Logan was born on January 4, 2002.  He was born 6 ½ weeks early with a condition called Gastroschesis.  This is a birth defect in which the abdominal wall doesn’t close properly in the womb.  This forced his small intestine to develop on the outside of his body.  He was born by c-section at 11:37am and taken to the NICU immediately.  He was soon transferred to Children's hospital where he would have surgery on the first day of his life to put the intestines back inside and repair the hole.  Gastroschesis happens in about 1 out of every 10,000 births and there is no clear reason why.  Logan was taken to surgery about 7 hours after he was born.  He returned to the NICU where he would stay for the next month.  Because Logan's intestines were originally on the outside and then put back in his body, it would be awhile before he would be able to tolerate formula.  In the mean time he would be kept alive by intravenous nutrition, called TPN.  About two weeks after his surgery, Logan was allowed to eat.  He was first started on Pedialyte to see if he could tolerate it and eventually was able to eat breast milk in small amounts.  As he was able to go up on the feeds, they were able to turn the rate of the TPN down.  Eventually Logan was on full feeds and released out of intensive care to the surgical floor.  One month and one day after he was born, he was discharged home.  We were so excited and ready for him to finally be home with us.  He was a normal baby in every way.  He was able to eat from a bottle and was only on a couple of medications, one being for reflux.  Things were going well at home for two weeks.  Two weeks to the day after we were home, which was Logan's actual due date (Feb 19th, 2002), things took a drastic and horrible turn and our lives would be once again turned upside down.  And this is where Logan's journey begins...

Logan woke up that morning very irritable and refusing to eat.  We called the doctors and our dear friend who is an intensive care nurse. As soon as she heard his cry from the phone, she came right over.  We could all tell by Logan's cry something was terribly wrong.  We rushed to Children's hospital where an x-ray of his abdomen was taken.  Logan continued to cry and his cry started to get weaker, but he never stopped.  We waited for the doctor to read the x-ray, and he explained Logan was very ill and needed admitted to the PICU immediately.  He was battling a deadly infection in his intestine called Necrotizing enterocolitis.  Typically this happens to very premature infants in the first few days or weeks of life, however Logan was no longer premature and was now 6 weeks old.  With each passing moment, we saw our son getting very sick.  He was admitted to the PICU around noon and was quickly placed on a ventilator as it was getting hard for him to breathe.  His heart rate was in the 200's because he was in so much pain. His belly became extremely distended and black and blue around his belly button.  His color turned gray and we were watching his life slipping away.  Within hours he was taken off the ventilator and put on an oscillator, which is a more powerful breathing machine.  He no longer just needed help to breathe.  He needed the machine to breathe for him.  They immediately started powerful antibiotics to try and stop the infection.  We also begged for him to be moved back to the NICU where we knew all the nurses and NNP's.  We are so thankful for the NICU staff.  In a very scary time, they somehow made us feel better.  It felt as if Logan was in a safe place there.  It's hard to explain, but they loved Logan too and it made us feel better that he was in there with them.  We will never forget everyone's effort to get him moved back over there.  By 10pm, the doctors explained that medically he was not getting better despite everything they were doing for him.  His kidneys were starting to shut down and they decided to do emergency surgery right on the floor.  He was not stable enough to be taken to the OR.  The doctors explained they needed to open his abdomen and see what was going on.  He explained that if all of his intestine had died, that there would be nothing more they could do because at least some small intestine to survive.  If this were the case, they would close him up and we would have to say goodbye.  We had just a few minutes to hold Logan's hand and say a prayer before they did the surgery.  Finally the surgery was complete and the surgeon explained that Logan had lost more than 50% of his small intestine.  He explained that when he opened him up, the bowel was so necrotic that it was like wet tissue paper and fell apart in his hands.  He was alive, but he had a tough fight still ahead of him.  This surgery was on Tuesday.  A follow up surgery was scheduled for that Friday to see if they had gotten all of the infected intestine removed during the first surgery.  We were in the same situation as we were in on Tuesday.  Fortunately, they had gotten it all with the initial surgery.  He was given a g-tube into his stomach where he would be fed slowly and continuously when he was ready and an ileostomy.  Logan would spend the next 2½ months in the hospital.  He was again put on the TPN for intravenous feeding to keep him growing and alive.  In April, Logan was taken back to the OR to reverse his ileostomy in hopes that we could try feedings to determine if he had enough small bowel to absorb the formula.  The TPN that would keep him alive would have dangerous and deadly effects to his liver.  It is a necessary evil.  It keeps you alive if you can't eat, but at the same time, it can destroy your liver.  Knowing this, we tried hard to get Logan's feeding rate up and for him to absorb more and more, but it just wasn't happening.  He was finally discharged home again on May 8th, 2002.  We were taught how to take care of his central line and hook up the TPN.  Also how to maintain his g-tube and hook up his tube feeds.  We were able to have our baby home, but most of our time was consumed with medical supplies and medications.  It didn't take long for Logan to start showing signs that his liver was taking a hit from the TPN.  His liver numbers started to climb and he became more and more jaundice.  By August, we realized that he wasn't getting better, only worse, and it was time to head to Children's Hospital in Pittsburgh for a transplant evaluation.  This would turn out to be Logan's only hope to beat what had happened to him.  He would be evaluated for a liver and small bowel transplant.  There are only 3 centers in the U.S. that do intestinal transplants.  After a week long evaluation, Logan was listed for a liver and small bowel transplant.  That's when the waiting began.

