The plate has arrived and the surgery is scheduled for early Tuesday morning. Logan has been kept in bed over the weekend and today as well. There has been an increase in the fluid which makes the indention on the right side of his head much less pronounced; that has been the objective of the special positioning prior to surgery. I will try to post an update by Tuesday evening if at all posible. Please keep him in your prayers.

                     Nothing much happening which is not necessarily a bad thing. Logan is being taken out of bed for physical therapy again; he's on medication for the nausea so I guess that's why. He's being positioned on his right side a lot as of the last CT scan and he has to wear the helmet when he's on that side. The helmet makes his head hot and it looks uncomfortable, but he has to wear it until the plate is put in to replace the bone flap. I think we'll get a saw and cut the helmet to shreds after the surgery; I'm pretty sure Logan would do it if he could. We're keeping our fingers crossed that the plate will be shipped on time for Tuesday. There will much screaming and possibly some throwing of things if it does not.

               The surgery will not happen this week. According to the manufacturer, the plate will be shipped out from Colorado on Friday, the 18th. The new date for the surgery is Tues. the 22nd. I'll believe that when they tell me that they have the plate in Houston. Until then, they're doing what they can at TIRR without getting him out of bed.  

              Logan had another CT scan done on Friday, the eleventh. We don't think there was any significant change. He is still having problems with nausea when he is moved around, so they're limiting that. We were told that the Dec. 16th date for the surgery is probably not going to happen; we don't really know what is going on, but suspect that the plate will not arrive by then. We'll have to call the neurosurgeon on Monday to find out what the problem is; I'll post something more definitive when I get the information.

                           There's not been much to talk about since the last post. Logan's eyes seem to have less involuntary movement since the shunt was turned off which would help with focusing. He also has periods of wakefulness where his eyes are wide open and not in a half-closed position like they have been for the past week or so. Whether or not anything significant will occur as a result of the shunt adjustment remains to be seen. He had an episode of vomiting today; we're not sure what that's about. Thanks to everyone for your continued prayers and support; it means more than you can imagine.

                    The CT scan done on Tuesday did not look good. Apparently, there has been a shift in Logan's brain which is putting pressure on the brain stem. It is my understanding that the absence of the skull flap and the draining of fluid by the shunt are probably responsible for the movement. The placement of the plate ,which is still in the process of being made by the manufacturer, is what is needed most at this time; unfortunately, it won't arrive in Houston until Dec. 16th, which is when he is scheduled for the surgery. Meanwhile, the neurosurgeon has turned Logan's shunt off hoping to effect some kind of repositioning by allowing more fluid back into the ventricles. Until the surgery, he must remain in bed and will only receive whatever therapy that can be done from that position. He has not been very alert over the past week and there has been no return of movement on the right side. It is possible that these issues could be resolved by the placement of the plate and adjusting of the shunt afterwards; as always, we have to wait and see. It is imperative that he remain infection free until the surgery, so bloodwork is being done frequently. He always appears to be comfortable and his lungs remain clear; we are thankful for that.

     Logan had visitors from the east on Thanksgiving. Amy and Emily spent a couple of days with us over the holiday. Vernelle, Clare and family, and Dae Dae and family also came by to visit while they were here for a cheerleader event. Thanks to all for stopping by. I haven't posted any updates lately because there hasn't been any change in Logan's status. He has a CT scan scheduled for Tuesday of next week and we should be speaking to the neurologist after that; there are still more questions than answers. Based on the timetable that was given to us a couple of weeks ago, Logan should probably have the surgery to replace the bone flap that was removed in Lafayette by mid-December. I'll post an update after we get the results of the scan.

                     There isn't much to talk about since the last update. His doctors are still making adjustments to his medications and hoping to see more activity on the right side. This is an excruciatingly slow process involving a good deal of trial and error with no guaranteed outcomes. There are many more questions than there are answers when a brain injury of this severity is involved. Basically, we go in every day and try to engage Logan in any  way we possibly can; we talk, play movies he likes, or sometimes just do things to irritate him into responding (the speech pathologist is good at that). While waiting for any cognitive improvements that might come along, the ocupational therapist and the physical therapist do what they can to help keep Logan's body in as good a condition as possible. They take him to the gym or a therapy room every day for two sessions that last about an hour each. During those two sessions he is sat down, stood up, stretch out, and turned every which way but loose. He's usually pretty tired when they're done with him. So, that's the drill each day along with a whole lot of waiting.

             There hasn't been any real change over the past few days. Amy has been with Logan so that I could come home for a while. He still isn't using his right arm or moving his right leg like he had before the surgery and we still don't know why. His level of alertness varies from day to day and we have no way of knowing what it will be at any given time. We were hoping to have regained the movement that was lost by this time and it is difficult to wait and not know what to expect. On the more positive side, his vital signs are good and he is not on any antibiotics; also, he seems to be comfortable and resting well.

Logan was awake most of today and it was the best day in several weeks for not being sleepy in the daytime. While he didn't have a lot of movement, the fact that he seemed more alert and was out of bed, sitting up for nearly six hours, was positive.