Christmas Update

Hey Guys,
Sorry for the lapse in chat... been getting calls and text asking if everything is ok, cause we haven't posted anything.  All is great.  We got out of hospital last Wednesday instead of Thursday as Logan finished his chemo in the afternoon and was reacting badly to smells. We literally raced out of the hospital at 5pm, to try and outrun the smell of the food coming down the hallways.  Poor Logan! He nearly didn't make it, but once out in the fresh air he was good.  He was glad to be home.
The next day, however, was a bad one for Logan.  He could not keep any food down, (but credit to him, that did not stop him trying!) and he was constantly in pain with stomach cramps. These eased off on Christmas Eve, making Christmas day fabulous for all of us.
Christmas Eve was another day for change.  Logan, Alex, and Evan shaved their heads.  Logan was beginning to look like he did when he was a babe... hair on top, with gaps all around the edges from his head rubbing on the pillow!
He looks awesome now, and has got the nickname - ANG - the last air bender

The reason? when we shaved his head he was left with a faint brown line down the middle of his head.  We initially thought it was a birth mark, then realised that it was a suntan line!!!!!

So Logan just needs the arrow down the front and he's away. 

Christmas day was relaxed.  We spent the day with Evan's family this year. His parents came across from T.A., and his sister and her four came up from Nelson. (James the eldest even shaved his head - bless him). The sun shone, the birds sang, the adults drank, and the kids had a great day.  

Anyhow, this Friday (yes, New Years Eve) we go back in the morning for blood tests and then if they are all good, we head back in afternoon for our usual 6 day sleepover and the jungle juice starts pouring in from 6am on Saturday morning.  If not, they will either do a blood transfusion again, or we wait....

Thanks to everyone who has been texting, visiting and phoning over the break.  Logan has loved catching up with ya'll.

So Merry Christmas to everyone, and if we don't see ya, Happy New Year too.

We are enjoying everyday, just living and loving,

Stay well,

Tracy and whanau

We're out of here!

Yay! Convinced the extra amazing Dr Michael to let us out of here.  We are heading off at 5pm (on the dot) so that Logan doesn't have to smell dinner.  It makes him do green things.  He is particularly sensitive to smells - not tastes.  But is also vulnerable to people talking about food.  Lost his breakfast before he even had it this morning, then ate 4 peices of toast.  Had beef noodles for lunch (which stunk to me) and then settled down for a nap.  The sound of the dinner trolley sets him off.  They have prescribed a mild pill to relax him.  But having said this, all he talks about is the things he is going to eat when he gets home... like a cooked breakfast, Dad's lasagne, hot chilli sauce, english muffins... all kinds of random foods.  So far the booze is safe... I think!

Had to post the pic below.  Nobody usually gets to see this except me and the nurses... Logan is so cute when he sleeps.

3 MORE SLEEPS TILL SANTA COMES!!!!!!!

Youth Group drops in...

from left Steph, Logan, Rachel, Tamrin, and Eliza in front - nothing like a bunch of good looking girls to make you smile...

WELL MY HAIR MIGHT BE THINNING AND I MIGHT BE HATING THE SMELL OF FOOD NOW, BUT YOU MUST ADMIT... THE COMPANY IS STILL PRETTY DAMN GOOD!

Day 4...

Another shaky start to the day, but a bit of laughter always gets you through the tough bits.  Logan appears to find my singing hilarious - I thought it would be comforting! Oh well... We both got to sleep in this morning, and Logan took a wee while to summon up the courage to eat breaky but it all went well.  Our day nurse, Donna, is fabulous.  She got him joking and laughing, as did Dr Jameson.  I don't know how his family survives, he never seems to say a sane thing!

Logan and I managed to snap a rare pic of Donna (our nurse)...
she often puts the bubbles into Logan's day and we are always thankful to see her smiling face.

It was awesome to see Lynette and the kids with Nana last night (forgot to take a photo, bugger!).  They have grown so much.  And as kids will, they were not afraid to ask the hard questions. Nothing like a bunch of South Islanders bringing up a bit of southern comfort (so to speak).
Logan is beginning to tire more at the moment, so we are tending to keep visits short, and trying to make sure that he has a nap between 1 and 3pm.  Please keep texting him or I if you are coming, just in case we already have a full house, or incase he is asleep.
We have hassled the nurses and doctors heaps, and are hoping (if Logan behaves himself) to go home after our  treatment on Wednesday. He is beginning to get a severe case of cabin fever!
Love and hugs....
till we chat again
Tracy

p.s. forgot to say, Logan's chemo today is EXACTLY the same colour (and yes we compared them) as Franks Sparkling Tangy Blood Orange juice. . . which is hilarious as it went in his line at the same time as he was drinking the drink! The child is weird!

DAY 3...

