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Logan, Round 5 Rough Start

Logan vomited at least 5 times yesterday. I don’t know how else to convey chemotherapy’s impact upon those being treated. It is a horrible experience both for the patient and for loved ones walking alongside them. From the start this blog has been an outlet for me to put into words what Logan and his family are experiencing during this journey. To get it out of my head.

But my objective has changed over the last couple of months. I am writing for an audience of one, Logan. So that as he grows older he has a record of the fire he walked through early in his life. So he knows that whatever challenges he will face – and we all know that more will come – that he already has successfully beat leukemia. That he can persevere against any challenge. Because cancer fights are as significant a challenge as any will face.

Admission

Logan had been out of the hospital for more than a month since Round 4, and the family has been anxious to begin Round 5. As I wrote in previous blogs, Logan’s ANC was not at a level that would allow the chemo to begin. On Wednesday Logan’s blood was tested. He also received an injection of a stimulant (GCS-F) to encourage growth of ANC. Who knew that such a thing existed? With that injection, there was a chance he could be admitted Thursday. As Amanda worked, Donna accompanied Logan and AJ to the hospital on Thursday to keep Logan busy during the wait. AJ texted me that ANC was just above 500, and the plan was for Logan to return and be admitted Friday. But then another text arrived soon after with “Nope, starting chemo today.”

And the wait for a hospital room began. The original plan was an admission for 3 days of chemo, discharge for about a week, then readmission for more chemo. But given the lower ANC starting point, the plan morphed into one, long hospital stay.

A Massive Chemo Dose

After the scramble to get into the room and as he slept, Logan had a 3 -hour long dose of chemo pumped into his body. Past doses of the various chemo drugs were 15- or 30-minute infusions. So his little body was hammered. It was a difficult night.

When I arrived on Friday at 7:30a, the little family was looking kinda rough. I walked into the room and asked AJ if he had slept. He replied, “A little.” Amada needed to work, so the plan was for them to go to our home for AJ to sleep and for Amanda to log on.

Early that morning Logan was doing OK. We were playing, and listening to a Spotify “80’s” music mix. The PA and the doctor did rounds. Speech therapy arrived and observed and gave some pointers. Drugs were administered. Donna then came so I could go to work.

Logan resting, with 3 lines providing meds, fluids, and nutrition

Nausea

Donna called me while I was in a lunch meeting and let me know that Logan was nauseous and vomiting. And her clothes had hazardous chemo-vomit on them. With Amanda and AJ needing to work and rest for what would likely be a tough night, I adjusted my schedule. A co-worker found a logo t-shirt that Donna could use, and I headed back to the hospital so she could go home and shower.

Logan was sleeping when I arrived – see the pic above. Forewarned regarding the nausea, I had gloves and towels and wipes at the ready. And the call button so I could get some help if needed. He began fitfully sleeping, or more accurately, writhing. Something was not right with him. When Logan sat up and began belching, I was able to prepare and hold a towel under his chin to catch the vomit.

And this happened three more times. It’s likely that we all have helped those sick with flu-like symptoms as they curl over a toilet. Tough to do. So you can imagine how absolutely heartbreaking it was to watch this sweet little boy get sick time after time. For him to not understand what is happening. To hold him and to keep the chemo-vomit away from him. To just let it happen. Tears that have not flowed in months returned to me. But know that Logan’s personality shined through each time the nurse would leave the room after he got sick. He would lethargically raise his little arm a bit, and give the nurse a slow wave goodbye. Precious.

A Long Stay

When the doctor did rounds that morning, he noted that this Round 5 was going to be a long stay in the hospital. Since Logan was first admitted last Fall, the treatment protocol number of rounds changed from 4 to 5. I asked about that, and he said that research has shown that the fifth round is necessary to increase the odds that the cancer does not return. And he admitted that this has to be balanced with the damage that the chemo does, the side effects that are inevitable.

