|
|
Well it turns out that Logan's biggest problem last week was probably a nasty case of strep throat. Of course this makes me feel aweful because I had it pretty bad the previous week. On top of the strep and the primary reason why Logan was admitted was that an infection had developed around one of his chest tube sites. The docs were worried that this is what was causing Logan's fever and nausia so they errored on the side of caution. Either way, Logan needed the fluids and isolation to be sure. It was decided that both the strep and the chest infection would be combated by the same powerful antibiotic. So, after two additional nights in the hospital, Logan came home Wednesday evening. Hopefully he'll stay for awhile! Good news, bad news: The good news is that Anita and I had tickets to the Alabama vs. Tennessee game in Tuscaloosa. The seats were super and the weather couldn't have been better. More importantly, Alabama crushed Tennessee 41-17! John Parker Wilson and the Bama offense had an outstanding game and the Tide's defense pitched a second half shutout. Roll Tide Roll! The bad news is that Logan started getting pretty sick late Saturday night. By the time we were on our way back to Louisville, he was dry-heaving for almost the entire ride back. This morning Anita brought him back down to Kosair so that his heart team could see him during rounds. The decision was to admit Logan for the next couple of days to place him on IV antibiotics.
Well, we took what seemed to be a big step back this week. At 3:00 AM Wednesday morning, Anita had to take Logan back the hospital's emergency room. Apparently, at some point during Logan's slumber, he accidentally pulled one of his chest tubes loose. This caused an air leak and subsequent air and fluid buildup. So did we take a step back? Probably not...more like a blessing in disguise. Since Logan had already taken one of his tubes out, the docs decided to see how Logan's body dealt with the loss. He handled it well so they elected to take the remaining tube out as well. After 24 additional hours of good reports they let Logan go home Friday without tubes! Logan's home! Yep, Logan was released from Kosair Children's Hospital Tuesday, September 25th. We would've reported earlier, but we've been super busy getting Logan back to a more normal routine. Needless to say, Logan's lung sealed up and pressure stopped gathering inside the right half of his chest. That was the only thing keeping him from coming home. Since being home, Logan has been adjusting slowly. He was used to getting what he wanted when he wanted it plus being the focus of everyone's attention. This made for some nasty temper tantrums every now and again. Not to mention he's not sleeping very well which makes for some very long nights. Mackenzie and Gavin are super-thrilled to have their little bro home and the feeling is mutual. The kiddos have been inseparable while not in their respective schools. Anita and I are looking forward to Logan getting his chest tubes removed and him getting on with his life. If Logan needs another open-heart, it shouldn't be for a long time. Great news from the Lesters: Maddie is off ECMO and doing great! From what we've heard it's truly a miracle for a child to be dependent on ECMO for ten days then to survive coming off. Congratulations Maddie! What a week! I've only been given a sample of what Anita had to deal with while I was gone at Navigator training. I'm truly blessed to have such an amazing wife. Logan has made some significant strides since the last update with just a couple of issues. To start off, Logan was deemed well enough to be transferred out of the PICU and into 4 West. This is good regarding progress, but we'll miss the extra attention afforded by the PICU. One of the issues to crop up happened on Wednesday when Logan's right lung collapsed. This was due to excess air pressure in his chest from a small air leak in the lung. After fasting for several hours, the team went to place in a new chest tube, to help relieve the pressure, only to find out the lung had begun functioning properly. On Friday, Logan went for another chest x-ray to discover that the right lung had, again, partially collapsed. Dr. Austin ordered constant pressure for at least 48 hours to help seal the leak. This meant that Logan could no longer go on wagon rides around the hospital. The good news is that, if the lung seals, Logan will be allowed to go home! The one last problem to arise was an ear infection (imagine that). A fairly minor ordeal that has required Logan to be started on an antibiotic. Other than the above complications, Logan is doing fantastic! Of course Logan continues to scratch at his sutures but that's to be expected. We're really looking forward to his homecoming! Unfortunately, not all kids do as well as Logan after undergoing the Fontan. Logan's HLHS partner, Madeline Lester, underwent her Fontan nine weeks ago in Seattle, WA. She was placed on ECMO after enduring two hours of CPR last week. Since then she has faced some very real, very life threatening complications. She needs our prayers now more than ever.