(BACK) ALEXANDER, SASCHA (FRONT) YURIKA AND ALISTAIR

SOME OF THE BAKING BROUGHT IN BY HANNAH AND EMILY

HANNAH, EMILY AND HELEN MUST THINK THAT HOSPITAL FOOD SUCKS CAUSE THEY BROUGHT US BOX LOADS OF FABULOUS BAKING!!!!!

Logan started today a bit shaky but soon got back on his feet.  A call for more drugs to help curtail the side effects was all he needed.  His bloods are all normal and that nasty methotrexate is well and truly out of his system already.  He is enjoying all the little goodies that you are bringing in (as am I).  He is putting on weight nicely (as am I). We are both counting down the days till Christmas and it is hard not to get excited at the thought of being home with family at this time.  If all goes well, we will head home on Thursday, or Friday at the latest. Logan and I are looking forward to seeing Aunty Lynette (Evan's sister) and her children who are coming up this year to spend time with us and Nana and Grandad.  Great to see ya today Nicki, Ocean, and the Arai-Swale family.  Just heard that Helen, Emily and Hannah are on their way up as well so had better get off this and make ourselves beautiful.

See ya'll soon!
Tracy and Logan

CRAZY VISITORS

ROSE AND LOGAN... WHO IS THE PATIENT EXACTLY?

DAN (back), JESSE, LOGAN AND ROSE - SMILES ALL DAY LONG

LIAM AND LOGAN ACTING THE FOOL!

Thanks to everyone who visits cause you make Logan's day go so much faster.  One day down and four to go!

Back for round 2...

I know that a lot of you will be disappointed, but as Logan is sleeping peacefully, I am going to write this entry.  We arrived last night on the lovely ward 25, and after sweet-talking the nurses, Logan had us moved to a room with a shared toilet (YAY!).  Thanks also to Charlotte who is plying the nurses with her home-baking.  They love it and it always pays to keep the nurses happy.  Logan slept comfortably on his lovely ergonomically designed bed, whilst every one of my bones seemed to find the hard floor through the mattress on which I was lying.  As I write this, Logan has already had the first chemo of the day, and is 1/3 of the way through the heavy duty monster! They spend today poisoning him with this methatrixate and then over the next four days will be trying to get it out of his system!  I tell you, it's kill or cure up here! Tis a very fine line they walk.
Logan is beginning to look even more like his Dad these days as his hair begins to thin (sorry Evan).  But I have been informed, that when Logan decides to shave the lot off, then Evan and Alex will be joining him.  If anyone else out there wants to come along and make the sacrifice let us know.  We are gonna stick a picture up on the blog of their shiny noggins.  There is nothing quite as sexy as a bald head!
Finally, with Christmas fast approaching, please keep those texts and blog posts coming.  They keep Logan afloat. A 15yr old without a social life is unheard of so don't let him get bored.  God knows what trouble he will get into.

Merry Christmas all of you
Keep well and give your family and friends hugs every day

Logan and Sasha - a regular visitor

Love always


Tracy and family

Home...

All good... home now till my bloods sort themselves out.  They are taking more bloods on Friday morning and if all is sweet I am going in for my 2nd treatment that afternoon.  Bit anxious about it tho, cause the doc said there are a few people with vomiting and diarrhea on the ward... dont want it to be me!

Come visit me! (unless you are crook)

Logan

Wild Night

Hi guys,
I was planning on posting an update yesterday, but with the way things went I'm glad I didn't.  yesterday morning I went back into hospital to hopefully start my 2nd round of chemo.  We spent 6 hours waiting to see if we could stay or if my blood cells said that I couldn't start chemo yet.  Turns out I was no longer neutropenic but my red blood cells were still too low to start chemo.  So off home we went  thinking we had three days at home before we went back on Friday to start chemo, hopefully,  on Saturday. 
BUT.....
at 7pm my temp started to climb and kept going till it spiked at 38.6 at 8.30pm ruining everyone's evening including my parents who were out at my sisters dance recital.  We rushed to emergency dept at the hospital around 9ish when I would rather have been asleep. They thankfully moved us through quite quickly as we have this little yellow card with INFECTION ALERT written on it.  As always the hospital staff were awesome and within a short time we saw a doctor.  They were not happy and decided to admit me!!!!! AGAIN!!!!! There goes my sunbathing routine!
They took a zillion bloods - some from the hickman and some from a peripheral line (my arm) - to see if they could locate the cause of the infection.  They also had to take what they call cultures in large glass bottles! They take at least 24hrs to see if they grow anything. My platelets are so low at the moment, I thought I would turn into a human sieve. On the upside, I have heaps of white blood cells and my nutrafils are fabulous now!
NEWSFLASH!!!
The doctor has just been.  He said that the antibiotics can stop and they are going to give me 2 units of blood, then send me home tomorrow.  They think the stuff Mum jabbed me with the other day might be too powerful for me and so will probably change it to giving me small daily doses instead!!!! HOW AWESOME!!!! (not) MORE NEEDLES!

Anyhow, hopefully Mum and I will head home in the morning... visitors welcome... come save me from Mum's cotton wool!