Logan's belly became more and more distended each month and his liver and spleen became enlarged.  He required numerous blood transfusions and his clotting factors were way off.  His Platelet count became dangerously low.  By December, he started bleeding from his g-tube site almost daily.  We think that is when that we really realized the position we were in and that Logan desperately needed the transplant.  On Christmas Eve, we saw him throw up blood for the first time.  Nothing we had seen or been through to that point even compared to the horrible site of seeing our son throw up large amounts of blood.  But Logan continued on day after day not feeling well and still trying to smile.  We were able to have a great Christmas because of his strength. 

On the morning of Feb. 27th, I had changed 6 bloody diapers and knew we needed to get to the hospital in Columbus.  It was then that the doctor said we needed to get to Pittsburgh and stay at the Children’s hospital there until the transplant happened.  The doctor said, "if you stay here, you quit." And that obviously was not an option.  So, Logan and I flew to Pittsburgh by MedFlight and Grant and my mom drove and met us there much later.  Logan was admitted to the PICU.  I left home for the hospital that day not knowing it would be a very long time before I'd be back.  Logan was eventually moved out of the PICU and able to wait for his transplant on the transplant floor.  Although he still usually bled every day, he was stable enough to not be in intensive care.  He was on continuous FFP (fresh frozen plasma) and a couple of other meds to try and help with the bleeding.  While waiting in the hospital we were able to meet some very dear friends who’s children had already had transplants.  It helped so much to meet these people.  For the first time in this situation, we had people to talk to that knew exactly what we were going through and what he had already been through.  We have always had a wonderful support system with family and friends, but these were parents who also saw their children bleed on a daily basis, need IV TPN, dealt with the infections, the uncertainties, and came so close to death.

On March 31st, the transplant surgeon explained that they may have a possible donor for Logan, but the donor was much older and they weren't sure if it would be a match.  Even after hearing that, we couldn't help but be a little more than excited.  They came back later and explained the donor's intestine was damaged and, therefore, Logan would not be going to surgery.  Although somewhat disappointed we knew it wasn't meant to be.  Three days later on April 3rd, 2003, they came in again and said they had another possible offer and they felt more confident about this one.  The donor was a baby, and the organs would be perfect size for Logan.  They came in at 5pm, and said it was a go.  We couldn't believe it.  After all that waiting, all the misery, all the doubt, and all the frustration, the time had finally come for Logan to get his second chance and receive his gift of life.  It was very scary saying goodbye to him as they took him out of my arms, hoping and praying he would make it through this surgery ok as he had the previous six.  But at the same time I was at peace because Logan is such a fighter and I knew he would be ok.  During the surgery they gave us frequent updates and he was doing great.  The surgery lasted 11 hours and when we finally got to see him, we could tell a difference in his color already.  He was so yellow when he left for surgery.  He was already starting to pink up.  His new liver was working great already.

