Happy Halloween! It's a JUNGLE out there

Had a fun day at home today for Halloween!

Because Logan really can't be around any other kids yet we had to stay home and pass on the Halloween parties and Trick-or-Treating.  We still had a great time getting them dressed up in their Monkey and Giraffe costumes.  Madison is always a goof and Logan has been getting better and better each day.  Thought you might enjoy seeing a few pics of them from today.

All of us....Recovering

Thought I would drop another pic of his favorite TShirt...

We got home on Monday night and have been trying to catch up on life after being gone for a week.

Logan is doing pretty well.  He has definately been having some issues of non-stop crying spells for a bit.  Not sure if it's pain or if it's just his system getting used to food and flushing out things.  Overall he seems to be good though.  He gets the stitches taken out on Friday of this week from where the drain tubes were in his abdomen.  Thought about cutting them out myself...but opted to let the pro's do it instead.

Madison is happy to be back home.  She has been a little under the weather and we think she has allergies.  Kind of hard to believe that a small child would have allergies...but something is definately going on with her and everything we looked up points to allergies.  She gave us a rough time last night up every 30 minutes (Yawn).

Jen is hanging in there the best that she can.  She is the ultimate mother and partner!  She takes care of the twins every day & night...helps me with work constantly and somehow keeps our household in order.  I have no idea how she does it all.  I do think it's totally getting to her and she really needs a break.  Wish I had the answers, but we just keep taking it one day at a time and know that as long as we have each other and our family, all will be ok.

I have been stressed out to the max.  There is some huge pressure lifted now that we made it through Logan's surgery.  I did wake up this morning and could feel that every muscle (and I use that term loosly) in my body was tense.  I think that with everything we have going on right now, it has really taken a toll.  Hopefully the next few days will prove productive and by the weekend I can start to unwind a bit.  I still don't think I have completely processed that Logan's heart is fixed and that he will be ok.  I catch myself thinking about what a strong little boy Logan is and how he went through that like a champ. 

We want to thank everyone for following along and offering support in the many different ways that you all have!  It's wonderful to have so many good friends!  We are going to keep up this blog with updates on how Logan is recovering and some insight on how we are coping as a family.  We were reading another blog about someone's child that had TOF surgery last night and they had a question about how to deal with when your child asks about his/her scar.  We saw all kinds of responses where other kids dealt with it in many different ways.  A whole new thing we hadn't even thought about.  We are just glad he is ok...and we can deal with the other stuff.  Sorry for the ramble.  Will update more between now and over the weekend.

WE ARE ALL HOME AGAIN!

Hi everyone!  We are home!  They released us earlier today.  Will update some more in a bit after we get settled.

Just glad to be home.  As Dorothy would say "There's no place like home!"

Sunday Evening Update

Not a whole lot to report this evening.  Jen and I went and got some dinner while Logan was taking a nap and got a bath.  One of his favorite Nurses is watching him tonight and she does such an awesome job.  What a relief!

Things still look good for us to go home tomorrow, but I'm sure I will get the final word tomorrow morning when the Dr's are doing their rounds.  Glad the weekend is over.  Never thought I would say that.  Interesting how your perspective can change your outlook.

Right now Logan is sleeping and all his heart rate and O2 look great.  Hope you all have a wonderful evening.  Say a little prayer that Logan has a great night and gets to come home tomorrow!

Logan gets his way!

Logan finally got his way and now has both hands to chew on.  His last IV was taken out about 30 minutes ago.  Not by choice of the Dr's.  Just happend that the nurse didn't bother to check to see if it was still good and started pumping some Morphine into it.  His hand started swelling up and the Mophine mixture started running down his arm.  Not the first time that this happend today!  Another indicator other than the clear liquid running down his arm was the ear piercing scream coming out of Logan's lungs.  I better not get started.  Can you get a Nursing Credential from a Cracker Jack box?  Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of good ones here too.  Most of them are fantastic!