As Logan and Amanda and AJ begin this last round of chemo, please continue to think of them and pray for them. Pray for all cancer patients and their families. We love you and are grateful knowing so many are supportive.

Logan, An Infection Delay

Logan in his Jurassic Park cozy coupe. (Replaces a cardboard box in which he was being pushed.)

Logan was discharged from the hospital after Round 4 chemo on Feb 2, ending 121 nights in the hospital at that point. Tomorrow, Wednesday March 2 will be 4 weeks since that discharge. The wait between other rounds of chemo was about 4 or 5 days, but Logan’s blood work has not shown he is ready for Round 5.

What’s happenin’ with ANC?

Logan’s Absolute Neutrophil Count (ANC) needs to be ~1,000 to allow Round 5 chemo to commence. Recall that neutrophils are a type of white blood cell that fights infection. During Logan’s time out of the hospital his ANC climbed to ~300. Then dropped back to 100. An ANC drop is an indicator that he had an infection and Logan’s neutrophils were fighting the infection as it should. Other infection indications were a sore in his mouth and a rash on his body. As reference a “healthy” person has an ANC of 2,500 to 6,000. For patients like Logan, a “safe” ANC is between 500 and 1,500. Given Logan’s low and unsafe level, those who interact with him have quarantined. And despite the vigilance, an infection got to him. Thankfully his body has appropriately responded.

Remission, still!

Last week Logan underwent another bone marrow biopsy to check for cancer. The GREAT news is that Logan remains in remission. Thank you, Lord! Logan was also tested for the infection type that his ANC was fighting, but that was inconclusive. The suspected hand-foot-mouth disease was eliminated as a cause, so we don’t exactly know what Logan’s body was/is fighting. Out of an abundance of caution, all his toys were removed and cleaned and sanitized. No ball pit in Aunt Casey and Uncle Chris’ house anymore. But in the pic above you can see that a new cozy coupe arrived. That’s so the adults in the house don’t have to push him around in a cardboard box, avoiding some sore backs.

A Battery Scare

Logan’s recovery from all that debilitating chemo is so apparent with the extended time out of the hospital. He is a normal 15-month-old with the exception of the feeding tube in his nose. Logan wanders around, babbling, and getting into everything. Including batteries. A couple of weeks ago they had a scare in which they thought he had swallowed a small battery. Soooo, what that meant was a trip to get a x-ray to make sure he had not swallowed one. Just what Amanda and AJ needed, right? Good news is that all is well -except for parental nerves. Regular toddler behavior, methinks.

Big John and Mimi

Big John and Mimi Donna have been quarantining this past week or so, looking to start helping Amanda and AJ as soon as tomorrow. A blood test is scheduled for Logan tomorrow to check ANC levels and we might see them after that test. Or maybe, just maybe, Logan’s ANC has recovered enough for readmission, though we are kind of pessimistic about that. What Donna and I are certainly looking forward to is seeing Logan in person and playing with him – wherever – after not doing so for the past month.

Our visits have been via FaceTime, but we did see Logan and Amanda and AJ on Saturday through the window of Chris and Casey’s home. Mimi had made some of her wonderful sourdough breads, one a cinnamon-raisin-blueberry and the other kalamata olive. So, so good. More sourdough bread is in process today in case we see them all tomorrow.

I have written this before, but your thoughts and prayers and kind words of support are needed, appreciated and helping. Thank you so much.

Logan, Round 5… soon

Logan and Aunt Casey, photo courtesy of Casey’s Facebook page

Blood Counts Drive Treatment

Since leaving the hospital, Logan has had several blood tests. These tests measure blood counts to determine whether his body has recovered enough to start round 5 of chemotherapy. It has not. Logan’s last blood test on Monday showed again that his absolute neutrophil count (ANC) was not high enough. Neutrophils are a type of white blood cells which kill bacteria. And the ANC is an estimate of the body’s ability to fight bacterial infections. So, we wait.

