It was his first ever airplane trip and he was such a good little boy. On the way there we were traveling with my Dad, grandparents, aunt and uncle. Logan slept for part of the way and then ate and played with toys the rest of the time. Everyone on the plane commented how good he was!!
On the way home, I was a lot more nervous as I was traveling by myself with him. Grandma Dee and Grandpa Don took us to Denver (3 hours from Mom's), and Grandma Dee helped me get on an earlier flight since we were there so early and then took me to security. Thanks guys!!
We were delayed for an hour due to tornadoes in the area, yikes! The airport kept closing intermittently so they plane we were waiting to arrive took awhile to land. We finally got on the plane and then it took about another 45 minutes to actually take off since there were a lot of planes waiting. Logan got a little fussy in the airport but we walked in his stroller a lot and he finally fell asleep right before we got on the plane. He slept nearly the whole way home.
Before he fell asleep though, he made a little girlfriend. It was too cute. There was a little girl named Holly who was only 2 weeks older than Logan. They played ball, and tried to explore each others faces. They also sat by the escalator together and pounded on the window when they saw people. They were on our flight too. It was nice for Logan to have a distraction!! Thanks Holly and your Mom and Dad (who I didn't get their names..)
All in all Logan was a very good boy. He was definitely ready to be home though. 4 days without his toys, space, and own bed really took a toll on him. But he's back to being a happy camper. I can't wait to get home. :)
He's eating a lot more food now, most of the time we just give him a little of whatever we are having. If we don't, we better watch out!
He loves to wrestle too. If Daddy or I (or both of us) are laying on the floor, we better be prepared for a pummeling of little body. He has absolutely no fear of anything. Not strangers, jumping of the bed, falling over toys or Mom and Dad.
For Memorial Day weekend, we were so lucky that we got to fly out to Colorado to see Amanda and my Mom. Amanda graduated High School (tears) and was the salutatorian of her class. Her speech made me bawl. She graduated with a class of 30 people (a lot different than my 350!!) and they took the time to say very nice things about each graduate. The graduate also got to write a thank you list that the announcer read. When they got to Amanda's, she made me cry so much (I think you can hear it on the video lol). She thanked Dad for being her hero, and I would just like to say right now that I feel the same way and that we all bawled for that. Then she thanked me for always knowing how to cheer her up. That was so sweet and I was really very touched by it. She also thanked Mom for being a good mom.
Logan did remarkably well during the trip. It was his first ever airplane trip and he was such a good little boy. On the way there we were traveling with my Dad, grandparents, aunt and uncle. Logan slept for part of the way and then ate and played with toys the rest of the time. Everyone on the plane commented how good he was!!
On the way home, I was a lot more nervous as I was traveling by myself with him. Grandma Dee and Grandpa Don took us to Denver (3 hours from Mom's), and Grandma Dee helped me get on an earlier flight since we were there so early and then took me to security. Thanks guys!!
We were delayed for an hour due to tornadoes in the area, yikes! The airport kept closing intermittently so they plane we were waiting to arrive took awhile to land. We finally got on the plane and then it took about another 45 minutes to actually take off since there were a lot of planes waiting. Logan got a little fussy in the airport but we walked in his stroller a lot and he finally fell asleep right before we got on the plane. He slept nearly the whole way home.
Before he fell asleep though, he made a little girlfriend. It was too cute. There was a little girl named Holly who was only 2 weeks older than Logan. They played ball, and tried to explore each others faces. They also sat by the escalator together and pounded on the window when they saw people. They were on our flight too. It was nice for Logan to have a distraction!! Thanks Holly and your Mom and Dad (who I didn't get their names..)
All in all Logan was a very good boy. He was definitely ready to be home though. 4 days without his toys, space, and own bed really took a toll on him. But he's back to being a happy camper. I can't wait to get home. :)
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Goodbye Sweet Kayleigh
As I was checking out all of my favorite blogs this morning, I found the news that dear little Kayleigh Anne Freeman passed away peacefully yesterday. She has been such an amazing fighter her entire short life, and has really put a lot of things in perspective for me. Born at just 1 pound 1 oz in June 2008, Kayleigh has really been an inspiration. She's finally at home and in peace now. Goodbye sweet Kayleigh, I'll miss seeing your cute little face in your pictures.
