SO MANY UPDATES!!!

Hi everyone, sorry it has been so long since I last posted, things have been busy for the Douglas household that is for sure!!  That being said, I wanted to update everyone on some things that have been going on and that will be coming up.

St. Louis & Eye Surgery #2

A couple of weeks ago we had to go back to St. Louis for a follow-up eye appointment to check on the progress from the surgery in November.  We knew that there was a chance that we would also have to have another surgery to correct a different issue so were all set up with a Monday appointment and a Tuesday surgery spot.  We headed out to St. Louis on Sunday afternoon and got situated in the hotel.

"Play Piano" "Play Piano" - we may have been there 3 times while we were in town,
hopefully the Grocery store enjoyed Logie's music!!

So serious - we may have a natural here!

We had an afternoon appointment with Dr. Tychsen on Monday and after some tests and some bargaining with Elmo videos Dr. T let us know that the surgery from November (the Strabismus) was looking great, which was a relief and we agreed.  We definitely aren't seeing him cross his eyes as much and they track together much better now.  That being said we had noticed that he was still looking out of the corner of his right eye when he would be watching shows or TV and his eyes would do a strange circling that we have noticed for a while.  After talking to Dr. T about this and showing him a video which he said was the "most perfect" example he has seen of this on video (thank goodness I took it on our way to the airport) he said we would need to do another surgery to help fix his "null" point.  Basically, where our middle point is straight on, Logan's is to the side.  The interesting part about it is that he looks out of the side of the right eye but really his left eye is stronger...who woulda thunk it?!?!

Little pool time with Daddy !

So, Tuesday morning we reported to the outpatient surgery unit and got ready for our surgery.  This time didn't take nearly as long for them to finally take him back into surgery (thank goodness) so we only had to have about 20 asks for food instead of the 100's we had last time.  Thank goodness for the iPad for keeping him distracted from the rumbling belly.  After surgery Dr. T came back to let us know what was going on, basically since Logan is put under it is a great opportunity for him to do a deeper look at the back of his eyes and do some measurements (please don't ask me how he does this, I don't really know and not sure I want to!).  He said based on what he said that he ended up having to do some cuts to the muscles on the outer portion of his right eye and inner portion of his left eye so that instead of the "null" being all to the right it would center better.  He said other than that his eyes look great, all the connections are good and he doesn't foresee any other surgeries in the near term, THANK GOODNESS!!!  We got discharged from the hospital at about 1, went back to the hotel for a bite while waiting on our car to the airport and flew home on a 5:30pm flight back to Atlanta.  To say it was a crazy day and exhausting for all of us would be an understatement but Logie was such a trooper, and I know he was happy to be home and in his own bed.

Can you believe I just got out of surgery??  

I will have to say that his eyes were much more effected from the surgery this time around.  Last time we honestly didn't know if Dr. T did anything this time...we thought we had a very hungry vampire.  It took about 2 weeks for it totally clear up and there is still a tiny bit of redness but he is getting better everyday!  Thank you as always to our prayer warriors for getting us through this once again!

SDR

As most of you know, we have been talking about SDR for probably 2 years now and it is finally officially scheduled!  EEPPP and YAAYY all at the same time!!  We will be going back up to St. Louis on June 27th for a week for SDR surgery.  We will have a pre-op on the 28th and then go in for surgery on the 29th.  Logan will be in the hospital for 5 days, with the first 3 being unable to move at all and just laying on his back.  They will start to do some of the therapy on day 4 and the morning of day 5 when we will be discharged and head back home to familiar settings.  Thankfully Gammy and Grandma will be joining us in St. Louis, to if at the least, give Daddy and I a little break every now and then.  We are very excited and nervous about this surgery as it is such a big one.  For those that don't remember this is the surgery where they will actually go into his spine and cut out the nerves that are bringing the spasticity down to his legs from his brain.

We have seen great results from people we have followed on FB and through other support groups and our hope (and the doctors) is that he will be an independent walker within a year or two after surgery.  But...to get to that point is going to be a lot of hard work.  As soon as we get back (on July 4th) Logan will have to start therapy probably that Thursday.  For 2 weeks he will do 3 days a week Physical Therapy for an hour as the surgery will really weaken him.  Although spasticity is what makes it so hard for Logie, lot of these kiddos CP actually use their spasticity to help them stand and function so he will have to learn to do all that without it.  After the first 2 weeks we will go into Intensive Therapy which will last for 3 weeks, 5 days a week for 3 hours a day!  Unfortunately the best therapy in Atlanta for post SDR is about 50 miles each way so we will be clocking away some time in the car but we are going to do whatever is best for Logie!

Pete

Speaking of whatever is best for Logie...we officially have a new member of our family, introducing Pete!  :)  Pete is a Golden Retriever and he will be coming home to us in 2 weeks  (I know we are crazy but hey...).  We have found a trainer and are going to personally help train Pete to be a service dog for Logie.  We are hoping getting Pete at this time will be good motivation and as he is learning to walk better on his own he will have a little buddy to help him out.  It's gonna be a bit of a journey and a lot of work on Mommy, Daddy & Erica but we are up for the challenge, anything to make it a little more fun and exciting for Logie.

My new BFF!!

Look at that smile!!!

Newest member of the family!

Ok, so I think that is all for now, I will be trying to keep you guys more and more updated as we get closer to surgery but wanted to get him out on everyone's prayer lists ASAP.  Thank you all for taking the time to read this and keeping us in your thoughts and prayers!  Lots of love from all of us here!!

P.S. - You may have noticed the new layout of the blog (hope you like it!), and with that there are some new features like the ability to subscribe (top middle under Logan's Journey).  If you want to keep up to the date on posts please feel free to subscribe especially as this will most likely be my main communications during and after surgery.  XOXO