In any case, Logan is much happier now that the IV that was casing him pain all day is finally out and he can once again suck on that hand.  Jen is going stir crazy and starting to do little dances around this place.  I think it helps keep her sane.  Hmm...not sure she ever was to begin with though!  :-)

Logan really looks good.  Heart rate has been good all day.  I'm fairly certain we are heading home tomorrow.  What an adventure this has been so far.  It just tears up my stomach every time I think about what this little guy had to endure over the last week.  He is truly a tough little Logasaurus!  I'm so proud of him.  We both miss Madison somthing fierce!  Hopefully we can all be back together and in our own beds tomorrow!

Possibly coming home tomorrow!!!!

Logan had a really good night last night.  He started to get back on more of his normal schedule with eating and sleeping.  His heart rate dropped back to a normal level all night and he was doing really good this morning.

The Dr's just came by and had to replace some of his bandaging over his wound.  Logan was not happy about that one bit.  But he is finally calm again.

They also told us that they want to keep us here one more day just to be safe especially with his weird airway.  They are really impressed with his progress and would normally send him home today....but in his case it looks like tomorrow!  It's not 100% yet.  But I would bet on it!  Wow, I can't believe we are finally going to go home.

Being in here is really starting to wear on both Jen and I.  Some nurses are terriffic and some shouldn't have a job here at all.  We are managing though and have been really demanding the things we want for him.  Jen is really doing awesome with Logan.  More later...that's all for now.

What a trooper!

Logan had another Echo Cardiogram last night.  He did exceptionally well with letting the Dr. poke at him with the wand.  Then again the Dr. was great with him too.

The Echo looked great and there didn't seem to be any concern about his heart.  His EKG they did earlier as well came back normal.

Jen ended up staying with Logan next to his bed and sent me back to RMH to get some sleep.

Dear Lord...What Now?

So hello everyone.  Logan is less than enthused today.  He did get those lines out today but hes been a crank all day long.  His heart rate has been rather high all afternoon.  So high that I had to call the nurses in to check it out.  I finally convinced them that they needed to call one of the Doctors, and they finally did.

He wasn't eating too well earlier today and he was also constipated.  We fixed the constipation and finally got him to eat some.  Hopefully that was the cause of his distress today.  They opted to run and EKG to check out why his heart was beating so fast today.  One of the Attending Dr's also stopped by and mentioned that he would be watching things and he would run an Echo later tonight if he felt that Logan's heart rate hadn't improved.  They just came in and are going to run the Echo right now.  Gotta run...more later after the results.

Happy Guy! Chest Tubes, Heart Wires and Arterial Line are OUT!

It's been an eventful night and morning for Logan.  They moved Logan last night about 10PM out of ICU into the transition unit.  Basically 1 Nurse to 3 patients.  I'm not exactly thrilled with the care in this unit...but I'm glad he is well enough to be out of ICU.  HUGE difference in the level of care in this unit but understandable.  Pretty much they check on him only when he is fussing or something is wrong.  I could be a little biased though.

Just a few minutes ago they removed his chest tubes and wires!  YEAH!!!!  He should be a lot more comfortable now.  It sure looked painful to have all that stuff comming out of you.

Might get to come home tomorow or Monday.  Will find out more later and keep everyone posted.

Happy & have all my friends around me!

Logan made a good friend of one of the Nurses who catered to his every want and need!  Logan told him that he would like to sit up and have all his furry friends around him while he watched TV.  And Eric made it so!

Does this picture not just make you smile?

Pretty much most of the same this afternoon with Logan napping, hanging out with his toys and watching the same Baby Einstein DVD for about the 100th time.  Somehow he just never gets bored of it.  I guess Morphine makes it seem different each time.  :-)

We heard definate rumors of them taking out some of the lines and tubes tomorrow.  That should make Logan much more comfortable and happy.  It would be nice to see him not need so much pain medication.  Logan hopes everyone has a wonderful Friday evening.

The Logasaurus finds his thumb!

Regardless of how much tape and stuff they have wrapped around his hand, Logan still manages to wiggle his thumb out of it and suck on it.  Of course he has to have his little dinosaur stuffed animal next to him most of the time!

Logan has had a pretty restful day.  He's become quite the attraction around here and has been putting out lots of smiles to the whole team in the ICU.  He's been increasing his volume of formula intake today but still not up to normal. 

