Logan had a lot of good company over the weekend. Megan, Chris, Lauren and Dustin and Brent all came by for a visit on Saturday. They all got smiles out of him when talking to him about various things (I will not go into detail about some souvenir statue that he gave to Megan some time back, but when she mentioned it , he cracked up). He continues to do something or respond to something new everyday. He has begun to nod his head for yes and no and continues to use the thumbs up and down as well. Following commands is increasing in consistency, and he has begun to follow two step commands like "Touch your ear, then shut your eyes." Following simple commands is helpful in so many ways; it will enable him to assist with his care and eventually with transfers from the bed to the chair, etc. He is able to move his tongue more and open his mouth better which will help with voicing (no words yet, just sounds, but that's the next big thing everyone is waiting for). The medication trial today was successful and Logan will very likely be getting a pump which must be put in his abdomen surgically. We don't have a date on that yet, then the tendon lengthening will be done, and finally, the trach removal (woo hoo!). After the medication was administered today, Logan had a significant amount of improvement in his range of motion on the left side and also some improvement on the right side; he was able to sit up with his back straighter and with less assistance than before. It will be interesting to see what he does in therapy tommorrow since receiving the injection. Logan got a visit from Pam of the Calcasieu Parish Sherriff's Office today; thanks to Pam and all of the employees of the CPSO for all that you've done and continue to do for Logan. We will always be grateful. At the moment, things are moving along quickly with measurable improvements happening every day. That felt really good to say. More later.

                   Logan was videotaped today to document his range of motion, etc. before the trial with the injection of medication on Monday. He will receive the injection on Monday morning and must remain in bed for four hours while waiting for it to take effect. He will then be videotaped again to compare it with the before tape. If the medication has a positive effect on his spacticity (on the left side), they will decide whether to continue to give him injections periodically or consider placing a pump under the skin in his abdomen to automatically release the medication. If this works for him (it varies from patient to patient), it could be helpful in improving his ability to move and control his movements. Right now, his left arm and leg spasm and stiffen up when he tries to move which lilmits his mobility a great deal. He is continuing to make small improvements both physically and cognitively. We are working on a system of communication which uses a thumbs up or a thumbs down for yes and no. While we don't get a definitive answer every time, we do get a pretty good indication of what his answer is often. Sometimes, we get an immediate thumbs down, and he will shake it down several times which makes us feel confident that he wants us to quit what we're doing asap. Likewise, we get answers to questions about what he likes or recognizes in the same way. For example, today he was asked what kind of ice cream that he liked and he gave a thumbs up to vanilla, then chocolate, and a thumbs down to strawberry; I'm pretty sure that's true. We have been told that his tastes may not be the same as they were before, so we'll have to experiment with different flavors. His swallowing is improving with practice, and tommorow he will get to try some applesauce ( I don't think he liked applesauce, but it will be a new texture). He continues to get juices and today he had sherbet and ice cream as well. As was true before the injury, Logan's sense of humor favors the absurd and the obnoxious, and his therapists are more than willing to oblige to get a laugh out of him. Whatever the reason, it's always good to see him smile.

Logan has been at TIRR, 4 months today. In his time here, there have been setbacks, but his progress of late has been very positive & significant. We appreciate everyone's continued prayers and support; a special thanks to Logan's most recent visitors- Josh, Laken, Melanie, Mike, Allie & Taylor. 

               Logan continues to make small improvements daily; today, the speech pathologist handed him his toothbrush with toothpaste on it and Logan brushed his teeth. He is able to move just about anything on the right side on command (a specific finger, toes, bending and straightening his leg, and other things that he is asked to do) and it seems that something new is added almost every day. He had a few visitors over the past couple of days, Josh and Chris on Tuesday and Tanny on Thursday. They got some pretty good reactions from Logan; he smiled a lot and shook their hands when they extended theirs and some other things. Thanks to all of you. Today was animal therapy day (I don't know what they call it, but people bring a bunch of dogs to TIRR and they interact with the patients), but I'd be willing to bet that Logan is glad when it's over. Amy said that he did throw a ball for a dog to retrieve a couple of times today. They try just about anything to get responses from the patients, which is a really good thing. The tendon lengthening procedure will be pushed back a little in order to try a medicine for spacticity which is injected, rather than taken orally. If the medication is effective, a pump would be placed under the skin in his abdomen which would automatically release the medication. The oral medication for spacticity, (which is a type of muscle relaxer), can cause drowsiness which makes any activity or therapy difficult and less productive. We'll have to see how he responds to the medication and go from there. While we're not looking forward to any more surgical procedures, we're not complaining because the progress that he's made since the plate was put in has been terrific.            

