Logan's Story

The Diagnosis
Logan was born a healthy baby boy weighing in at 8lbs 1oz and was 21" long. Soon after getting him home from the hospital I began noticing extreme fussiness. He also had a huge appetite! My my concerns were mostly ignored by his doctor. By two and a half months he had been having recurring eye infections, obvious tummy pains with eating, and I began noticing swelling in his legs. A trip to the ER, test were run, and we were sent home with the Dr's statement "He's just getting Chubby!"

We followed up with his pediatrician 2 days later, who agree something was 'off', and suggested supplementing a few feedings with pediatlite- he thought he may be dehydrated. Later that day, we boarded a plane for a trip to visit Dad's family in Utah. Logan was a champ on the plane ride over, but as soon as we got in the car the fussing began. It didn't really stop the whole first night there. by the next morning Grandma (who is a nurse) suggested that if he isn't turning around by the evening we should take him to the children's hospital. I remember the numb feeling and uneasy stomach I had on the drive up there. We parked just as the sun was beginning to set- it was a typical beautiful SLC sunset over down town.

We checked in and sat down. His name was called soon after, we were instructed to get him undressed and place him on the infant scale. As soon as his little body hit the scale the nurse scoop him up and walked us into a room. Trauma Room #1 to be exact... that part is burned forever into my memory. The rest of the night however is a blurr... like a fast forward dream sequence in a movie. It included teams of doctors, lots of repetitive questions, words like tumors, crashing, neglect, CPS, "his body is shutting down", emergency surgery, and on and on. I remember the nurses... following me as I paced around. They kept trying to get me to eat, I guess I was going into a bit of shock and that's probably why the day is such a blur. Twenty seven unsuccessful attempts at placing an IV, and then they flew in a mediflight team of specialists and equipment to start his IV. I remember watching them hurry off the elevator know the room they were rushing towards contained my tiny baby.

It took a week before anyone thought to test for CF. Mostly because they'd come up empty with every other possible diagnosis. They came to deliver the news in a team, like he only had months to live. He was started on enzymes right away and with in days he was a completely different child. There were many other treatments done during this time. When he arrived his protein count was ZERO so his blood wasn't able to contain fluid, it all seeped into surrounding tissue. He was starving to death. He recovered, and left the hospital after a two week admission.

The First Year
I think Logan was admitted a total of 5 timed in his first year. The first 3 after diagnosis were all pertaining to his weight, and mild intestinal blockages. The 5th was because he got Coxaki (Hand Foot Mouth Disease). He lost a lot of weight and was on a NG tube (nasal feeding tube). He was released after regaining some weight, the day before his first birthday.

Ongoing Care
Let me try to sum things up quickly. Logan stayed out of the hospital for a full 2 years, but returned shortly after his 3rd birthday with a collapsed lung. He bounced back in less than a week and got let out early! This is also when he got his first of many PICC lines. He stayed a healthy for a few years after that and was admitted for a sinus surgery.

Since then Logan has remained fairly healthy. I am embarrassed to admit that I've lost count of sinus surgeries. A few were outpatient, but most were coupled with a 2 week clean out. He's bee treated at 3 different hospitals and although we weren't big fans of the drive (3 hours!) we sure miss UCSF. Our hospital right now is not a "children's hospital" so it does lack some of the luxuries we enjoyed at the last two places. However, we live less than 5 minutes from this one and we LOVE LOVE LOVE our doctors here! Also Logan is pretty much old enough to keep himself fairly entertained!

Otherwise
Logan leads a pretty active life. He tried out and made a swim team. He takes Tae Kwon Do and has already reached Orange Belt. He moves with such strength and ease, most would never guess he has CF. He loves to play with his brother and sister, his dog, listen to music, and spends far to much time texting friends! He's been able to gain some weight and though he's beginning to get another lung infection his doctors are pleased with how he looks right now.