In the last couple of days we've been talking to the people from TIRR and Toureau. We were waiting for insurance clearance for TIRR; both facilities had accepted Logan. Today, however, we've been informed that he has a bladder infection. Logan has been very uncomfortble for the past few days and I assume that this was the problem. FINALLY, his catheter has been changed. The bacteria is another difficult to treat kind and we have no idea how long it will take to get rid of it. We are disappointed to be back to infection fighting mode; we were ready to move on. Let's hope the antibiotic he's on will do the trick.

     An adjustment was made on Logan's shunt this morning; evidently, it was not draining enough. We have begun to get information from a couple of facilities that deal with brain injury to find out if he would qualify for their programs. They will review his medical records, then if any of the facilities are willing to take him we would have to submit the request to his insurance company for approval. We're just getting started with the process and don't really know what to expect at this point. In the mean time, we hope no new infections arise.

                       Everything's about the same as yesterday - good temperature, the shunt appears to be working, he's still somewhat sleepy.

               I received a call from the hospital this morning informing me that the neurosurgeon wanted to do the shunt procedure around noon today. We weren't expecting it to be done this soon, but everything went well and we're glad to have that out of the way. Having said that, there are still a number of things that could become a problem in the days to come concerning the new permanent shunt, but hopefully they can be dealt with. As always, we try not to look too far ahead. The temporary drain had a tube that connected to a bag and required Logan's head be kept at a certain angle to assure proper drainage. Since everything is now on the inside, he can be moved around much more. That will make therapy easier and maybe allow him to be put in more comfortble positions the rest of the time. That's about all for now; I'll try to post an update tomorrow afternoon.

                         The second csf sample came back negative; we are thankful for small victories. Logan's temperature is still good and he is currently on two antibiotics which are being administered through his peg tube. His IV was removed a couple of days ago, so hopefully that's one less site for an infection to develop. We don't know what the doctors will decide to do about the drug resistant bacteria that is present in his sputum, maybe nothing unless it becomes an active infection. They're still thinking about that. So, we wait.

                   I looked in on Logan this morning around 9 a.m. and he was awake and moving around some. He has very little noticeable movement on his left side. His temperature has remained in the same range throughout the week. A csf sample was taken again last night and hopefully it is still negative. I think we need three negative samples, no fever and a normal white blood count to consider moving forward with the shunt. The reason we keep talking about the internal shunt is that we can't move him to another facility which would better suit his needs until that is in place. He would also probably have to be infection free. We are sick of the words infection and bacteria; however, we know that we'll continue to hear them for some time.

           It's about nine p.m. and Robby and I just got back from the hospital. We spoke to the internist that oversees Logan's case and also to the neurosurgeon. Both of them are trying to decide when to go ahead with the placement of the permanent shunt. The culture of the cerebrospinal fluid came back negative for staph; they will continue to take samples and culture them. The sputum culture however, remains positive for a drug resistant bacteria. The doctors have to decide if the bacteria poses too great a threat for infection to do the shunt procedure. The infection specialist will have to be consulted. We're just in a holding pattern now hoping not to lose ground. Any fever or elevations in his white blood count would be an indication that he has developed an infection again, and would stop them from moving forward with anything. We'll see what tomorrow brings. 

              There hasn't been much to report the past couple of days. Logan's temperature has been good, he's been awake a little more each day and the drain is working. We are glad that he's had a few days without fever and are hoping that the infection will be taken care of soon. Thanks to everyone for all that you have done and continue to do.

                            Logan's temperature has been consistently low for the past couple of days. He was awake for longer periods of time today than he has been in the past week. They've added another antibiotic; he's on three now. We're hoping that this progress continues so that Logan can get the permanent shunt put in as soon as possible. Please keep the prayers coming.

       Logan's temperature is staying down around 100 since the new drain was put in. The infection specialist has changed his antibiotic; this one does not have to be given through the temporary shunt. From what I understand, the brain has a way of preventing medications fom getting through so it's difficult to treat infections in that area.  We'll have to wait and see how this one works.