                   The swallow test showed that Logan was able to get the liquid (some barium junk) down without choking, so the speech pathologist has begun giving him small amounts of juices. The length of time it takes for him to get the juice down varies each time, but that should improve with practice. He is also responding to more commands each day; today while Amy was with him, she asked him to throw a ball that he was holding and he did. We are pretty sure that he was aiming for her and had been thinking about it for some time. We are still waiting for the date for the tendon surgery; hopefully, this week we'll get that scheduled. Everything continues to go well. He is moving a lot and his fine motor skills are improving. Robby took him outside a few times this weekend to enjoy the warm, sunny weather while it lasts. Therapy is getting more strenuous, with them assisting Logan in standing and stepping out with his right foot. The tendon lengthening will make this process easier by enabling him to place his left foot flat on the floor. He requires a lot of support to do any of these activities, and they are working on strengthening the muscles needed to do them. He's usually worn out when they're done with him. That's about all for now, thanks for your continued prayers and support.

                Logan's response to simple commands is becoming more consistent and he is responding to a greater number of them as the days go by. Tommorrow morning he will get another swallow test (he's only had one since he got to TIRR) and if it goes well, the speech pathologist will begin to introduce various liquids and soft foods in very small amounts to see if he can swallow them. It will be a slow process to re-learn how to swallow and anything he is given will taste strange to him for a while. We are still waiting for a date for the tendon lengthening procedure; I hope it 's soon so we can get this last (hopefully) surgery behind us and remove his trach. Things continue to improve in small but measurable ways and the staff is pleased with the progress he's made since the plate was put in.

Logan had a good weekend. It started Friday when Cade came for a visit. Logan was definitely tracking Cade when he talked to him ( or picked at him). It is still undetermined whether Log Dog was really glad to see Cade or was actually scared of all the facial hair. Regardless, he did respond to him being there. Saturday, Logan was very awake and had good responses when his nurse and techs were there. Today, we went outside and enjoyed the nice weather. He seemed to enjoy the sunshine & slightly cool breeze. When I told him the pigeons had pooped everywhere, he smiled. We probably don't want to know why the correlation with pooping, etc. seems to make him grin. Thanks to everyone for all of your continued thoughts and prayers.

Everything's still going pretty well. Logan  continues to show some progress with tracking, looking at people when he is spoken to, and maintaining eye contact for longer periods of time. He does at times follow simple commands (move your finger or toe , or give a thumbs up), but it remains inconsistent ;even so, it is still an improvement. He received botox injections today in his neck, shoulder and arm in the hopes of loosening the muscles up. It'll take about a week for them to take efffect. Thanks to Mickey, Jess and Kemp for stopping by while they were in Houston; Logan was definitely looking at Kemp and smiled when Kemp spoke to him. He never smiles when I talk to him and I've had about enough of it. More later.

                        No one really knows what's going on in that big head of Logan's, but whatever was happpening today had him in a great mood. Amy and Emily were here and Amy was being ridiculous and obnoxious, (she and Logan have always had that in common), and he was not only smiling, but making sounds with them. When we walked into the room, he was sitting in the wheelchair. Emily approached him on the right side and he turned his head and eyes to look at her; he seems to be more aware of his surroundings and reacting to them which is great to see. He will be receiving botox injections to help loosen up the muscles on his left side; that should be happening this week. If they work well, it should help with his range of motion and make therapy easier. Everything seems to be moving along smoothly right now-I hope we're on a roll.

                  Slowly, Logan is regaining some movement on the right side. He seems to do a little more each day. While he isn't tracking consistently, there are times when he appears to be following objects (especially the TV). He will probably be having a procedure done which will lengthen the achilles tendon in each foot; his left foot is most affected and cannot be placed in a position which is needed for standing for long periods of time. It is a short procedure, the orthopedic surgeon said it takes about 15 minutes for each foot, and he would return to TIRR the same day. His feet would be in casts for a while, but he would be able to stand on them. His staples (from the last surgery) should be coming out any day now which will allow us to finally scrub his whole head. That might sound strange but he has either had staples or an indention to work around since this happened. There won't be much happening on the weekend, so I'll update early next week.