First of all, let me correct the discharge date that I posted; it's June 22nd, not the 14th. Logan is continuing to make progress and gain back his strength a little more each day. He is able to assist with transfers (like from the bed to the chair, etc.) which makes it much quicker than having to use a lift all the time. We're still in the process of getting him back on the medications that he was on before this last hospitalization. He's very alert and can answer questions (mostly in a whisper) when he feels like it. Sometimes, he holds his hand up and waves me off, like enough with the questions already. It's pretty much back to square one with the eating and drinking; he's doing a little of both. His therapy goes well whenever he feels like cooperating, and you never know when that will be.

                           Logan continues to improve since returning to TIRR, and should be off of antibiotics by the end of this week. He is doing well in therapy and talking a little more each day (which isn't always a good thing, depending on what he says). We are waiting on approval for botox injections in his left arm and ankle which should help offset the lack of baclofen from the pump. This will make him more comfortable and help with therapy as well. The new discharge date has been set for June 14th, and we continue to make arrangements for going home. Some of the equipment that we'll need has already been delivered, and the rest will arrive as we get closer to the discharge date. Thanks to Megan and Chris for the visit.

                      On Wednesday, Logan had surgery to replace his shunt; everything went well. Thursday, he returned to TIRR where he will begin therapy to get him ready to go home. In the last few days he has become a little more responsive each day, so we're optimistic that he will continue to improve. He has lost some weight over the past few weeks, so we need to get some calories in him and build up his strength. He spent a couple of hours in the wheelchair today, and did very well. Considering that he had three surgeries in two weeks, he looks good. More later.

               Logan is having surgery to replace his shunt this afternoon and will be moved back to TIRR as soon as possible. If everything goes well, it could be as early as Friday; we'll have to wait and see.

                         The second culture was negative, so one more to go. Logan was not digesting his feedings through the peg tube, so a couple of days ago another tube was inserted through his nose past the stomach into his intestines. This has been working and they've begun to try small amounts of his feeding through the peg again. If he tolerates this, the NJ tube(the one in his nose), will be removed. If the third culture is negative, he will likely have surgery next week to replace the shunt; the neurosurgeon doesn't think he can go without it. As you might expect, he is very weak and isn't very responsive. The baclofen is now being given through his peg tube which contributes to his drowsiness. Hopefully, getting some nutrition in him will begin to help.

                       The baclofen pump was removed without a problem and Logan is responding to commands and talking a little. Thanks to Amy for staying with him so we could come back for graduation. Also, he has resumed with feedings, and so far there haven't been any problems. When Logan was treated in Lafayette, he had a reaction to a particular antibiotic that is commonly used in treating penicillin resistant bacteria. Although it was not a severe reaction, he has not been treated with it since that time. The doctors decided to try it again while he is in ICU and he has not had any adverse reactions so far. Since this is an antibiotic that has not been used on him in almost nine months, we hope it will be the most effective one in treating his current infection. We're not sure how long he will stay in ICU before he'll be moved to another neuro unit. As has been the case since the beginning, we watch and wait.

                          Logan has become more responsive over the last couple of days, which is a relief. The baclofen pump is scheduled to be removed today; we hope this speeds up the process of ridding him of infection. Finally, the bacteria has been identified as staph. Up until now, nothing had grown in any of the cultures. He will continue treatment with antibiotics until they get three, consecutive, negative fluid samples, then we'll talk about replacing the internal shunt. That means he'll have had a total of three surgeries just to get him back to where he was; infections are very discouraging. Considering everything he's been through, he still looks pretty good and should resume with feedings after the surgery. That's about it for now.

                            On Monday evening the shunt was removed and a temporary external drain was put in. The pump will be removed in the next couple of days; it was left in to gradually reduce the dose. The nasogastric tube was removed yesterday afternoon and he might begin to resume some small amounts of his normal tube feeding. He was still sleeepy and had not been very responsive as of last night. I am posting this in the morning before a visit, so I don't know what his alertness level is today. He is still in ICU and we don't know how long he will remain there. I'll update as soon as there is any change.

                              Logan began experiencing some nausea and vomiting over the past few days , and after a night in the emergency room, has been admitted to the hospital. To make a long story short, he has meningitis; both the shunt and the baclofen pump are infected. He is also having some intestinal problems from this as well. The shunt and pump will have to be removed and a nasogastric tube has been inserted to address the intestinal issue. We are expecting the shunt to be removed this evening and possibly the pump also. A temporary external shunt will be put in place until the infection is cleared up. He will remain on antibiotics for a couple of weeks while the cerebrospinal fluid is tested every few days. Hopefully, no surgical intervention will be necessary for the intestinal problem, but it is a possibility. We're looking at a lengthy hospital stay with a number of serious issues to resolve. Please continue to keep him in your prayers; the next few weeks will be difficult ones.

                              The final report on the culture done on the spinal fluid is negative; that's good news except for the fact that we still have no answer to the cause of the fever. After the initial spike in temperature, it continues to go down and hopefully will go away again. We are looking at a tentative discharge date of May 17th. This will give us an extra week to make sure the fever does not return right away. If it does, then I don't have a clue what will happen next. I'm sure we will have to deal with this issue again at some point when we get home. Since Logan's temperature did not go up too high or stay up for too many days, he still looks pretty good and hasn't lost that much strength. Whenever he has a significant fever that lasts for several days, he feels too bad to get out of bed and it takes a toll on his strength and endurance. He's still getting in the chair for several hours a day and doing some therapy as well. Much of what we are doing now is in preparation for going home. There is a lot to get familiar with when it comes to Logan's care, so it's a busy time for all of us.