God Bless the Freeman's.
God Bless the Freeman's.
Friday, May 8, 2009
To My Son
To my dear son Logan,
In a little over 24 hours, I will be celebrating my very first Mother's Day. I just wanted to say how much I love you and how grateful I am that I have been given the gift of motherhood. Every day, I look at you and think to myself, where has the time gone? From the first moment I laid eyes on you, I loved you with my whole heart. Just seeing your smile or hearing your laugh is enough to get me teary eyed.
Tonight, Daddy went to the store, and you and I just cuddled on the couch. I love those moments. You, listening to my heart beat, just like you did nearly 10 months ago, me, sniffing your hair and holding your hand. That was the best.
I feel like you are growing so fast. I have to remind myself everyday to stop and take in the small moments. Of course the big things are important too, but it will be the small everyday moments I will wish I would have remembered later. What made you laugh? How did that sweet little baby laugh sound? Those are things I don't want to forget.
I love you so much, Logan. I hope that one day you know that I do everything for you that I can. I hope you don't regret that I've had to miss so many important moments by being at school, or work. I do those things for you too.
Thank you for making me the happiest Mommy (or Mema) in the world. I love you,
Mommy
In a little over 24 hours, I will be celebrating my very first Mother's Day. I just wanted to say how much I love you and how grateful I am that I have been given the gift of motherhood. Every day, I look at you and think to myself, where has the time gone? From the first moment I laid eyes on you, I loved you with my whole heart. Just seeing your smile or hearing your laugh is enough to get me teary eyed.
Tonight, Daddy went to the store, and you and I just cuddled on the couch. I love those moments. You, listening to my heart beat, just like you did nearly 10 months ago, me, sniffing your hair and holding your hand. That was the best.
I feel like you are growing so fast. I have to remind myself everyday to stop and take in the small moments. Of course the big things are important too, but it will be the small everyday moments I will wish I would have remembered later. What made you laugh? How did that sweet little baby laugh sound? Those are things I don't want to forget.
I love you so much, Logan. I hope that one day you know that I do everything for you that I can. I hope you don't regret that I've had to miss so many important moments by being at school, or work. I do those things for you too.
Thank you for making me the happiest Mommy (or Mema) in the world. I love you,
Mommy
Monday, April 27, 2009
Happy Birthday Mommy!
Yesterday was pretty great. Daddy got up and made me breakfast, and then we all went to the park. Logan got to play on the swings, go down the slide, and have his first adventure in the grass! He didn't care for that too much.. After the park, we took a walk with Logan in the stroller, and then made a trip to Toys-R-Us to get Logan a walking toy. Seeing his face light up is the best present in the world! Anyway, I got some really good photo's of Logan yesterday for his "9 Month Pictures". I think they turned out pretty well! My little boy is growing up so fast!
In three weeks, we will be making the trip to Colorado to visit my mom and sister for her graduation. They haven't seen Logan since he was three weeks old in August. Boy are they going to be in for a shock! He is no longer a baby, but a very active, very much a little boy, will-be 10-month old. I'm excited but nervous at the same time. Going to Colorado we are on the same flight as my dad, aunt and uncle, and grandparents, but on the way home, it is just us. Yikes. Anyway, we'll make do!
Here are the great pictures! Enjoy. :)
In three weeks, we will be making the trip to Colorado to visit my mom and sister for her graduation. They haven't seen Logan since he was three weeks old in August. Boy are they going to be in for a shock! He is no longer a baby, but a very active, very much a little boy, will-be 10-month old. I'm excited but nervous at the same time. Going to Colorado we are on the same flight as my dad, aunt and uncle, and grandparents, but on the way home, it is just us. Yikes. Anyway, we'll make do!
Here are the great pictures! Enjoy. :)
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Aloha!
Once again, I've been bad. Nick and I went to Hawaii from the 12th-17th and we had an awesome time. Logan stayed with Nick's parents and my dad during the five days and he did great! We came home to him saying Bop-op (Poppa.. my dad), and Dada more frequently. Unfortunately, learning those two somehow made him forget how to say Mama. He started saying that on March 24th, but I haven't heard him say it since we got back. :(
Logan is sleeping SO much better. We had to do cry it out in his crib, but after about 3 weeks, he's finally got the idea, and he will usually go to sleep within five minutes of being in there. Twice this week, he hasn't cried at all! Yay! Everyone is getting a lot more, and better, sleep. Now we just need to work on naps. However, the past two days Logan's been in a funk and not wanted to nap at all for some reason.