Logan had a rough one yesterday. It started well with the heart team deciding he was stable enough to pull his intracardiac lines and temporary pacer wires. They also discontinued his Fentanyl drip (pain medication). This is not to say Logan wasn't receiving something for his pain, just not in continuous form. The goal is to try and wake him up a little more. Another issue that began yesterday was vomiting, which, as you can imagine, is very painful. Because of this, last night they restarted IV fluids. Today Logan lost both IV sites and now has two brand new ones. He's also experiencing severe belly pain which has his team suspecting kidney stones. A CT scan is planned to investigate. Well it's been a couple of days and all is well! The surgery went as expected with much scar tissue to deal with before accessing Logan's heart. Nonetheless the surgery only took a surprising four hours. Thankfully we've only had to deal with a couple of snags thus far. Just after the procedure, Logan spiked a temp of 102.2 F forcing the team to give him an ice bath...brrrrrr! Then a few hours later an air leak was discovered in one of his chest tubes. Fortunately the other chest tubes were more than sufficient so the faulty tube was removed. Overall Logan is doing quite well. We've never seen him so pink before! Check him out in the photos!
Wow! It's been a long time, and a lot has happened, but that's not our focus today. This morning Logan underwent his third, and hopefully final, open-heart surgery: the Fontan. From the University of Michigan's Website: The Fontan procedure is the third stage of the repair. It is done when the child is between 18 months and 2 years of age. A heart catheterization is done before the Fontan. The Fontan is done so that almost all the blue blood coming back from the body goes to the lungs. After this stage, most children are much "pinker" because now nearly all of the blood pumped out to the body goes to the lungs first.
As many of you know, Logan underwent his second open-heart surgery (Bidirectional Glenn) on Monday, August 29th. The Bidirectional Glenn connects the Superior Vena Cava to the Pulmonary Artery. This allows the blood from the upper body to flow through this connection to both lungs.
After a lengthy surgery and anxious wait, we were allowed to see Logan. The total time from surgery start to PICU transfer was nearly ten hours! Nothing can quite prepare you for seeing your child in the morning, playing and laughing, and then seeing them back on the ventilator that same day. At least he returned with his chest was closed this time. We were told that Logan's recovery would take anywhere from seven to fourteen days. Because of his clotting disorder and our previous experience, we were prepared to stick it out for what could be another several months in the hospital. This time would be different. Logan was extubated less than 24 hours after his surgery and his speedy recovery was underway. Logan was transferred to the step-down unit (4 West) on Thursday. Two days later, he was given his walking papers! A heartfelt thanks goes out to Dr's. Austin, Mitchell, and Mcomber and the PICU and 4 West crews. Special thanks also goes out to Tara, for being an exemplary Godparent, Rebecca, for introducing Logan to his new favorite food (vanilla pudding), and to Stacie for patting a very cranky Logan's bottom for an entire shift. Finally, thanks goes out to Nana, Maw-maw, Paw-Paw, Uncles Daniel and Robin, and Aunts Jodie and Crissy for taking care of Mackenzie and Gavin throughout the week. Most of all, Logan would have never had a chance without the thousands of prayers said on his behalf. God has clearly answered them. Logan would love to see you all this Saturday, September 10th, at the Louisville Heart Walk. To sign up or make a donation in Logan's name go to the Keating 5 team page of the American Heart Association event site. You can also purchase "Love for Logan" Heart Walk T-shirts that include his picture on the back. Short sleeved shirts will be $10 and Long sleeved $15. We need to know right away as we'll be placing the order in the next couple of days. Call or email Anita to place an order.