Logan’s little body has been battered by 4 rounds of chemotherapy to kill leukemia cells. The good news is that the chemotherapy has worked. Logan has been in remission since after the first round. But the leukemia treatment protocol advises 5 chemo rounds. Some of the chemicals are the same each round. Some are different and seek out and attack the leukemia in different ways and in different areas of the body – think in the brain, for example. The 5-round chemo protocol has been learned through both research and through the treatment of all the leukemia patients that have come before Logan.

Next Admission

Of course, the chemotherapy kills much more than that leukemia cells. It kills normal blood cells, blood cells like ANC which fight infection. Each round of chemo further harms Logan’s body and makes his successive recovery more difficult and take longer. Hence the wait for round 5 to begin. Right now Logan has an appointment for Monday, February 21 to be admitted for the last round of chemo to begin.

With each day of recovery away from the hospital Logan gets stronger and happier, and that makes us happy. The joyful picture above is from Logan’s stay at his Aunt Casey’s and Uncle Chris’ home. Donna and I see strength and personality improve via FaceTime calls and Facebook posts. We miss Logan and Austin and Amanda, and are plotting our safe return to be with them. It will be when Logan is in the hospital during round 5. And while we do not look forward to seeing the treatment’s impact on Logan, we long to hold him.

Logan – Round 4 complete

Morning FaceTime from Casey & Chris’ with Logan, AJ, and Big John

Logan and Amanda and AJ were discharged from the hospital on Wednesday evening this past week. Logan’s blood count recovery came quickly, about 7 days sooner than expected. And so Aunt Casey and Uncle Chris are comfortably hosting them in their home. I know that Amanda and AJ and Logan are all grateful to be gone from the hospital for a while.

Discharge Day

Day of discharge was a frustrating day of waiting. Logan’s blood counts began stabilizing and rising last weekend, so it was just a matter of time. His machine-read counts early on Wednesday morning were high enough for the discharge. But then the human-read counts were much lower throwing discharge into question. So the doctor asked to re-draw blood for another count, and wanted to wait until 4pm to allow Logan’s body a bit more time to recover. Complicating all this was a winter storm looming for that evening. Freezing rain, sleet and snow were forecast, sure to make driving on Thursday or Friday impossible. And that turned out to be true. No discharge on Wednesday would have meant a Saturday discharge as the roads were dangerous on Thursday and Friday.

Leaving

Around 6pm on Wednesday the new blood counts confirmed discharge. So began the mad scramble to beat the freezing rain. AJ had already packed everything – which meant that there was precious little to do in the hospital all day except to wait. On the discharge greenlight, grandparents Kim and Mike headed to the hospital to help retrieve them and their belongings. Amanda drove one car with Kim in the back seat accompanying Logan so he did not remove his feeding tube. AJ drove their other car which was packed. And Mike retrieved the large Yeti cooler which has been a constant during the hospital stay (Thank you to Katy and Steve for the loan!)

Recent pictures and video from Facebook have shown a happy and quite active Logan playing at his Aunt and Uncle’s home. So, so great to see. The pic on this post is from this morning’s FaceTime call. Re-admission is next week Wednesday for the home stretch of chemo, Round 5. And they are all ready for the chemo treatments to be completed.

Breaking Quarantine

With this discharge, Donna and I broke our quarantine to allow us to visit with the rest of the family and with friends. I have previously written about how difficult this is. We went into quarantine on December 28, 5 weeks ago. We struggle with the letting go of both visiting with Logan and helping Amanda and AJ. And at the same time we yearn to be with others including our grandson Griffin. There is no good solution to this. This past week, Donna said, “I hate this. It’s like we have to choose between our grandsons.” Fact is, we are choosing, each time. Though it might be called balancing, it feels like failure.

And while it seems that Donna and I are in the middle of Logan’s leukemia treatment, even we as grandparents are on the edge. In the very center of it, every day, are Amanda and AJ. Focused on Logan and his care and keeping him safe, they are doing a wonderful job. And what they do is unseen by most. I can tell you that their teamwork, patience and commitment are extraordinary. Please continue to pray for this little family as they are about to start the last round of this chemotherapy protocol.