On another note, I will (hopefully) do a post shortly about another little girl here in the ICU that really needs your prayers and thoughts.  I don't want to post too much without talking to her father first.  She's only a month old and has been here since birth.  Being here, you realize how precious life really is and what's really important. 

I hear Logan making some more dinosaur groans because he's hungry and a little uncomfortable from some pain.  I think they are going to give him a Tylenol suppository.  Fun!

Happy Friday Everyone!

Logan is a Happy guy this morning.  He had a great night with eating, sleeping and a little crying...but they said he did great!

Right now he just ate about 2oz of forumula and is kicking back watching a Baby Einstein DVD.  The are telling us that they may move him to a different room today.  Tommorrow they are planning on removing his Arterial line and a couple of his chest tubes.

Logan definately has some of the nurses wrapped around his finger.  I think 3 of them want him to be thier boyfriend. 

Thanks for everyone's continued support.  It seems like we have been here forever.  It's kind of a blurrr and I can't believe it's already Friday.  My office is doing fantastic without me.  Hope you keep checking back and keep saying prayers for him.  We aren't home yet, but he is definately making progress.  More later.

When can I go home?

Logan has decided that he is now checking his own monitors to decide when he gets to go home.

He has had a very uneventful day today which is what we want.  Logan did get a crash course on all the machines that are monitoring him and he decided to send the nurses home for the evening so they could get some rest.

Actually, he is doing very well.  They may take some more lines out of him tomorrow.  Meanwhile he is just hanging out getting rest and getting better.

BINGO!

Looks like the Logasaurus is a lucky little guy.  Logan got to play hospital Bingo from his bed today and actually won Bingo!  He had his Mom go to the play room and choose his prize for him.

Not a whole lot to report today.  Logan has been awake most of the day with a few naps here and there.  He's been eating formula every 2 hours and been pretty fussy at times.  As long as they manage his pain and keep him fed, then he tends to want to just watch some Baby Einstein DVDs on the TV in his room.

He wants to hold his Grandma's hand alot which helps keep him from scratching himself.  I guess his face itches some from where there was some medical tape.

Good Morning! Logan was hungry.

Good Morning Everyone!  Logan had a good night...although a bit fussy.  He was starving this morning and definately wanted something to eat.

Glad they let us give him a bottle this morning or else who knows what havoc would have been created.  I will tell you it's definately a bit awkward trying to burp him right now.  Lots of tubes and wires and we have to prop him up very carefully.

Logan just had another chest X-Ray and we will have the results back soon.  We are aniticipating that Logan is going to have a great "Attitude Thursday!"  Will keep posts coming today as we get more info.  Thanks again for all of your support.

Stop the Presses!!!! Logasaurus spotted in San Francisco!

If you happend to miss today's Chronicle...here is a picture of the front page.  Even the paper knows that there is a Logasaurus in town!

We saw this paper in the stand on the way back to RMH from dinner tonight.  Had some pretty decent mexican food at Tortilla Heights tonight.

Jen is really having a difficult time being away from Madison and not being able to hold either of our babies for 48 hours now.  It's definately difficult on both of us...but we both keep each other going by knowing that hopefully this will be behind us soon and we will all be home together.  We just called and checked on Logan at UCSF.  He woke up and was rather cranky...they gave him some more Morphine and he seems to be doing much better now.  They won't be doing anything but making him comfortable and letting him get lots of sleep tonight.

Madison...my little angel is doing a great job of keeping her Grandparents on their toes.  We miss her so much but are also glad that she doesn't have to be exposed to some of this.  I think that's it for the night...we are going to get some more rest and head back to UCSF first thing in the morning.  Everyone at UCSF has been OUTSTANDING!  Anyone reading this that may be heading to UCSF for something similar....trust us....you are in great hands here! 

Logan said to tell everyone to get lots of rest tonight and check back tomorrow!  He sent out a little dinosaur Roarrrrr!

Peek-a-Boo! The Logasaurus takes his first look around!

True to his name...Logan woke up...peeked at us and let out a wonderful little dinosaur groan.

I think he was a little frustrated about being restrained and had a little pain.  A quick dose of Morphine and he's doing much better.  Good call by the nurses or else they would have had a "Godzilla" situation on thier hands.  Logazilla?