Well, Anita and I did something we both said we would never do...we bought a mini-van. Obviously having three children
caused the alteration to our philosophy. After Logan was born, even
the 4Runner wasn't big enough The good news for us is that we really like what we bought, a 2006 Honda Odyssey EX-L. The good news for someone else is that we are selling a well kept 1999 Honda Civic LX. Sorry about the delay on updates. Our house got struck by lightning, destroying both computers, the cable modem, and all networking equipment. The laptop is fine, but for a while we had no internet access. To complicate matters, my work office has recently moved and our internet won't be up until Wednesday. There are several new articles including one dating before the last update. Please be sure to check out the June 11th write-up about Mackenzie's dance recital. Also check the "movies" link for a video of Logan laughing. In between all of Mackenzie's summer activities she has been gearing up for the 3rd Grade by working on reading comprehension and math facts. She will have Mrs. Hines as her teacher this year. School starts August 16th. Gavin Gavin has also gotten a lot braver around the pool and lake. He will now jump in without hesitation and swim on his own (with water wings, of course). Logan has been doing great with physical and speech therapies. He will now sit up (assisted) and also roll around in both directions to his belly then return to his back. He's also eating yogurt and pears from a spoon and, as I type this, Anita is letting him gnaw on a graham cracker. Anita and Louisville Cardiology are participating in the Louisville Heart Walk to be held on September 10th. They will probably be wearing shirts with Logan's picture on them! If you would like to join them, email or call Anita.
Mackenzie and Anita made the short trip across the river to audition for the American Girl fashion show today. The show is sponsored by American Girl and the Aubrey Rose Hollenkamp Children's Trust and will be held at 12:00 PM, Sunday, October 9th at Jillian's. One week after the audition, Mackenzie was informed she was selected to participate in the show! To purchase tickets in Mackenzie's name: (1) Follow this link: American Girl Fashion Show. (2) Select "Louisville, KY" then select "Sunday, October 9th at 12PM." (3) Choose your ticket type. (4) Choose your ticket quantity and select "M. KEATING" as the model. (5) Review and purchase tickets. All proceeds go to Kosair Children's Hospital and The Ronald McDonald House. Things are finally in motion for Logan's second surgery. Today Logan had his cardiac cath performed by Dr. Mcomber. Logan's cath allowed them
to look at his heart's plumbing Logan's next surgery (Glenn) has been scheduled for August 29th. During this procedure they will attach the superior vena cava to the pulmonary artery. We are hoping and praying that Logan's recovery will go much smoother and much faster than from the Norwood operation. Please keep him in your prayers. Well it's been a couple of weeks and Logan has seemingly recovered from that nasty infection. That's good news! Even better news is that Logan's clot - the massive clot in his left leg - has nearly disappeared! It turns out that Logan's blood has started to thin and, with the aid of the Lovenox and aspirin, the clot has dissipated. As a big bonus, the Lovenox shots have finally been discontinued. Logan's doing pretty well so we're all aces, right? Wrong. Gavin felt he need some attention and had some sort of allergic reaction or out-break that created several sores on the inside of his mouth. Once Gavin started to cry, Anita discovered the problem and he earned a trip to the ER! Gavin was put on Maalox, Benadryl, and Tylenol with Codeine. It was a rough weekend. Sunday (Father's Day) wasn't bad at all, really. Anita and the kids got me a really neat hitch cover for the 4Runner and Mom got me a new BAMA license plate. We spent the day out at my Dad and Susan's swimming. Afterwards, we cooked up grilled filet mignons, garlic mashed potatoes, and grilled asparagus. One year of hard work and anticipation paid off for Mackenzie today. The dance studio she attends, Center Stage, held their annual recital at the Clifton Center auditorium. Mackenzie danced in three different routines and performed extremely well. A few weeks after the production, Miss Lindy and Miss Jae asked Mackenzie to dance with the Mini Company Competition Group for the next season. Congratulations Mackenzie!
I guess Logan thought he was slacking off by not creating news for me to right about. He decided to change that this weekend. Saturday afternoon, Anita noticed a whitehead had developed over a large knot on Logan's left leg. The knot was initially believed to be a tissue reaction to the Lovenox injections. Because of this, when we first noticed the sore, we thought it was a bug bite. Sunday, we would discover differently. Sunday afternoon, while changing Logan's diaper, the whitehead broke. It didn't take long to figure out that this wasn't a knot but an infection. We would later find out that the injection likely caused a abscess that became the root of the infection. Needless to say, we called the doctor who immediately put him on anti-biotic's. Monday morning the doctor called wanting to see Logan pronto. At the doctor's office we found out that we needed to take Logan back down to Kosair and place him on IV anti-biotic's. At the hospital, Logan's excretion was cultured and grew nothing out. That's good. Nonetheless, he will remain for probably 48 hours. This, of course, has pushed back Logan's Cath and, therefore, his surgery. We now expect the Cath to be performed later this month and the surgery within a couple weeks of the Cath. In other news, Gavin and Mackenzie had a great time down at the lake for Memorial Day. They went down with everyone else while Anita and I got some stuff done around the house while watching Logan. We did get a chance to go down for the day on Sunday. Good times.