On the 8th, we went in for Logan's 9 month appointment at the pediatrician. He was 19 pounds, 11 ounces and 27 3/4 inches long. My little baby is growing up so fast!!
I looked at him today and it just took my breath away at how fast these nine months have gone. What happened to that tiny little baby I brought home 9 months ago?? Where did this crazy, fearless, funny little boy come from??
He has such a personality now. He loves to wrestle and play with his toys. He loves his Cheerios for snacks, and squash and pasta for dinner. He likes pulling himself up and walking along the furniture. He keeps trying to climb the stairs. He is a little ham and smiles at anyone and everyone. He loves having his picture taken. He likes peek-a-boo and making funny faces. He tries to suck his toes but is having a harder and harder time reaching them. He makes raspberries, and blows his cheeks up with air. His feet are ticklish. He thinks its funny when you blow air in his face. His fat little feet don't fit in any shoes. As soon as he realizes "how" to walk, he will be walking. He has no fear whatsoever. He is trying to stand all by himself without holding on to anything. He likes chasing Mommy and Daddy around the island in the kitchen. He laughs to himself when he's crawling towards something he shouldn't. He makes me so happy.
I love my little boy.
Logan is sleeping SO much better. We had to do cry it out in his crib, but after about 3 weeks, he's finally got the idea, and he will usually go to sleep within five minutes of being in there. Twice this week, he hasn't cried at all! Yay! Everyone is getting a lot more, and better, sleep. Now we just need to work on naps. However, the past two days Logan's been in a funk and not wanted to nap at all for some reason.
On the 8th, we went in for Logan's 9 month appointment at the pediatrician. He was 19 pounds, 11 ounces and 27 3/4 inches long. My little baby is growing up so fast!!
I looked at him today and it just took my breath away at how fast these nine months have gone. What happened to that tiny little baby I brought home 9 months ago?? Where did this crazy, fearless, funny little boy come from??
He has such a personality now. He loves to wrestle and play with his toys. He loves his Cheerios for snacks, and squash and pasta for dinner. He likes pulling himself up and walking along the furniture. He keeps trying to climb the stairs. He is a little ham and smiles at anyone and everyone. He loves having his picture taken. He likes peek-a-boo and making funny faces. He tries to suck his toes but is having a harder and harder time reaching them. He makes raspberries, and blows his cheeks up with air. His feet are ticklish. He thinks its funny when you blow air in his face. His fat little feet don't fit in any shoes. As soon as he realizes "how" to walk, he will be walking. He has no fear whatsoever. He is trying to stand all by himself without holding on to anything. He likes chasing Mommy and Daddy around the island in the kitchen. He laughs to himself when he's crawling towards something he shouldn't. He makes me so happy.
I love my little boy.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Long time no see!
Wow.. I can't believe it has been almost a month since I have updated this!! I have been a bad blogger, slap my hand, it's ok.
Let's see... Logan is doing GREAT with recovery! He is completely healed, and you really would have absolutely no idea that he had surgery. He is crawling up a storm now, and is pulling himself up on all the furniture, he even has the bruises to prove it. Just kidding, no bruises yet, but he has taken some falls poor kid.
He is such a stinkin' cute little kid. He started saying Mama on Tuesday, I am so happy! He did it the first time at Dad's house, but I was lucky enough to be there too! Yay!
We got him a play yard and an ABC foam floor so now he can play in the living room without scaring us by falling on the hard woods. Also, a lady in my math class was so nice and gave us a ton of GeoTrax (plastic train sets with remote controls) so Daddy and I set that whole thing up in the living room (we'll move it upstairs soon!). It was so funny, Nick and I were acting like little kids at Christmas setting it up. It is too cute. After I got batteries, we started playing with it, and Logan was terrified. He is terrified of anything new. But by this morning, he was crawling around like Godzilla breaking apart the track and eating the trains. I have pictures, I will upload them later.