They are actually taking him off the oxygen mask and moving him to a nasal cannula for oxygen.  They have been working towards this all day...so this is great.  He's pretty doped up on the Morphine now...but definately awake.  He was holding onto Jen's finger a few minutes ago.  It's great to see his little eyes.

Heidi...I know you have been waiting for this post!  Thanks again to everyone for the great notes.  It's wonderful to have the support from all of you that we have!

On a side note...every time one of these alarms goes off in Logan's ICU room becuase somthing just isn't quite right with him...it reminds me of that ding on the Southwest Airlines commercial.  "Wanna get away?"  Speaking of...Jen asked one of the nurses here when her baby was due.  Turns out that the woman isn't pregnant.  Uhm...that was an awkward moment to be standing in the middle of!  She's gonna kill me for writing about this.

Logan is breathing on his own!

The ventilator machine next to Logan's bed says "Standby - Not Ventilating!" which means Logan is not connected to the ventilator.  He is breathing 100% on his own.

He is still groggy and they really want him to sleep off some of the drugs right now.

His right lung is fully inflated and working properly again.

Good Morning Everyone!

Good Morning everyone!  We are back at the ICU with Logan.  He had a good night here.  The team worked hard to re-inflate his right lung.  They took some X-Ray's and it looks great now.

They are taking him off the drug that keeps him from moving around.  Hopefully he will do well and then be able to take the breathing tube out this morning. 

Logan looks swollen mostly.  He has a bunch of tubes coming out of him...but Jen and I both agree that he looks better than either of us had expected.  He's a little shy...so once he recovers more...then we will post some more pics.  Jen and I were able to get some sleep last night and feel much more rested today.  It feels like a great day!

Logasaurus Roll Anyone?

If you are in San Fran and looking for a good Logasaurus roll...then you have to try Godzilla Sushi.

Jen and I took a walk around the neighborhood and came across this place.  Great Sushi and an excellent Logasaurus roll!

Not sure what a Logasaurus roll is?  You will have to ask Logan to bring you here and try it yourself.

LOGAN UPDATE

Hi everyone!  Thanks to all of you for the calls and emails...and especially the prayers.  Logan is in the ICU and still doing pretty well.  The latest is that he has a partially collapsed right lung.  It's the upper lobe on the right lung that is collapsed a bit.  The ICU staff says that this is not abnormal to see.  They are working hard on him to make sure he is stable and to get that lobe inflated and working properly again.

It seems like this has been the longest day of our lives and we are totally exhausted.  We are back at the RMH and going to get a bite to eat and try to catch up on some sleep.  The ICU promises to call us no matter what time if something serious develops with Logan.  Otherwise we will be back there first light...provided we can actually sleep.

Please keep him in your prayers as he has some challenges ahead the next few days to recover.  Logan is definately known down at the hospital as doing things on his terms...and the entire staff totally adores him!

The Logasaurus is out of surgery and in the ICU!

Logan is out of surgery and doing well in ICU!  He is heavily sedated and given a drug to keep him paralyzed so that he cannot remove his breathing tube.

We haven't yet spoken with his surgeon becuase he had another surgery immediately following Logan's.  From what we have been told so far though...everything went well during surgery.

As we get some more info we will update later.  Just wanted everyone to know he is out and doing well in ICU.  He is still on a breathing tube and will be on it at least until tomorrow.

UPDATE

Quick Update!  Julie the most woderful Nurse Coordinator in the world just stopped by and said that Logan's surgeon just called her from the O.R. and everything is going wonderfully!  It will still be a few more hours....but things are going great!

Logan is in Surgery!

Logan is in surgery.  We took him down to the O.R. at about 6:40 am.  We did some paperwork...pretty much those releases that you never want to have to sign...but have to anyways.

The head of Anesthesiology and the head of E.N.T. both came in and assured us that they would be able to get Logan intubated properly this morning.  They actually wanted us to wait there for about 20 minutes until it was completed and they could let us know that he was indeed intubated.  Sure enough...they came out and told us that he was fine and things were going perfectly!  That was a load off our minds.