Sunday was a special day
for Anita and I. We celebrated our sixth year anniversary. When we
met, back in September 1995, who would've thought This year's anniversary
couldn't hold a candle to our fifth year, however that was by
design.
Even without Chicago and the Signature Room, we had a Well enough about us, Mackenzie, Gavin, and Logan are so much more interesting! Mackenzie will be attending her last day of Second Grade tomorrow! She's very excited about Summer and her upcoming challenges in the Third Grade. Mackenzie has also been busy practicing for her dance recital scheduled for June 11th. Gavin is very happy to be officially graduated to the Two's Room at his daycare. Since he only attends three days a week, he was one of the last to transition. Also, Gavin has been speaking much more clearly lately. He's reached that point where he amazes you every day. Watching what we say, especially while driving, has never been more important! Logan has been doing pretty well. His last doctor's visit put his weight up to 11 lbs 6 oz. He's still waiting for a firm cath date, which we expect to be within the next two weeks. Logan's next heart surgery is looking like late June. Logan has also been working a lot with physical therapy. He is now able to roll over to his right side unassisted. And finally, Logan has been chosen to be one of the Kosair Heart Foundation's new poster kids! Anita and I took him to get a few photos made down at Kosair Children's Hospital last Friday. Well it's that time of the year again; Kentucky Derby! As some of you may know, the Kentucky Derby celebration officially kicks off with an air show followed by Thunder Over Louisville, the world's largest fireworks display. This year, the weather was a major factor for Thunder. Our family decided not to go to the air show nor to Thunder because of the 40 degree temp and 20 knot winds. Apparently many others came to the same conclusion as this year's turnout was down significantly. In lieu of going to the two main events, we took Mackenzie and Gavin out to the Kentucky Air National Guard to see most of the military air show aircraft on static display. I was allowed to escort them on to the actual ramp to get them up close and personal with these awesome aircraft.
In other news, Logan is doing great. He continues to gain weight and is getting closer to his second surgery. At Logan's last doctor's appointment, he weighed 11 lbs 1 oz! However, the docs would like to see a little more weight gain before the surgery. We are also happy to report that Logan's saturation levels are holding steady in the upper 70's. Mackenzie and Gavin are both doing well. Mackenzie is back from a wonderful trip to Florida. The break must have been needed as she's turned it up a notch at school, pulling down excellent marks. Gavin has settled down from my absence and has become quite the little talker. Gavin has also been asking to sit on the potty lately, but with no success as of yet.
Okay, okay...so I've had a few complaints about the website not being updated. Truth of the matter is that there hasn't been much to report. If you think about it, that's good! Nonetheless, I should be updating news whether or not it's super exciting. So, we left off in late February. Since then, I've turned 31 years of age which, by the way, means I'm officially in my 30's. You see, being 30 is sort of like being on the edge of a pool; although you're at the pool, technically you aren't in yet! Anita has adjusted back to her work schedule well and continues to be Supermom. Between you and me, she actually considers work a break, or at least a break in the monotony. Mackenzie is doing well in school and looks forward to spending spring break in Florida. She flies out tomorrow afternoon, headed for West Palm Beach, to chum around with Jo Ann for the week. I understand they have a lot planned. Gavin has been experimenting with the "terrible twos" and our patience. We suspect that Logan's arrival and my being gone for six weeks have a lot to do with it. On a positive note, Gavin has been making huge strides in speech. He surprises us daily. Logan is doing well and, believe it or not, now weighs in at more than 10 lbs! He's scheduled to be cathed at the end of this month. This means that his second heart surgery (Glenn) should be scheduled for a late May to early June timeframe. Our family, as a whole, has been battling one strand of junk after another. It all started off with Mackenzie getting sick a few weeks back. A week later, I got it, then Mackenzie gets strep, then Gavin gets strep. Finally, Anita gets the stuff I had. All the while, Logan is showing signs of allergies. His lungs are clear but he's been congested for about two weeks now. How about I close out this article with a few new pictures!