Logan – Update, Waiting Again

Big John with Logan, and Logan wondering what the hell Big John is doing

Update – A Tough Week

When coworkers and neighbors ask “How’s Logan doing?,” my recent reply has been “Great! He is waiting for his blood counts to recover.” And that is true. However, there is a reason that Logan remains in the hospital with Amanda and AJ by his side. He is being treated for leukemia and that is no joke. And while the concern and interest of everyone is so appreciated, I am uncertain whether people really want to know details.

At this point in Round 4 Chemo Logan has no immune system. His red blood and platelet counts are super low and he is supplemented with blood and platelet transfusions as needed. And we can tell when he needs blood when you just look at him and see his eyes. Are they big and bright? And is he lively and playful? If no, blood is needed.

As for platelets, it was super-obvious this week that Logan needed them when he was walking and bumped his mouth against the cooler. Just a little bump resulted in non-stop bleeding from his gums. (Without platelets, coagulation is difficult…) We FaceTimed while he was still bleeding, and Amanda and AJ and nurse were working to help him out. Logan’s red blood count noticeably dropped from that day to the next, and the blood was ordered.

After he receives those transfusions, he is a different little guy. Alert and energetic.

“As Needed”

Previous posts have discussed the need for blood and platelet donations. Nothing has changed – still needed. And while I wrote above that blood and platelets transfusions are ordered “as needed” and as blood counts demand, the staff is ordering them “judiciously” (in the words of a nurse) because of blood product supply concerns. Logan likely should have received a platelet transfusion before the bloodletting episode. So once again, if you can donate, please do so. There is a cancer patient (and their family) praying that you do.

The Picture

I have pictures of a weary-looking Logan with blood-caked lips but I thought maybe that was too much to share. (You are welcome.) But a week or so ago I took a pic of me and Logan with the cover of a book that Aunt Bridget made for Logan while in the hospital. The book has pictures of his parents and grandparents and aunts/uncles/cousins to supplement FaceTime calls. He loves it.

Of course, Logan’s cover picture on the book is pre-diagnosis. The story that the picture above in the blog tells is pretty clear. Cancer treatment sucks and has side effects which are evident.

Logan and family are looking forward to his blood counts recovering the next week or two so they can get a much-needed break from the hospital.

Logan – Big John’s Platelets?

Mimi Donna and Logan on FaceTime with Big John

Update

The long and boring process continues of Logan’s blood counts dropping to zero, and then rebuilding themselves. When his red blood counts drop to zero, Logan has no immune system, and his blood cannot deliver the oxygen around the body as it needs. And without platelets, he is prone to bruising and is unable to clot should he bleed. So, Logan stays in the hospital room in as safe an environment as there can be, and those who visit are very careful when out in the world. Logan is happy and playing and sleeping a bit better for Amanda and AJ. In the picture Logan is just waking up from a nap, so he looks a bit drowsy.

Whole Blood & Platelets

Now is the time when Logan and other cancer patients need whole blood transfusions and platelet transfusions. COVID has seriously reduced the ability of donors to provide these life-giving gifts. Also, the blood donation centers are struggling to fully staff the centers. My phlebotomist mentioned that she was supposed to get off earlier in the afternoon but was unable to leave because she was trained on the platelet machine and others were not. So much has supply diminished that Logan needed platelets on Friday, and there were none to give. Thankfully Logan received platelets on Saturday evening.

It is frustrating to me that patients such as Logan cannot receive what they need when they need it. It is up to us, all of us healthy and able to donate, to do so. I know that when I wrote about this in a previous blog post, some readers acted and scheduled a donation. Thank you for that. Writing the obvious, there is only one place that blood and platelet donations originate, and that is from fellow humans.

My Platelets?

