What a long day....Logan & Dad left the house about 11:30am and did not get home until almost 8pm. Our first stop was Seattle Cancer Center where Logan will be getting his stem cell transplant. They just wanted to start a file and check his Hickman Line. We were only there about 30 minutes. We then went to Seattle Children's Hospital for blood work and our normal Friday meeting w/ the doctors. We were the last appointment of the day and they were running behind. Logan's counts were low so we need to go back at 8am Sunday morning for a transfusion. To prepare for this they had to draw a little more blood this evening to match the donated blood. The only issue was that most everyone had left for the holiday weekend. We had to wait for the charge nurse from another floor. Oh well Logan and I spent the time playing his video game together to try to get to the next level. If Logan feels well we will get a day at home tomorrow. Thank you all for your continued support and prayers.

Just so that we all have a better understanding of the type of cancer Login is fighting:

What is neuroblastoma?
Neuroblastoma is a children’s cancer diagnosed in approximately 500 to 1,000 children per year in the USA. Neuroblastoma is a complex tumor of the sympathetic nervous system, a condition that has been known for 35 years. Its frequency is second only to brain tumors and it is seldom seen in children over 14 years old.
The median age for tumor discovery is two years, and it occurs somewhat more in boys than girls. Like most cancers, its cause is unknown. It is extremely difficult to diagnose in small children, and once diagnosed, its progression is often rapid, and very painful. Although neuroblastoma accounts for only 8% of all cancers, it is responsible for over 15% of the deaths.
The disease is diagnosed from stage I (a localized tumor confined to one organ or area of organ) to stage IV (solid tumors that have spread to several organs or parts of the body). Depending on the stage of the disease, treatment may be limited to tumor removal surgery, or may be as extensive as tumor removal surgery combined with chemotherapy, radiation, and bone marrow transplants.
In most cases, children with neuroblastoma are not diagnosed until Stage IV, when, until recently, long-term survival rates stood at a dismal 20% or less. However, encouraging developments in treatment and research are helping children to be diagnosed earlier, and to have increased chances of survival.

Diagnosis of Neuroblastoma
The two most important factors in the prognosis for a child with neuroblastoma are the stage of the disease and the age of the child at the time of diagnosis. For all stages, infants less than one year old have a much better chance for remission and survival than older children. Early diagnosis is one of our best weapons in the war against neuroblastoma.
Often, neuroblastoma is first discovered when parents or a physician feel a mass or tumor somewhere in the child's body. Sometimes the child shows no outward symptoms, and sometimes symptoms resemble those of many more common childhood illnesses, such as bruising, mild flu symptoms, diarrhea, and loss of appetite.
More acute symptoms can include bone pain, hypertension, anemia, skin nodules, a pronounced limp, or a refusal to walk.
Pediatricans can order a simple, non-invasive 24 hour urine test, which is nearly 100% accurate in detecting neuroblastoma cancer. Also, ultrasound, CT scans, and MRI scans can effectively detect neuroblastoma-related tumors.

Article taken from neuroblastomacancer.org.

Happy Friday to all. Sorry we did not write yesterday. It was a great day for Logan. No doctors and a day to just play all day. Today we have a lot of appointments. We have to go some where in Seattle so they can check Logan's Hickman line. It is where he will be having blood drawn next week to harvest blood cells for his stem cell transplant. We then go to Children's for blood work/lab to see ho his counts are. Finally we have our usual Friday clinic w/ the Dr. Hawkins. Logan's white blood cells should start to come back-up over the weekend. They have to be above 500 to fight infection (like a simple cold). This Wednesday they were at 0.

Happy Wednesday to all. Logan's transfusion went well. It looks like everyone gets a rest day tomorrow as long as he does not get a fever. Logan's shot went well today. It is getting easier everyday. Logan is standing right here & he wants me to tell everyone "I want to take a walk." he also said "I like Josh (big brother) because he likes to play video games." Well w/ that being said we are going to go on a short walk. Have a great day!