Wow, what a long six weeks! Most everyone who has been following our updates already knew that I have been gone for the last six weeks to the Academy of Military Science (AMS)...but more about that later. I'm going to try to summarize the last six weeks' activities in one article. First and foremost, LOGAN IS HOME! It happened January 21st while I was attending AMS. I was extremely happy to hear the news but sad that I couldn't be there. Logan had to make one return trip to the hospital on the 31st to pass some kidney stones but was released the next day. Since then Logan has done very well. When he was initially discharged he weighed in at 7 lbs 4 oz, as of today he weighs 8 lbs 10 oz!
Incase you're wondering who the cute little girl to the bottom center is...it's Maddie! Maddie Lester is also a HLHS survivor and flew all the way from Seattle, Washington to see Logan. Click on her name to go to her website. H While I was gone, I ordered Anita two dozen red roses...now let me tell you why. For five of the last six weeks, Anita has had to take care of our house, dog, three kids and herself all without any help from me. She did an extraordinary job! On that note, I have to say she had some incredible help from friends, family, work and even the neighbors. It really pays off to be such a wonderful person. Okay, about this AMS busin Lastly, Mackenzie and I attended the Girlscout's "Father/Daughter" dance last night. The wife wanted us in by 9:30, but we didn't blow that joint until 10:00. That girl can dance! Tuesday we tried to make a step towards Logan coming home. Since he's had trouble feeding from a bottle, as most hearts do, the decision was made to put in a G-Tube. If successful, Logan could come home within weeks. A G-Tube allows Logan's feeds to go directly to his stomach via a port surgically created in his abdominal region. Unfortunately, it is a major surgery and requires a paralytic to be given. This means Logan had to go back on the vent. Obviously Anita and I, along with all the doctors and nurses that worked so hard to get Logan off the vent, were very nervous about putting him back on air support. Nevertheless, it had to be done. Doctor Foely was the surgeon that performed the operation. After an hour and a half of trying to get a good IV line and an additional hour and a half surgery, Logan was finished. They extubated him and informed us of the good news. Shortly after Logan was transported back down to the NICU, Anita and I were allowed back to visit. Anita had to pump, so she left me with him. As Anita left, I thought about the last time a major surgery was performed and what she was forced to experience 13 hours later (crash). It was a chilling thought that I prayed stayed just that...a thought. A few minutes later, a nurse gave Logan his pain medicine. I watched him dose off and drop his boppy out of his mouth. I thought to myself, "Man, that's some good stuff!" I was wrong. Suddenly, his saturation alarm went off. I looked up and watched his sats steadily drop. Then his respiratory rate weakened and also dropped. When his sats hit 39%, I called the nurse over. Seconds later his heart rate plummeted to one-third the normal. I couldn't believe this was happening. Not again. Nurses and doctors were called to help. I decided to check out and let them work. They did and Logan quickly recovered but with the help of the vent. To our disappointment, later on that night and throughout the morning, Logan played the same game four times. He was given chest compressions four times and was revived four times. The doctors finally decided that, sometime during the surgery, an undiscovered layer of mucus was disturbed in Logan's lungs. The pain medicine relaxed him so much that his lungs could not overcome this mucus. When he was re-intubated, some of the mucus (still undiscovered) got plugged in the vent tube. Once they started suctioning the tube, the mucus was found and removed. Logan was then transferred back to the PICU. This lead to a great night. Thursday Logan was taken off the vent. Today his sats were so high they put him on room air with no nasal pressure support. He still has a saturation of >90%. All of this now seems to be a blessing in disguise...we just didn't like the disguise at all! Merry Christmas! Anita,
Mackenzie, Gavin, Logan and I had, yet another, w Be sure to click on the Christmas link under the photos menu on the left. I'm finally bringing life to that dead link. After a super couple of weeks, Logan has been transferred back down to the NICU. Although we hate to leave the wonderful staff and much more private rooms of the PICU, this is a welcome indicator of great progress. Logan's PICU doctors and nurses also hated to see Logan go, but all agreed that he was ready. An enormous thanks goes to the doctors and nurses of the PICU. Without your superior care, both professionally and personally, Logan surely would not be with us today. Our family wishes you all great success and happiness in all your undertakings. God bless. This past week Logan has seen some great progress. Not only has he made significant strides towards recovery, but, unlike previous progressions, he has not countered his efforts with any new problems. To start, the medical team has finally discovered why Logan's coagulation is so difficult to control. Unfortunately it's due to a genetic defect in a pair of chromosomes that prevents normal coagulation. Since this was realized, Logan has been weaned off of Argatroban and on to Coumadin. He has now had two days of INR (International Normalized Ratio) stability with the same dose of Coumadin. Despite the genetic issue, the two straight normal days is a hurtle Logan's been trying to clear for weeks and we view this as a significant victory. Not to be overshadowed by the previous mumbo-jumbo, Logan has taken his first bath! This was necessary because of a particularly nasty vomit, but none-the-less a step in the right direction. Rebecca from Speech Therapy has been working with Logan over the last couple of weeks. She has been very impressed with Logan's ability to enjoy his boppy (pacifier) and is confident that this will prove beneficial when real feeding commences. Logan has also undergone taste familiarization with Mommy's milk. Some trial runs with a bottle have also been conducted to see how Logan will react to the real deal.