I donated platelets on Friday. It is possible that my O+ platelets ended up in Logan’s O+ body. Even more possible when you consider that platelets are only viable for 5 days after donation – they had to go somewhere, soon and nearby. That possibility is just heartwarming to me and makes me grateful to have been a donor for decades. But truth be told, most of my donations have been whole blood. So much easier and quicker to donate. A whole blood donation takes less than 10 minutes while a platelet donation was just under two hours. Yep, two hours.

Now personally motivated, I am scheduled to donate platelets again on January 28 as you may donate every 14 days. This is much more often that the every-56-days for a whole blood donation. So, with a 2-hour donation time every 14 days I know that I am not selling the idea of platelet donation very well. Need motivation? Look at the picture of Logan and Mimi.

Thank you all for your prayers and your support. Both desperately needed and lovingly appreciated.

Logan Update, Chris & Casey

Chris, Casey and Logan at the hospital. (Selfie snagged off Casey’s Facebook page)

Update – Round 4 infusions complete

Logan completed his round 4 chemo infusions yesterday. Thankfully the infusions are over, as this was a particularly difficult round for him. Two chemo drugs were administered and they overlapped for a couple of tough days. One of the drugs was super-nasty for Logan to endure. He is expected to stay in the hospital for about 40 days total for round 4 which means about 33 more days. Donna and I were with Logan yesterday morning when the oncologist visited. He noted that the “long and boring” wait is beginning for Logan’s immune system to bottom out and recover. “And we like long and boring,” the doctor said.

Logan is already seeming his old self, with a smile every now and then. The real Logan has been buried under toxic drugs, and we are grateful to see him reemerging. He is beginning to eat solid food again after several days of not. Logan even rejected a cinnamon roll several days ago. You know a child is ill when they turn their nose up at a cinnamon roll.

Big John’s Visit

My cold symptoms finally disappeared, and so both Donna and I were able to visit with Logan yesterday. Different that Donna’s first visit earlier this week, Logan accepted me from the start upon my return. Again, an indicator that he was just not doing well earlier in the week with the strong chemo drugs.

Donna and I arrived on Saturday morning so Amanda and AJ could leave the hospital. We were able to play and nap with Logan. On Saturday he slept peacefully during his morning nap. Much different than what Donna experienced early in the week when Logan was sleeping fitfully and moaning – literally moaning – during his sleep. So resilient Logan is, as I imagine all the kids with cancer fighting through treatment.

Chris and Casey

Amanda and AJ have been successful in their desire to have a family member with Logan all the time while he is hospitalized. Round 1 was all Amanda and A.J., a difficult and stressful task. Since round 2 began, Logan has seen a team of family members visit, those who are able to quarantine. I have written about my and Donna’s visits, as well as the visits of Amanda’s parents Kim and Mike. We try and be available when the other set of grandparents are not. Other family members in town have work obligations that make quarantining and visiting the hospital impossible. However, Amanda’s brother Chris’ and his wife Casey’s work and home circumstances have allowed them to remain quarantined. Their support has been awe-inspiring.

While the grandparents are happy to visit the hospital during the day, Chris and Casey have taken shifts over Saturday night! Like yesterday arriving early Saturday afternoon to take over from me and Donna and then leaving today on Sunday afternoon. These sleepovers are on top of coming for a few hours an evening or two during the week. What I believe Amanda and AJ most need now is sleep and the downtime that accompanies it. And Chris and Casey providing a 24-hour respite from the hospital is the absolute best gift that can be given. Donna and I are incredibly grateful for these huge gestures of love and time. Thank you, Chris and Casey!

Logan – Chemo Round 4

Update

Logan started Chemo Round 4 this Monday, January 3 and the chemicals quickly impacted him. His typically happy mood is rare these days, and his smiles are infrequent. Logan just doesn’t feel well. He’s tired. And with the treatment, nausea from the chemicals have him vomiting once or twice a day. As I have written in the past, anything that leaves Logan’s body during chemo is chemo-laced. So, chemo poo, chemo pee, and chemo vomit. When Logan vomits, that means cleaning – everything. Logan needs his skin washed. All clothing and bedding need to be washed. AJ and/or Amanda need to shower. And when it happens at night, well, then, that’s a lot of activity as the rest of us sleep.