As for Nick and I, we are going to Hawaii!! In two weeks, we are taking a baby free vacation in the sun! Woohoo! I am so excited.
Today I am taking the first of my big certification exams.. wish me luck!
I will try and update sooner next time....
K
Let's see... Logan is doing GREAT with recovery! He is completely healed, and you really would have absolutely no idea that he had surgery. He is crawling up a storm now, and is pulling himself up on all the furniture, he even has the bruises to prove it. Just kidding, no bruises yet, but he has taken some falls poor kid.
He is such a stinkin' cute little kid. He started saying Mama on Tuesday, I am so happy! He did it the first time at Dad's house, but I was lucky enough to be there too! Yay!
We got him a play yard and an ABC foam floor so now he can play in the living room without scaring us by falling on the hard woods. Also, a lady in my math class was so nice and gave us a ton of GeoTrax (plastic train sets with remote controls) so Daddy and I set that whole thing up in the living room (we'll move it upstairs soon!). It was so funny, Nick and I were acting like little kids at Christmas setting it up. It is too cute. After I got batteries, we started playing with it, and Logan was terrified. He is terrified of anything new. But by this morning, he was crawling around like Godzilla breaking apart the track and eating the trains. I have pictures, I will upload them later.
As for Nick and I, we are going to Hawaii!! In two weeks, we are taking a baby free vacation in the sun! Woohoo! I am so excited.
Today I am taking the first of my big certification exams.. wish me luck!
I will try and update sooner next time....
K
Friday, February 27, 2009
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Logan's Update on his surgery
Everything went very well. We were very pleased with our doctor! We got to the hospital a few minutes before noon. We went up to the Pediatric Ambulatory Care Unit, or PACU. They checked Logan in, and all of the nurses fell in love with him. He of course, was hamming it up and was a very happy boy. Even though he hadn't eaten since 6:45am!
We hung out in his little room for about an hour, we brought him some toys and he was playing. Grandma and Grandpa Keogh were there, along with Poppa. He started getting really tired, so I rocked him to sleep. He was asleep for maybe 10 minutes when the surgeon came in to talk with us. She marked which side the mass was on, and told us exactly how they were going to do the surgery.
After that, the anesthesiologist came in and explained what they were going to use for anesthesia. They used a general anesthetic at first, and then they gave him basically an epidural, but a little lower, they called it something else but I can't remember it now.
After they were both in there, the surgical nurse came in, and then they got ready to take him back to the OR. At this point, our parents went up ahead to the waiting area, and Nick and I said goodbye to Logan. The nurse took the little hospital crib back to the room while Nick and I carried Logan. Then she took him from us in the hallway. While she was walking down, Logan was staring at us over her shoulder, and he actually waved. For the first time. That was the hardest part of the day for me. As soon as we walked out into the main hallway, I started bawling. My poor little baby.
After they put him under, they gave him a Foley catheter to protect the urinary tract, put in an IV (it ended up in his foot, they tried his hand though, so he's got a bruise), and put in a breathing tube.
We went up to the waiting room where there was no phone reception. We had to walk to a different part of the hospital to actually get reception. We sent out texts, and made phone calls. Then we sat and waited.
It was actually only about an hour from when we left Logan that the updating board said he was being closed up.
About twenty minutes later, the surgeon came up to talk to us. She said she got the whole mass, and it didn't look like cancerous tissue, it looked more like fibrous tissue, but we'll have to wait for the pathologist report to be certain. There was a bit of a problem after they closed him. He started oozing pretty bad from the incision, so she reopened him and made sure everything was ok. The second time he was closed, there was no oozing.
After she finished we waited for another ten minutes or so, until they said Nick and I could go back down to PACU.
When we got there, Logan was playing with three nurses. He didn't even realize we were there for about ten minutes!! He was in an extremely good mood for just having surgery. When he realized we were there, he just wanted Mommy. We sat with him for another hour or so. We fed him a bottle (he wasn't very hungry though). At about 5 we were discharged.
To get him home, I had to loosen his car seat and that totally scared me, but it was the only way to get him home. I sat in the back with him and he was ok..just tired. Last night he was pretty uncomfortable, moaning a lot. We can only give him Tylenol or Motrin, but so far he's doing well.
Today he is very happy and playing a lot. He is such a little trooper!