Now we are in the waiting area (the fish room) again and praying that all is going well for the little Logasaurus.  Please keep your prayers coming.  Will keep you posted as we hear anything.

Going Bananas!

We got checked in and to our room.  They had to run some tests on Logan today and put an IV in his hand.  He wasn't too thrilled with any of it.  The staff decided he might be more cooperative with a sedative...and they were right!

They completed the tests and got to take a nap this afternoon.  Sure wish I could crawl in bed with him and snuggle with him right now.  Jen and I are holding up pretty well.  I was able to get us checked in at the Ronald McDonald house and just got back to the hospital a little while ago.

This picture is a bit deceiving...right now Jen is pacing up and down the halls with Logan in her arms desperately trying to get the Logasaurus to calm down.  Looks like it worked...she just walked back into the room and he is quiet in her arms now.  I think we have a long night ahead of us.  His surgery is first thing in the morning.

We are here and getting admitted again!

We made it to San Francisco and Logan is excited to see his team of Dr's and Nurses!  Can you tell?  He's wearing his favorite new T-Shirt from Grandma and Grandpa Woodland.  He does miss his sister though...as do we.

We are in admitting and waiting for a bed on the 7th floor.  Soon we will be up there and starting some tests that need to be done today.

We also were notified that we will have a room again at the Ronald McDonald house!  Wow...that just made life so much easier on us.  Another plug for the Ronald McDonald house...please take a minute and donate a few dollars....see the button on the right.

Logan the Logasaurus says thanks everyone...please say lots of prayers too!

Madison is once again at her Grandparents and we already miss her again!

The Logasaurus (and us) wanted to say thank you to everyone for all your support.  This is proving to be a very difficult time for us...but everyone's support has really made a difference!  We can't say enough about the twins groups!  SacMoms stopped by with a basket of goodies tonight too!  Meg, Larissa and the rest of the group are great.  The support from both GCMoms and SacMoms has been overwhelming...Thank You!  We truly appreciate all of the calls, emails, and cards from you all!

We are now in that awkward countdown mode.  Our stomachs ache with the nervousness of what's ahead.  It's a little easier right now knowing what to expect when we get to UCSF in the Mornng.  We are truly blessed that the team at UCSF knows who Logan is and they are ready for him.  Please keep Logan in your prayers!

Madison & Logan playing together before Logan goes to UCSF

Madison and Logan had fun this afternoon playing together before Logan has to go back to UCSF tomorrow. 

Madison is going to miss her brother while he is gone!

Lunch for Logan

Hey everyone...I hope you are all well.  We are on the countdown to take Logan back to UCSF on Monday morning.  We will be updating the blog more often again...so keep checking back!

On another note...here's your chance to do something good!  Can you go without lunch for a day?  Why not take the $5 or $10 dollars you would have spent on lunch for a day and do something good with it.  I've put a link in the right hand column on the front page that will allow you to donate to the Ronald McDonald house.  A few dollars really goes a long way.  The Ronald McDonald house helps so many families with seriously ill children.  If you can spare a couple bucks...then make a quick donation right now...it really only takes about 2 minutes.

Ahhh...Sundays! Just reading the Sunday paper with the old man.

Logan decided he wanted to just hang out and read the paper today.  His sister Madison decided to take a nap and catch up on her sleep after a night out clubbin!...Just kidding Mom!

Logan and Madison had a fun time last night with Kiara and Aiden and can't wait to see them again soon.  Maddi really loved to play with both of them.

Logan has been really trying to stay healthy for his upcoming new surgery date now only 9 days away. 

The Logasaurus has his first tooth!

That's right...Logan has his first tooth.  I was wondering what he was using to chomp down on his bouncer.  Yesterday we were all out eatinig sushi and noticed that Logan had cut his first tooth....upper middle.

Madison has been drooling...but no sign of any teeth yet for her.

Back to work

We are back at home and at work today.  Jen had a rough night with Madison last night.  For some reason Madison was crying about every 10 minutes all night long.  I think she was just getting even with us for leaving her.

Logan's voice is a little rough as his throat is still healing from the irritation.  He is definately happy to be home though.  Now it's time for us to try to get our heads back into normal life for a few weeks and get ready to do it all over again.