Summer Was Quick

Summer is over it has been months since our last update.

Good Man Charlie Brown was awesome.  There was a good turnout and the performance was great.  Thank you so much too the cast and all who were involved. 

Logan's Luau was a hit with tons of yummy food and good people.  

Those fund raisers were a huge blessing.  They helped us catch up with a lot of Logan's medical bills.  

Since the last update, Logan has been up for more brain scans and tests.  His tumor friend (gangliocytoma) still hasn't grown any more (very good news) so we are still playing the waiting game.  Logan had some eye tests and it was determined that he has good vision in his eyes.  He only has trouble seeing when he looses control of his eye muscles and they roll around.

Logan is in physical therapy now with Miss BJ from Easter Seals, and he loves it.  He is doing exercises to strengthen his muscles, and to help him develop coordination.  Logan is slowly learning how to balance and just the other day Logan was able to take 3 steps in a row.  Logan also have physical therapy home visits and upcoming play groups w/ Mr. Bruce from Early Intervention.  Mr. Bruce uses games and toys to sneakily get Logan to stand and stretch and step while distracted.  It seems quite effective.

Very recently, Logan has been chosen by Stayton High School in conjunction with Sparrow Clubs to be Stayton High's adopted Sparrow Kid.  Sparrow Clubs help High School students get involved in service projects and seems to create awesome opportunities for personal growth.

Logan is growing fast and is becoming more and more awesome.  He has recently decided that his favorite TV show is tied between "Monk" and "The Office".  Logan's laugh is hilarious and he brighten's any room.  Thanks to everybody who keeps him in prayer and helps look out for him.  We appreciate it so much.

-Ben

It's been a while

Wow, it has been too long. I apologize for not updating y’all lately. I have had bronchitis for the last month so I’ve been kind of worthless.

Logan is doing quite well. His surgery wound is healing up as it should and most of his stitches have disappeared (they are supposed to:)). He is back to his goofy self except he has a snotty cold and he is terrified of medical equipment now. He had to come with me to the doctor and he started crying when I got a shot. Maybe he just feels sorry for me.

Hey, Logan took his first step the other day. He stood up hanging on to a swing. Then he looked as though he would scoot along hanging on to the bar but he let go, turned, and took a step. Then he paused for a few seconds and fell to his bum. Bill Murray was right. Baby steps, baby steps.

Well, it seems as if the doctors were right. Logan doesn’t have to go through chemo or radiation. For now, his tumor isn’t growing much if at all. That’s great news. The not as great news is that there are no treatment options. Surgery is out, chemo & radiation are out. This is a good situation because God is not out. Prayer is not out. So, we will stick with good old divine treatments. But, let us never forget that God is big and awesome and His perfect plan may or may not include full recovery. Our biggest desire is that God would make himself known through this and that bunches of people would see how awesome He is.

It is amazing how God’s people have banded together and are supporting us through this. I am constantly getting reports of families all over the world praying for Logan. Also, awesome people have taken charge organizing events to help financially with Logan’s bills. This weekend (April 27-28th), there are 2 big events set up by people in our church. Friday, the 27th, ACT’s production of “You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown” will be doing a special benefit performance for Logan at Stayton High School. Then on Saturday the 28th, there will be a benefit Luau at Stayton Elementary School. There will be authentic Hawaiian cooking and donated auction items. We have had nothing to do with the planning of these things. Just great people using their resources and talents to be a gigantic blessing to our boy.

Well, keep praying and let’s all see what God has in store.

Free at last...

It is Friday morning. They let us go last evening. Last night, Logan had a rough time due to narcotic induced constipation. But, by 11:30pm, he was fast asleep. He slept with me in the big bed. This morning I woke up to Logan talking and staring at me. He at a good breakfast and went to play with his toys.

We still haven't received the final verdict on the biopsy results but the doctor did say that the tumor looks low grade (not fast growing/aggressive). So, for now, we wait for the final results. The tumor doctors say that if it is the type of tumor that it seems, chemotherapy/radiation won't help and surgical removal isn't possible due to the tumor being intertwined with the brain stem. If that is the case, we begin the waiting game. That will involve getting brain scans semi-frequently and watching to see if it grows or changes. And, it may not grow or change.

As for the tumor's effect on Logan's balance and eye control, that can't be recovered so he will have to learn to cope.

We should hear the final results soon and will post the update as soon as we do. Thank you all again for your support, prayers, and love. God continues to bring us supernatural peace and comfort. And, praise the Lord that Logan is alive and still with us.

God is good! Don't forget it.

Ahhhh, the sun is shining and Logan and I are going to go mow the lawn. Have a nice day everybody.