Here are some pictures. :)
These are all before the surgery:
I LOVE this one!
With FIL:
This is right after the surgery... how we found him playing with the nurses. He didn't even realize we were there for a good ten minutes, he was too busy playing!
After he realized we were there, he only wanted Mommy.
And today, he has been playing and playing! He is in such a good mood. He is still a little sore, and he is very swollen, but he is such a happy boy.
We hung out in his little room for about an hour, we brought him some toys and he was playing. Grandma and Grandpa Keogh were there, along with Poppa. He started getting really tired, so I rocked him to sleep. He was asleep for maybe 10 minutes when the surgeon came in to talk with us. She marked which side the mass was on, and told us exactly how they were going to do the surgery.
After that, the anesthesiologist came in and explained what they were going to use for anesthesia. They used a general anesthetic at first, and then they gave him basically an epidural, but a little lower, they called it something else but I can't remember it now.
After they were both in there, the surgical nurse came in, and then they got ready to take him back to the OR. At this point, our parents went up ahead to the waiting area, and Nick and I said goodbye to Logan. The nurse took the little hospital crib back to the room while Nick and I carried Logan. Then she took him from us in the hallway. While she was walking down, Logan was staring at us over her shoulder, and he actually waved. For the first time. That was the hardest part of the day for me. As soon as we walked out into the main hallway, I started bawling. My poor little baby.
After they put him under, they gave him a Foley catheter to protect the urinary tract, put in an IV (it ended up in his foot, they tried his hand though, so he's got a bruise), and put in a breathing tube.
We went up to the waiting room where there was no phone reception. We had to walk to a different part of the hospital to actually get reception. We sent out texts, and made phone calls. Then we sat and waited.
It was actually only about an hour from when we left Logan that the updating board said he was being closed up.
About twenty minutes later, the surgeon came up to talk to us. She said she got the whole mass, and it didn't look like cancerous tissue, it looked more like fibrous tissue, but we'll have to wait for the pathologist report to be certain. There was a bit of a problem after they closed him. He started oozing pretty bad from the incision, so she reopened him and made sure everything was ok. The second time he was closed, there was no oozing.
After she finished we waited for another ten minutes or so, until they said Nick and I could go back down to PACU.
When we got there, Logan was playing with three nurses. He didn't even realize we were there for about ten minutes!! He was in an extremely good mood for just having surgery. When he realized we were there, he just wanted Mommy. We sat with him for another hour or so. We fed him a bottle (he wasn't very hungry though). At about 5 we were discharged.
To get him home, I had to loosen his car seat and that totally scared me, but it was the only way to get him home. I sat in the back with him and he was ok..just tired. Last night he was pretty uncomfortable, moaning a lot. We can only give him Tylenol or Motrin, but so far he's doing well.
Today he is very happy and playing a lot. He is such a little trooper!
Here are some pictures. :)
These are all before the surgery:
I LOVE this one!
With FIL:
This is right after the surgery... how we found him playing with the nurses. He didn't even realize we were there for a good ten minutes, he was too busy playing!
After he realized we were there, he only wanted Mommy.
And today, he has been playing and playing! He is in such a good mood. He is still a little sore, and he is very swollen, but he is such a happy boy.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Please Keep Logan in Your Prayers
We are going in for surgery tomorrow morning at 10am. He is having the solid mass removed from his scrotal sac. The blood tests showed last week that the tumor marker is high, so we are anxiously waiting to hear back from the pathologist. Hopefully we will know by Monday what we are dealing with. Logan obviously has no idea what's going on, so it's only Mom and Dad that are freaking out! He will be at Mary Bridge Children's Hospital. One of the major risks is damage to nerves and the urinary tract. The doctor is going to put in a Foley Catheter to try and keep that from happening. She said she will try and make it outpatient, however, depending on how he's doing, I might push for one night in the hospital.
Please keep thinking about our little boy. Until we get the all clear, I'm going to be on pins and needles.
Thanks,
Kristin
Please keep thinking about our little boy. Until we get the all clear, I'm going to be on pins and needles.
Thanks,
Kristin
Sunday, February 15, 2009
New Pictures!!
In the SleepyWrap! He's gotten so much bigger... I wish I had a picture on here from when I first got it!
Starting to crawl!