Mimi & Big John at the hospital

Donna and I have quarantined and tested negative for COVID, so we are clear to help out at the hospital . Kinda. I have been sick with a cold for the past week. The Teladoc virtual doctor yesterday was emphatic that I was to not go near the hospital until my symptoms are gone. A couple of days more, methinks, before I can actually go to work (and mask up) and be able to visit the hospital to hang with Logan.

But Donna returned to the hospital and spent part of yesterday and today there with Logan. With Amanda working (remote while in the hospital room) and AJ up at night, Donna’s visits allow AJ to come to our home, wash chemo-soaked clothing and bedding, and sleep. He needs it. He started a load of laundry today then was down for 3+ hours. When he woke AJ noted that he had been awake since 2am.

I write the above to describe what is happening, to give a sense of what is experienced with chemotherapy treatments. It is substantial, as it is for every person and family with cancer. Yes, Logan is in remission and that is awesome. But going through each chemo round is a struggle. A struggle for Logan, and a struggle for his parents Amanda and A.J. Please pray for them.

Logan Update & Griffin – Choosing

Logan on New Years Day FaceTime with Big John and Mimi

Update

Logan and Amanda and AJ are enjoying a wonderful & long New Year’s week break from the hospital. Discharged last Tuesday, the week is being spent at Amanda’s brother Chris’ and his wife Casey’s home. Round 3 of chemotherapy is complete, and round 4 begins Monday morning. Past the halfway mark on this cancer fighting journey, and the end is in sight! Casey and Chris are wonderful hosts and it is joyful for us to see the love that continues to surround Logan. Amanda’s parents Kim and Mike have been able to visit daily, making it a complete family fun time.

If you have seen any social media pics Logan is now, fully, walking. He was walking a bit – 10 steps or so – during his break between rounds 2 & 3, but now that he has been unleashed again from the 6 foot by 6 foot toddler-containing inflatable pool, Logan is clearly on a mission. Great to see!

Medical issues, of course, are a constant. Early during this week’s hospital break they received word that a blood test showed a too-high level of Logan’s antifungal. Back to the hospital they went, for an unscheduled blood test to validate the concern or deny it. Luckily the drug’s level dropped from the 5-times-higher-then-it-was-supposed-to-be to an acceptable level. The concern? This drug that is supposed to keep Logan from a fungal infection could harm his liver and/or kidneys if at too high a level. Remember this is serious business, and all drugs are poison at too high a level.

Amanda and AJ’s Home Build

Amanda and AJ’s home that is being built in Arlington is a parallel story to this cancer fight. They sold their previous home in Dallas quickly, and their new home is taking about a year to build. Before Logan’s diagnosis Kim and Mike were hosting the temporarily-homeless family in their Bedford home. Now every week AJ and Amanda receive house-build updates as walls go up, electrical is installed and windows enclose the structure. The completion of Logan’s cancer treatment may occur at just about the same time the home is ready. A really, really fresh start would be wonderful, post-chemotherapy in a new home.

Choosing

Griffin taking a glow-stick bath at Mimi & Big John’s home

Donna and I have not seen Logan in person for some time, as we made the decision to unquarantine for the Christmas holidays so we could celebrate with family and friends. I must tell you that this is harder than I thought it would be because we want to see both Logan and Griffin. We do not like choosing.

I know, know, there are many grandparents who because of distance or other reasons cannot see their grandchildren on a regular basis. But both these boys are here, in this town, minutes away. And whether we like it or not each time we choose to quarantine for Logan, Griffin is left out along other family and friends. And when we choose to unquarantine, Logan is left out. I find it agonizing, and yet I believe we are doing a pretty good job of it.