Today we went and started a file for Logan at the Tacoma Children's Hospital. We did this because it is about 15 minutes away vs. the hour (w/ no traffic) to Seattle. We will be able to go to Tacoma to get his blood work done. Everything else still will be done in Seattle. Also if he gets a fever we are supposed to have him in the ER within one hour. It makes sense for us to have a file as well in Tacoma. The staff there was excellent. Logan's counts were low so he will be get getting a red blood cell transfusion tomorrow morning. He looks and feels fine. He had a mostly relaxing day. Dad & Logan caught a frog in the yard and Logan kept it in his bug catcher. He filled it w/ grass so the frog could eat he said. Currently we are sitting on the back deck relaxing by a fire in the fire bowl. Logan is playing his video game as well as trying to eat his dinner. It sounds like we will be making daily trips this week and next to Seattle so they can watch his counts as well as get his ready for the stem cell transplant.

Happy Monday to all (if there is such a thing). Logan, Mom, & Peyton had a good visit today at the hospital. His blood work came back good. They are thinking he may only need one transfusion this week. This is good considering he needed three the week after his first chemo. They will also be doing a second CAT scan in a couple weeks to see if the tumor is shrinking. We gave Logan his second shot at home today. He hopped right up into the chair and said "go ahead dad" but when the needle came out he went the other way. The good thing is he said he did not feel it again. Hopefully it will get easier. He is being so brave w/ everything though. Tonight Kelly & I get a date night! My mom and step dad are coming over to watch the boys and we are going to go catch a Mariner's game for awhile. It will be weird being together w/ out the boys. Thank you for your continued support.

Logan, Dad, Baby Peyton (amazing Mom is taking picture)

Happy Sunday to everyone. Today was a great day to be home. We just laid around most the morning. Logan slept for 12 hours last night....nice to be in his own bed. We went on a nice walk and Logan drove his John Deere Gator the whole way. This afternoon we stopped by Uncle Pat's & Aunt Traci's to see everyone. We gave Logan his first shot today. It went interesting. After a little wrestling we got it done. He said he did not feel it at all. We will see how tomorrow's goes. Grandma & Grandpa David came over for dinner tonight and Kelly found the time to make us some great spaghetti sauce in the crock pot. It was great.

We are home! It was an interesting ride home. There was a major car accident that shut down all lanes southbound on I-5. We tried to take back roads.....w/ everyone else. It took about an hour and a half to get home. It wouldn't have been that bad but Logan got sick in the car on himself , the car seat, and the seat. It made the ride that much longer. Good news is he is feeling great now and very excited to sleep in his own bed tonight. It will be nice to just lay around tomorrow and not be bothered by nurses and doctors.

Today we go home! Good morning all. Logan is relaxing watching cartoons. His tummy is a little sour. They give hime medicine at 9:30am everyday just before chemo. The medicine is to help prevent sickness. It's supposed to last about 24 hours. I think it wears off a little early and that is why we see the yucky tummy in the mornings. We get to leave the hospital about 3pm (4 hours after chemo treatment). Yesterday we learned how to give shots to Logan because we will giving them to him daily this next week. I gave one to myself in the thigh...I didn't even feel it because the needle is so small. Kelly then let me give one to her in the thigh. In case you have not heard she is very...VERY afraid of needles. She was very brave in front of Logan though and did very well. Have a great Saturday.

Logan & Papa on the back-nine at "Logan Links".

Good Friday evening to everyone. Sorry we have not written today but the hospital has been having issues w/ their wireless network. Logan had a great day today. Woke up w/ a little tummy ache but once we got up and moving he was fine. Yes all the nurses on the floor today got more tickets. This time to the moon and Pluto. Logan drew a rocket on each ticket for them. When asked how long to get to Pluto Logan told them 2 minutes. We did get a pass this afternoon and Logan, Dad, Mom, Peyton, Grandma Kathy, & Grandpa David all went down to University Village and got some Ben & Jerry's ice cream. Logan also picked up a new Scooby Doo book at the book store. This highlight of the day was when we walked Mom, Peyton, & the Grandparents down stairs to say goodbye one of his pre-school teachers was out front coming to see a relative. Logan's lit up so big when he saw Miss Kari. He smiled from ear to ear for about five minutes. He gave her the biggest hug. It was an amazing moment. It goes to show what a great school Puyallup Playcare is. Currently as I type this Logan is drawing a picture for her. Everyone Smile and thank you for your thoughts and prayers. We get to go home tomorrow!