Thanks Peachgrove Intermediate

OK guys, on to the third post of the night.
Me and my entire family would like to thank Peachgrove Intermediate for their support in this troubling time.
We found out this afternoon that they had held a mufty day to raise funds for our family.
One of the teachers stopped by our house and presented us with an envelope, explaining the situation before I even got a chance to open the card.
Needless to say, this left mum with "something in her eye" and the rest of us stunned.
So again I would like to thank Louisa and the staff and students at Peachgrove Intermediate, you guys made our day.

Change of plans

Hiya guys, me again.
We are now going into hospital Monday morning.
My blood levels are too low so the doctors want to check them again at 9am.
This will determine whether or not I will be continuing my chemo as planned or waiting till a later date.
So that is all.
Be good, and stay healthy.
Logan

Low immune system

Hiya guys, Logan here.
Just wanted to post a quick update before I head back into hospital this afternoon.
To start with, I've had a lovely week at home. Thanks to all those that visited or called, you brightened my days.
Only two hiccups this week, and that involved my line and bloods. On Tuesday morning, me and mum piled into the car to make an appointment at the hospital to have my Hickman line serviced, this involves changing the bandage that covers the wound, changing the plugs, flushing it with saline and drawing a sample of blood. The first three things went off without a hitch, but when it came to blood, we encountered a problem. They couldn't draw from my line. They tried and tried, without success. We knew the line was in the vein and working because they we're able to pump saline into the line, but they couldn't draw anything out. Apparently this is due to a thing called a fibrin sheath, which hopefully they can fix when we are readmitted later today. The other problem occurred Yesterday morning when I headed off to Pathlab to get a blood sample taken. Taking the blood from my arm wasn't the problem, that went really well, I might even go as far as to say it was the best blood test I have ever had, I barely felt it. It was the results that scared me. It turns out I am severely Neutropenic, which is where your white blood cell count is so low, you effectively have no immune system. This is a common side effect of chemo therapy, although it usually happens closer to the time of the treatment, not the day before you go in for the next, your White blood cell count is usually on the rise again by then.
But other then those things, life has been pretty sweet, other then the obvious.

Despite the fact that I am neutropenic, we are still welcoming visitors. You just have to text or call before you come, as before, to make sure we aren't busy. And if you have any known illness, PLEASE stay away, now is a bad time for me to get the flu.

OK, well that is all for now, I will endeavor to keep the blog updated with things that are happening as we move into my second round of chemo.
Until then, as always, be good and stay healthy.

Home is good

Hiya guys, Logan here.
Sorry to the people who watch daily for updates about the delay between posts, but things kept getting in the way of updating the blog. What with meals, sleeps, chemo and other little things that end up taking loads of time or making the times I would have updated in too short.

Now, to the update.
As you read in an earlier post I had a Hickman line surgically implanted in my chest on Tuesday, and so far sooooooooo good. I will admit that the vein hurt a bit for the first few days, and it's still tender if i use my right arm too much or stretch the area. But on the plus side, NO MORE LURES OR BLOOD TEST NEEDLES! When they want to give me chemo, they tap into a line. If they need blood, it draws from a line, also I have 2 lines so they can pump fluids and chemo at the same time. The main draw backs are that I cant stay way from hospital for a full week as they have to flush my line so that I don't get clots, and the fact that I'm can't have a bath or swim. Oh well, showers for me, and for as long as the pros out weigh the cons I will put up with them.

Now, most of the week went by quite quietly. It consisted of more chemo drips, blood tests (from my new line) and resting. We had visitors, a couple of my friends, grandparents (as in the below photo) and great people who helped keep me and mom sane. We're home for now, we have a week at home between chemo cycles. All we have to do is stop in at the hospital on Tuesday for a flush and blood test, other then that, we're free, and it feels so good to be in a comfy bed, in a quiet room. We got home Saturday morning, and it was a relief to be home without a constant drip or chemo. One thing that does bear mentioning was on Friday night, when I got a little nauseous. Nothing serious, they have drugs to stop it before it gets too bad, but it's the drugs that make this story. As I was feeling rather nauseous and was already on the basic anti-nausea drugs, they popped me on one called nosenan (think that's how you spell it) which has a very common side effect for it's breed of drugs, it makes you drowsy. And I was taking this at 9 at night, when my body was already tired, so I spent a good 30 minutes in an over tired, semi-drugged state, which apparently resulted in slurred speech and me making a fool of myself, which was found rather humorous to my dear mother who was observing all of this.

Now i think that brings me up to date. If people want to visit, feel free, just text me or mum and organize a time.
So this is me, signing off for now. It may be a little while before I update again, simply because there will hopefully be nothing that needs reporting till i return to hospital next Sunday.
So goodbye for now, be good, and stay healthy.

Visitors...

Thanks to everyone coming to keep me from going insane... It's fabulous to keep up with the gossip.  Here is a pic of me and my Nana... she brings me home baking and cuddles!