Done and Back in the Room

Logan's bone marrow biopsy is done and he is back in his room recovering while surrounded by his Halloween swag.  We should get the results either late today or early tomorrow.  

The rash is still going strong and the doctors are running tests and consulting experts to see where we go from here.  Next CBC is tomorrow.

A Rash That Won't Go Away

Logan's rash from this Platelet transfusion keeps coming back.  The doctors are not sure why, but have tried several different drugs that have had little to no effect on the rash.  It doesn't seem to be bothering him too much so there is the bright side!

Today's CBC Results

Today's CBC results are back.  Logan is still not making any blood.  His doctor will do a bone marrow biopsy on Monday to see what is going on in his bones.  Hemoglobin 7.5; Platelets 110; ANC 10.  He also had a lot of blasts in his CBC.

Busy Day

This morning Logan started off his day with a double bag platelet infusion.  His platelets were at 5.  Hemoglobin was 7.4. 

 ANC 20.

However, unlike every other time Logan has gotten platelets, this time Logan had a reaction to the second batch.  It started as itchy skin and eyes.  Then he started coughing and his nose was running like crazy.  About that time I noticed he was getting hives.  Then a rash popped up over his whole body.  Doctors were called and while they were looking him over, Logan said he couldn't hear very well and it was hard to swallow.  He also felt like he couldn't breath.  Logan was having a severe reaction to the platelets.  After a double dose of benadryl he started to feel better.  It took several hours for him to feel like his normal mischievous self.  

About the time he was feeling better he got another round of Chiefs Ambassador visitors.  Keith Cash, Shawn Barber, and Billy Baber hung out with Logan and played a couple of rounds of Phase 10.  

One of Logan's friends from Camp Quality has organized this massive cheer up party for him and it is working.  He is really enjoying meeting the football players and playing a few rounds of cards with them when possible.  

THANK YOU CQ!

Chiefs Ambassadors

Logan's friends at Camp Quality organized some cheer up visits from the Chiefs Ambassadors.  This morning, Deron Cherry stopped by to bring Logan lots of junk food, a very nice signed NFL football, and a signed poster.  Eric was here with him but was not able to take a photo (bad phone!)

Then his afternoon, while Logan's Aunt and cousin were visiting, Mark Collins stopped by.

Then Anthony Davis dropped by shortly thereafter.  We invited him to join our card game and he was a great spades player.

As you can tell from Logan's face he really enjoyed the visits today. 

Don't Panic

Logan has had a funky blood test result that concerned his doctors and prompted further tests.  He has had some blasts in his blood that were unusual.  The blasts are immature white blood cells that should have stayed in his bones to mature and become something... like a neutrophil... to fight infections.  Sometimes, when a person is recovering from chemo, their body will spit out white blood cells before they are done maturing.  I think of it as the body going into a panic attack and trying to hurry the blood making process along.  The blasts are lazy white blood cells, just taking up space and not doing anything.  Because Logan had blasts in his blood, and no other white blood cells to speak of, the doctors had them do a stain test and discovered that some of the blasts were suspicious.  It is possible that the latest round of chemo did not get all of the leukemia.  

Logan can still do the bone marrow transplant if he has 5% or less leukemic cells in his body.  After his first round he still had 11% leukemic cells, ergo the second round of chemo.  We won't know what percentage of cancer might still be there until they do a bone marrow biopsy.  

The last couple of days of CBCs were encouraging to the doctors so right now we wait and see.  Once his bones start making some "good blood" he can do the bone marrow biopsy to determine if the leukemic cells are still there.  If the "lazy blood" makes a come back, they will do the bone marrow biopsy early to see what's going on in the bones.  

Daily CBCs

Logan is currently getting daily CBCs.  Eric and I have different options on this.  I love getting the daily counts.  They draw the labs at 4am while everyone is sleeping so at 7am shift change I hover over the nurses waiting for my morning fix.  They are always happy to oblige and read off his blood counts to me.  Of course, that's not enough for this blood junkie.  I also need a paper print out to put on my CBC wall of fame.  I then pour over the printouts and compare today's numbers to the past few days to look for upward trends.  I live for the CBC results.

Eric, on the other hand, just wants a thumbs up or down from the doctors.  He doesn't want to know the numbers.  He doesn't want to look at the printouts.  He feels less stress if he doesn't obsess over the numbers.  If the doctors tell him the CBC looked good, he's happy to take their word for it.  It's funny how different we are in that respect.  

So, for those of you like my husband... Logan's CBC got a thumbs up today.

For those of you like me... his hemoglobin is 8.5, platelets are 30, and ANC is 20.  (ANC is on the rise!!!)  Fingers crossed that tomorrow the numbers will be higher.  

Best Room In The House

For the past month we have been enjoying watching the helicopters land on top of the building and today I finally got a photo!  It's the little things that make us smile.  ANC this morning was 10.  Could be a little blip or could be Logan making some blood finally.  They will be doing daily CBCs through the weekend and monitoring him closely.

A Cold and Still At Zero

Logan had some bleeding yesterday and they did an early CBC.  He was low on platelets so he got a transfusion late last night.  He still has an ANC of zero but he has now caught a cold.  Nothing serious, just the sniffles, but he is on contact precautions and is no longer allowed to leave his room.  This photo was taken before he was diagnosed with the common cold.  New swag in the teen room!

Jinxed

I may have jinxed Logan when I posted that we would be released from the hospital soon.  In hopes of redeeming myself I would like to retract any and all comments made, both verbal and written, predicting how quickly Logan's blood counts would recover.

Today's CBC revealed that Logan's ANC is still at zero.