He would stay in intensive care for about 12 days and was eventually moved to the floor.  He did well in the beginning and then developed GVHR (graft vs. host reaction.)  This is when the organs reject the body instead of the other way around, which is what typically happens.  They treated this by lowering his immunospression drugs and giving him steroids.  This seemed to resolve and we were discharged to the hotel.  The Residence Inn in Pittsburgh, PA would become our home away from home.  We were there with the new friends we had met.  We were able to take Logan to the zoo and different places around Pittsburgh.  Two weeks after he was discharged, on Memorial Day, Logan woke up with a fever of 102.  We knew we were heading back to the hospital to be admitted.  Initially we thought Logan had a line infection as his blood cultures came back positive.  Treatment for this is antibiotics, which he was given, but he was not getting any better.  For five days, he had fevers that reached as high as 104.  During this week he also tested positive for influenza, so he was completely miserable from that as well.  As if more things could happen in one week, he also started hemolizing his own blood (which is when the body attacks it's own red blood cells).  He could not keep his blood counts up and required numerous blood transfusions.  It was finally determined that the influenza was causing the hemolysis and eventually it resolved itself.  By the fifth day with fevers of 104, Logan was on a cooling blanket and extremely uncomfortable.  Because they could not determine the source of the fever, they decided to try treating him for possible yeast in his blood.  He was given a dose of amphotericin B (a powerful antibiotic) and he had a horrible reaction.  His neck started to swell, his blood pressure was dropping, and he was turning blue. The medicine was immediately stopped and they bolused him with fluid, which brought his pressures back up.  He was stable but was still sent to the intensive care unit to be watched closely.  Also on the same day, still trying to determine the source of the fevers, the doctor felt his lymph nodes and they were noticeably enlarged.  He would be sent for a CT scan to view the nodes.  The scan proved what we already knew, enlarged nodes.  This is extremely scary in transplant patients, because it can result in PTLD (post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder), which can be cancerous.  Logan would be taken to the OR for a biopsy of the node under his arm.  The preliminary results were that Logan did have PTLD and everything seemed to be happening so fast and not in a good direction.  However, prayers would once again be answered when only a couple of days later, the transplant surgeon and the pathologist looked at the biopsy again, and confirmed it was NOT PTLD.  It was again the GVHR that was causing the enlarged nodes.  This was a very rare symptom of GVHR, which is why it took a while to figure it out.  Logan had to be taken completely off the immunospression drugs, which is unheard of, for 5 days to help fight this round of GVHR.  A test of Logan's blood was done and they found that he had 60% donor cells in his body, which is an extreme amount.  This overwhelming amount of donor cells was taking over his little body.  Basically, his new organs were trying to kill him.  With steroids and no immunosupression, the swelling from the nodes started to go down and the fevers were gone.  Finally, after a horrible 7 days, Logan was feeling better and back to himself.  He would stay in the hospital for most of June.  He was discharged once again to the hotel and we were given the word we could go back to Ohio.  We were so excited by this news.  I hadn't been to Ohio since Feb. 27th.  We left Pittsburgh on July 4th and headed back home.  We had to go back to PA in two weeks for scope and clinic, but we were just excited to see our family and friends again.

Overall, Logan has done amazing.  He had a rough time in June, but has overcome all of the obstacles life has thrown at him.  Doing it his way the whole time.  To see him with clothes on, or pictures of him now, you would never know he was sick a day in his life.  He has been through so much in his young life.  He is the bravest little boy we know.  He is so happy and full of enormous energy.  He is continuing to make great strides to catch up for the months when he was so sick.  He has learned to crawl since we've been home and just recently started walking.  There were times that we never thought we would get to see him enjoy those infant milestones.  He is and will always be our hero.

We certainly could not have gotten through the last 21 months without the help of our family and friends.  Their support is never ending.  And of course his wonderful GI doctor, surgeons, and nurses here in Columbus that were with us and there for Logan since the beginning, especially our great friend and nurse, Carrie.  And the entire transplant team (especially Dr. Reyes, Dr. Mazariegos, Dr. Sindhi, and our coordinator Amy), GI doctor, and nurses in PA.  We had our favorite nurses we requested that took great care of Logan.  They all got Logan to where he is today.  We wish we could say thank you to everyone individually but the list is way too long.  These are special people that we hold dear to our hearts and we will never forget what they have done for us.  These people were and still are a crucial part in Logan's life, and without them, he would not be here today. 

This story would not be complete without saying an extra thank you to Patti.  She opened her life and heart to us and made herself available 24 hours a day.  There many times we paged her late at night with questions or issues and she always called back.  She would do things for us that went beyond our expectations. There were several occasions where she met us at the hospital on the weekends or in the evenings if Logan was having issues.  She knew how much we hated going to the ER and how bad it would be for Logan.  She did and still does everything possible to keep us from having to go there.  She even babysat a few times so Grant and I could actually do something together and get a break.  She has saved his central line twice now when it has broken. Not to mention her awesome dressing changes.  We hope she knows how important those things were and are and how she helped us through the toughest time of our lives.

There were so many people that prayed for Logan everyday and had him on many prayer lists.  We had strangers sending us emails saying that they were praying for Logan.  People at work and people everywhere were praying.  The power of prayer was working for him.  A special group of co-workers gathered to pray on April 3^rd, not knowing that only a couple of hours after their prayer, Logan was in the OR receiving his gift of life. Thank you God.  And of course we thank our donor family for the courage and unselfish decision, in a time of grief, to give someone a second chance.  They were able to give us the best gift possible, which is the gift of life.

As I sit here writing this story, I take a moment to reflect on everything we have been through.  We have seen things that no parents should ever have to see and have shed many tears.  But through it all, we have learned not to take life for granted and to cherish every moment with Logan.  After all, he is a miracle.