There are two new additions to Logan's room: a new mobile and a new bouncy seat. All the nurses agreed that Logan needed something to focus on and to, eventually, start playing with. So, we bought him a mobile. PT and OT said that Logan is now able to, and should start, sitting up, so Anita's wonderful co-workers at Louisville Cardiology pitched in and bought him a new bouncy seat. Happy Birthday Gavin! Today was Gavin's actual second birthday. We had his party early for logistical reasons. Mommy spent all morning with Gavin and Daddy spent all afternoon with him. We went to eat dinner and play at the new Chic-fil-A in Springhurst then came back to open presents. Gavin got a really cool remote control train set that he absolutely loves. Yesterday was another challenging day for Logan. Just as he had completed his first week without the vent, Logan's condition took yet another twist. Anita was at the hospital early and spent most the day with Logan. At around 2:30 PM she noticed Logan was uncomfortable and checked his diaper. Just as she did, Logan began urinating with significant amounts of blood mixed in. She immediately alerted his nurse who then shut off the Argatroban drip. Within 30 minutes, Logan was also vomiting blood. Despite the horrible experience that Anita had to endure, Logan would soon be fine. Since the half-life of Argatroban is so short and the medical staff quickly administered a drug to help bring Logan's PTT (Partial Thromboplastin Time) back down, he moved swiftly back on track. Several tests were run on Logan to ensure that no other damage had occurred with negative results. Surprisingly, when I went to visit Logan later on that night, all seemed normal. In fact, the only evidence that anything had occurred was the lack of a second Argatroban pusher which meant Logan's Argatroban dose had been halved. Today was Gavin's second
birthday party! Since the party was such short Thanks again to Dad and Susan for graciously hosting Gavin's birthday party for the second time. So far so good! Logan was
extubated for the fourth and hopefully final time today. The procedure
only lasted a few minutes and was performed at around All this last week Logan's muscles have been strengthened with protein enhanced breast milk and mild steroids to help prepare him. At around 5 PM, the nurses took his first gas sample which came back good! Let's pray that Logan continues to do well and that he might be home for his first Christmas. Thanks, Logan. Thanks for the wizz...on my jacket, on my shirt and on my belly. Today, Logan relieved himself on me. Just doing my part. We had kind of a strange setback today. As you've probably read, Logan failed to extubate on Monday. In the last two days since, he has been weaned down to a rate of eight assisted breaths per minute (bpm). That's pretty impressive for two days and it just goes to show how close we really were on that second attempt. Well now there's been an unexpected third attempt. At around 5 PM today, Logan vomited, rendering the tape holding his vent tube useless. As the nurses tried to change the tape, Logan vomited again. Because the vent tube was no longer secure, it was forced out and contaminated. As these events unfolded, medical staff rushed to Logan's room to help. Logan was actually doing quite well and was probably wondering what all the fuss was about. Even Dr. Berkenbosch thought about allowing Logan to give it a go, but ultimately decided it wasn't time. Although Logan was put back on the vent, he is expected to be back to a rate of eight by tomorrow morning, making this a minor setback.
|
|