Next CBC will be Wednesday morning.  Just the facts, Ma'am.

Balloon Improv

Logan's ANC was still zero this morning.  We have given up on being sad about being stuck in the hospital and decided to embrace our day with games and activities.  Today's morning activity was balloon challenges.  Latex balloons are not allowed in the hospital (due to allergies) but we are wonderful improvisers!  We took the large medical exam gloves and made our own balloons.  Then Logan and I challenged each other with finger balances, balloon bounces, kicking races, and more.  We worked up a sweat and burned off some excess energy.  Next CBC will be Monday morning.  Until then, card games, movies, and some crafty crafts!

Counts Are Slow To Move

Logan's blood counts are still very low.  His ANC this morning was 10.  They have decided to not pull another blood draw for a CBC until Friday morning.

Da Vinci Clock

Logan was given an Amazon gift card from some friends that he finally found something he wanted to spend it on.  He purchased two build-it kits.  He finished the Da Vinci clock in just a few hours!

  Success!

Back To Zero

Logan's ANC was back to zero this morning so we are back to square one.  Watching and waiting.

Stop The Bleeding Before It Starts

 Not much change today from yesterday's blood count but his platelets were low enough that the doctors decided to give him a transfusion anyway.  The felt like his platelets tomorrow would be low enough to need the transfusion so why wait.

We also talked to the dietitian about giving Logan an appetite stimulant.  He hasn't been having any nausea but he just doesn't feel hungry.  He had the first dose this evening and he actually ate dinner tonight!  Yippie!!!  I bet he will impress the nurses tomorrow when he gets on the scale.

Other than that, we had a relatively boring day.  Tomorrow more blood counts!  Just waiting for Logan to hit that magic number now.

Passing Time

Logan had a small blip on his blood counts this morning.  Nothing to get excited about, but he is continuing to feel better and get his energy back.  Today we got some serious exercise in and he didn't tell me he needed to sit down.  Not once.  Small victories.  Right now he is playing games with his friends online and just passing the time.  

Logan's ANC dropped back down to zero so we will definitely not be going home this weekend. Hopefully the next CBC will show some growth.

Short-Timers

After talking to the doctors this morning I truly believe that Logan is a short-timer here at the hospital.  He will be here at least through tomorrow, but if his blood counts are high enough and no more fevers they are ready to send him home on IV antibiotics soon.  To be continued!

On The Mend

Logan is feeling much better after tanking up on two bags of blood. His CBC showed that his hemoglobin was alarmingly low this morning.  It takes a while to transfuse blood but he is feeling great now.  His ANC this morning was 20 so I guess his bone marrow is focusing on making white blood cells rather than red blood cells.  Works for us since blood transfusions are easy.

He also got a cheer up visit from Grandma and Grandpa.  Love this picture!  You can tell how much taller he is than his Grandma... and I LOVE LOVE LOVE seeing that smile on his face.  It's been a while since I have seen it.

We are taking bets again on when Logan will be released from the hospital.  So far I am leading the pack with my bet on Sunday.  Grandma has Monday, Logan has Tuesday, and Eric has Wednesday.  As you can tell, we are all betting he will be home in less than a week!  Fingers crossed that this will be the case.

A Good Start

Logan is feeling better this morning.  He hasn't had a fever since 6:00 last night.  Echo cardiogram came back good.  They were checking for fluid around his heart.  Today is off to a much better start.

Fungus, Heart, and Hair

Logan has had a rough 48 hours.  His hair was falling out in large clumps so he had me shave it all off.  He has been enduring high fevers that Tylenol couldn't bring down.  They identified the bacteria plaguing him, streptomyces, but decided to start him on an anti-fungal medicine too since the antibiotics didn't seem to be helping with the fevers.  Cultures have been drawn for the fungus and they are also doing daily cultures to monitor the bacteria.  And through it all, he has had very low blood pressure.  The doctors are concerned about the reason behind the low blood pressure so an echo-cardiogram has been ordered.  He did get a  blood and platelet transfusion this morning, but he still feels terrible and hasn't eaten anything of substance for days.  He is constantly hooked up to his IV pole and a heart monitor.  I'm hoping this is rock bottom and it's all uphill from here.

Gram-positive Bacteria

Logan has a full IV pole this morning.  He continued to spike fevers throughout the night and this morning the doctors came in to tell me one of his blood cultures grew out a gram-positive bacteria.  They are hoping to be able to identify the bacteria this afternoon and have a sensitivity test complete by tomorrow afternoon.  In the mean time they are pumping Logan full of two full spectrum antibiotics, zosyn and vancomycin.  They are watching is kidney function closely because the vancomycin has shut down his kidneys in the past.  Logan is still sleeping and I'm hoping he will stay that way for most of the day.  When you feel this bad, no one wants to be awake.  

The Fevers Are Back

Logan spiked a fever this evening.  As per usual, they are doing blood cultures to check for infection and put him on IV antibiotics as a precaution.  He got Tylenol to bring down his fever but it has continued to rise.  He current temperature is 102.9 and his blood pressure tanked so they are watching him closely.  He is hooked up to a heart monitor and oxygen sensor right now.  Poor guy.

Ups and Downs

Logan had some visitors yesterday that cheered him up.  He has been feeling blue with being stuck in the hospital so much.  Then last night he noticed that his hair was falling out in chunks.  We're not sure how much longer the hair will last but Logan was pretty bummed with the hair loss.  He was hoping to avoid that this time like he did with the last round of chemo.  This morning Logan has little energy and is starting to get mouth sores.  Fingers crossed that the mouth sores will be minimal.