Another great day! I left for work for awhile and Logan ate like a pig! That is great news because he has not had much of an appetite of late. Mom has the right touch. Logan's baby brother was a little cranky which concerned Logan. He rubs Peyton's eyebrow's to calm him. In yesterday's blog I told everyone about going to park and skipping rocks. Logan brought back two rocks w/ him. He named the big one Big Richie (Richie Sexson of the Mariners) and the little one Ichiro. Today we drew faces on them and put there names and numbers on the back. He has been carrying them around and showing everyone. Only two days until we get to go home. Logan wants to golf in the back yard (where he always beat his Papa on Logan Links). Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers.

Happy Thursday to everyone. Logan had a great night last night. No tummy aches. This morning he went around and handed out more train tickets to Seattle to see Mariners, Puyallup to go to fair or NY to see Mariners play Yankees. Hopefully everyone went to the www.teambrent.com and read Brent's story. I e-mailed his Mom last night and she has already responded back w/ numerous positive helpful e-mails. It's great to hear similar stories of what we are going through. The more awarness we can create the better. I would love to at some point help raise money to find a cure for this nasty disiese. any ideas out there how we can raise money here in the Northwest let me know. Thank you everyone for the positive comments.

Today was a good day. Logan spent an hour walking around the floor giving the nurses train tickets he made. He said they were tickets to Seattle. He then went around and gave them train tickets to New York so they could go see the Mariner's beat the Yankees (his idea not mine). His nurse Mandy was so thrilled that when we got back from our outside trip there was a brand new Lego train set on his bed. It made Logan's day. We did get to leave again for about an hour. Kelly, Grandma (my Mom), Peyton, Logan & I went down to a park on Lake Washington. I taught Logan how to skip rocks. As he told the nurse tonight he is in training on how to skip rocks. We walked a lot so Logan came back very tired. I look over at him now at 8:55pm and he is sleeping peacefully.
As everyone can see Dylan has put some links on the blog as well. Everyone can visit those and learn about Logan's cancer Neuroblastoma. I would like everyone to also visit this website and read the amazing story about Brent. My brother shared this story w/ me. As you will see it sounds very familiar. Visit www.teambrent.com.
Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers.

Good Wednesday morning! Last night was a little bit of a rough night. Logan had a tummy ache about 4am and tried to throw-up. He also has a little accident in bed. They have him hooked up to fluids all the time to flush the chemo through his system so he always has to go potty. He is feeling better this morning.
Today he is helping me w/ my Dex work putting together my "show" books to show customer's. It requires gluing and pasting which he loves. Next I will teach him how to call my customers and set appts;).
He gets his chemo from 10am to 11am then nothing much the rest of the day. His little brother, mom, & Grandma (my mom) will be coming up later. Logan can't wait.
Last night Logan & I watched the Mariner's game and his nurse is a huge fan as well. She had Logan keep he updated on the score. So when the beat the Twins Logan made it his mission to find her to let her know.
Have a great day everyone!

Great first day today. Logan is doing amazing! They let us leave the hospital for about an hour to go get dinner down the road. Logan also bought some art supplies to decorate his room. Peyton has been doing very well up here. It brings a smile to Logan's face every chance he gets to hold him. Last night he said the Peyton was his best friend. Well that is it for now Logan and I have to hopefully watch the Mariner's get a win vs. the Twins. Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers!

Proud big brother, and little Peyton.

Happy Tuesday morning! We are here at the hospital. Logan will be getting first of five doses here shortly. He is in a great mood! He is playing doctor this morning. We will be sharing a room this time w/ a girl about Logan's age. The nurse said they are a real nice family. We have the good half of the room w/ the window:).

Today Kelly & Logan went up to Seattle Children's for blood work. Logan's counts looked great so he will be admitted tomorrow (Tuesday 8/21) to start his second round of chemo. If everything goes o.k. we should get to go home on Saturday 8/25. Logan's spirits are up and he has a great attitude. Yesterday I spoke w/ him about needing a feeding tube later in treatment because his tummy would hurt a little and he would not feel like eating. I told him he would have a backpack w/ food and the tube would go into his belly. His response was "Do I get to pick the food that is in my backpack?"
I will try to update blog daily.
Thank you all for your continued support and prayers!