In his brand new car seat! The Britax Boulevard in Onyx!! Thanks Poppa!!
I'll have some videos uploaded soon!!
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Monday, January 26, 2009
New Pictures!
Here are a bunch of new pictures for your enjoyment!
Standing at the toy box!
Playing in the new Jumperoo!
First meal in the highchair! MMMMM green beans!
Playing in his highchair!
At Grandma's house in the bath (sink)!
Baby toes (and ankle rolls) in the bath at home!
Yeah, I like to suck my toes.. so what? Can YOU?
Look at those toofers!!! And the hat of course, hehehe.
Hanging out with Bert and the rest of his toys!
Always has his thumb in his mouth now!
Hanging out like a big boy with Mommy at Grandma's house. Sitting up all by himself!!
That's it for now, enjoy!
Standing at the toy box!
Playing in the new Jumperoo!
First meal in the highchair! MMMMM green beans!
Playing in his highchair!
At Grandma's house in the bath (sink)!
Baby toes (and ankle rolls) in the bath at home!
Yeah, I like to suck my toes.. so what? Can YOU?
Look at those toofers!!! And the hat of course, hehehe.
Hanging out with Bert and the rest of his toys!
Always has his thumb in his mouth now!
Hanging out like a big boy with Mommy at Grandma's house. Sitting up all by himself!!
That's it for now, enjoy!
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Update on Logan
I can't remember if I wrote this on here or not. At his 6 month appointment, the doctor felt a lump in Logan's right testicle. He sent us to get an ultrasound this past Monday. The tech couldn't find the lump or anything while we were there, but I don't think they knew exactly where to look. The lump is kind of up and behind his right testicle.
Anyway, I just got a call from the doctor, and he wants us to still consult a pediatric surgeon to get a second opinion. He is going to recommend someone for us, and their office will make sure that our insurance covers it before they call me back. I should hear something more by Monday I am expecting.
I feel bad for the little guy, but I am very happy that our doctor is on the same page as I am. We both know there is something there, and even though the ultrasound didn't find anything, he still wants to make sure. That makes me feel great that we are in good hands.
Anyway, I just got a call from the doctor, and he wants us to still consult a pediatric surgeon to get a second opinion. He is going to recommend someone for us, and their office will make sure that our insurance covers it before they call me back. I should hear something more by Monday I am expecting.
I feel bad for the little guy, but I am very happy that our doctor is on the same page as I am. We both know there is something there, and even though the ultrasound didn't find anything, he still wants to make sure. That makes me feel great that we are in good hands.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Logan is a big boy!
We had Logan's 6 month appointment last Wednesday, the 14th.
He weighs 17 pounds, 6 oz and is 27 inches long! Such a big boy. He is now rolling both directions, and likes to roll all over the living room (including trying to get under the couch! that little sneaker!) He is sitting up unassisted now, and loves playing with his toys. He so badly wants to crawl, and I don't think it will be much more than a couple of weeks! (yikes!)
He tried carrots last week and loved them, and last night had peas for the first time. He really likes his veggies, because he scarfed those down too! He will get green beans in a couple of days, then sweet potatoes, and then we are off to fruits!
He weighs 17 pounds, 6 oz and is 27 inches long! Such a big boy. He is now rolling both directions, and likes to roll all over the living room (including trying to get under the couch! that little sneaker!) He is sitting up unassisted now, and loves playing with his toys. He so badly wants to crawl, and I don't think it will be much more than a couple of weeks! (yikes!)
He tried carrots last week and loved them, and last night had peas for the first time. He really likes his veggies, because he scarfed those down too! He will get green beans in a couple of days, then sweet potatoes, and then we are off to fruits!
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Some pictures!
Logan's first toofer! (I hope you can see it, it's so hard to take pictures of them!
Some of the new house:
New couches
Logan's play area in the living room
Logan's room!
Logan's stuff
Logan got moved too!
Sittin' in a box.
I promise I'll be good Mommy. Please don't send me away :(
Asleep in his swing for the first time!
Some of the new house:
New couches
Logan's play area in the living room
Logan's room!
Logan's stuff
Logan got moved too!
Sittin' in a box.
I promise I'll be good Mommy. Please don't send me away :(
Asleep in his swing for the first time!
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