Picture Pages...

Well, I'd might as well share some photo fun of Logan and visitors.

Mauled by a wild bear

Last night, Logan, Meaghan, Emma, and I all ended up sleeping on the same single wide bed. I awoke to a startling shriek and I opened my eyes to see a wild bear attacking my face. Then it was quickly pulled back by one leg, swung around, and launched back at my face. Logan decided to best way to wake me was with a battle cry and a teddy bear tomahawk. So, he is feeling a good lot better.

This morning, Meaghan and I are bomb tired and I am surprisingly non-stinky. God still seems to be blessing us with a good dose of peace.

Logan's wound is healing well. The neurosurgeon came in this morning and told us that we could possibly come home this evening pending a positive outcome on his last little brain scan.

According to the tumor-doctors, the preliminary results on the biopsy seem to look quite positive. The final results to come in a few more days could show different but it's encouraging for now. Praise the Lord. Y'all have a nice day!

Day 3...5 o'clock and all's well.

Well, Wednesday was a long but good day. Logan had trouble again giving blood samples again. (long digging jabs with no results). A lot of the swelling has gone down and he is talking again and wanting to play some. His talking is a little slurred still because of the drugs.

The dressing if off his scar. It is a 4-5 inch long scary red stitchy thing. Wednesday evening, Logan decided that he needed to crawl. Since he had an IV needle in his foot, it jabbed through his vein and caused some fussing. But, he is doing well enough that they just took that IV out. Now, he has only 1 of 3 IV ports in and the one in his hand isn't hooked up anymore.

There were bunches of visitors on Wednesday and Logan got to do a little blogging of his own. He accidentally closed it before he could upload it so he had me type it for him. His message was asfjkvopewfhuhiufhugarh;n;sdf. Not bad spelling for a 19 month old.

God is awesome. There haven't been any big complications with the surgery or recovery so far. God has provided Meaghan and I with tons of peace and good fellowship. There are lots of people up here that are sad and lost. Most of the nurses and doctors say that it is good to have a "faith" to lean on in times like this. We're praying and hoping that they will see that it is good to have God to lean on in times like this...and all the rest of the time.

Please pray that God would encourage the people up here and give us opportunities to be witnesses of His awesomeness and Love.

Thank you all so much for your prayers and support and help. It is wonderful to see once again that the family of God really is a big family.

That's all for now. As soon as I can find an electric outlet, I will upload some pictures.

Out of ICU!

Well, at about 1:30 today, Logan was moved out of the intensive care unit. He is doing quite well for having had brain surgery yesterday. A lot of the puffy swelling has gone down and he is getting his appetite back. He ate eggs and pancakes and apple juice. Sounds good to me.

Now, we are in room 4 on Doernbecher's 10th floor. If you come to visit, the room is on the North end of the 10th floor so as you get out of the elevator and see the Willamette River and Portland, turn left and go to the end of the hall. There is a big starfish at the end of the hall marking the area.

Please keep praying that Logan stays healthy and continues to regain strength and normal function. If you would like to contact us, our room phone number is 503.418.5122. Visitors can come pretty much whenever they want.

Praise the Lord for what He is doing. It's awesome!

Successful Biopsy

Monday was fun. There we probably 25 visitors in and out of the waiting room and bazillions of people all over the world praying. The family of God is awesome. Thank you to everybody both visitors, prayer wariors helpers, huggers, feeders, and the rest.

Well, Logan made it fine through surgery. His face is puffy and he has quite a bit of pain from the incision but there were no complications. Praise the Lord! Now we are in pediatric intensive care room 12 in Doernbecher Hospital.

By noon today (Tuesday) we will be moved out of the ICU and into a recovery room on the south side of the 9th floor at Doernbecher. The doctor said that we should be there for another day or two.

Please keep praying and we will try to keep this updated. God is good no matter how this thing goes but we are thankful that Logan is doing as well as he is...

Ahhh it is a tumor. (Arnold was wrong!)

Well, it's Sunday April 1st. Logan has a brain tumor. Tomorrow bright and early(6am-ish) we have to check in to OHSU. Logan's MRI is at 8:00am. Sometime after that, Logan gets his head shaved and the brain surgeon is getting a biopsy (tiny chunk) of his brain stem tumor. After that, Logan will be recovering at Doernbecker Hospital.

Visiting and calling and updates all depend on the imediate outcome of the biopsy surgery. The results of the tests on the biopsied tissue won't be known until Wednesday or Thursday. Meaghan and I(Ben) covet your prayers and we will try to keep the rest of y'all informed.