Balance

The Christmas season has been both joyful and unconventional. The Arboretum holiday lights were visited twice. Once with Amanda and AJ and Logan during their earlier break between rounds 2 & 3. And then later with Jeff, Alexis, Bridget, Connor and Griffin. The Dallas Zoo lights were also visited twice. 2021 was just not the year for large family holiday outings. And for us it was about more than the pandemic. Now, we all could not fit in a car together to see the zoo lights in one trip. But Donna and I could sure take grandsons together next year. (All the parents can go have a drink while Mimi and Big go to the zoo lights with the boys. Griffin and Logan have not been able to “be cousins” since treatment began.)

Amanda’s parents Kim and Mike are also balancing things as best they can. Kim helps her elderly parents a great deal, taking them to doctor’s appointments amongst other things. Over the Christmas holidays, Kim and Mike have been visiting with Logan and family. That meant they chose to not be with Kim’s parents. But now Kim and Mike need to unquarantine so that Kim can return to helping her parents.

Kim and Mike’s need to unquarantine prompted Donna and me to begin our quarantine last Tuesday. We both have COVID tests scheduled on Tuesday this week which will allow us to return to seeing Logan and Amanda and AJ. Choreography is needed so that we can all help – and most importantly keep Logan free from infection. I am grateful for Kim and Mike, and to Chris and Casey, for their wonderful support.

Please continue to keep Logan and his parents Amanda and AJ in your prayers as this journey continues. Happy New Year – we intend ours to be!

Christmas & Cancer & COVID

Christmas 2021 via FaceTime and windows – literally windows

Logan Update

Merry Christmas, though I am not all that merry. I woke up concerned for Logan as our FaceTime call last night had him fussy and not in a great mood. So as I begin to write this very early on Christmas morning, I am waiting for a call to see how he is feeling today. Teething could be the culprit. Or maybe his anti-fungal med called Vouri (spelling?) which causes him discomfort. (That med is transitioning to oral delivery as Logan’s discharge is anticipated soon. So this change may be impacting him.) Or maybe he along with Amanda and AJ are just tired of the hospital. Whatever the reason, he was not his normal happy self, so that concerns me.

Update: We received my morning FaceTime call on Christmas day, and Logan is doing well. Not quite awake, but certainly feeling better than last night. And so Big John is a bit merrier. Logan’s white blood cell count is still at zero, meaning a few more days in the hospital. We were all optimistic that Logan might have been out by Christmas because of his fast recovery after round 2. But the fact is the “typical” rebound after this 3rd chemo round would have him released mid-next week. So, things are as they are, and Logan will be released when he has an immune system to protect him.

COVID

Our tradition for years has been to celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve. Sadly, Kevin remained in Florida this year as he just recovered from COVID. His girlfriend Sydney then got COVID, and so she is still feeling the effects. We shipped gifts and used FaceTime while we gathered in Texas last night. Recently I have heard of numerous others who have had COVID, and this surprises me. It took 18 months into a pandemic to hit close to home. My Uncle Mike and his daughter Erin have COVID running through their family. My nephew Mike is recovering from COVID, too.

The good news, I guess, is that vaccinated people typically do not end up in the hospital. My family members worked their way through the aches and pains and lethargy. And so it seems that we are figuring out how to deal with this COVID thing, which appears to be with us for the foreseeable future. Or maybe forever.

Surprise Guests – Through the Window

Amanda and AJ on the patio, joining us through the window

In the first photo, perhaps you missed that Amanda and AJ actually celebrated with us on Christmas Eve. The second photo has them enlarged, and AJ is clearly seen through the window, with Amanda on the left. So happy that they were able to join us. It was reminiscent of Thanksgiving 2020 which we celebrated in Bridget’s backyard. Glorious weather allowed an outside gathering, and Amanda and AJ sat at their own table as Amanda was soon due to deliver Logan. Social distancing was needed given, well, COVID. Glorious 80-degree weather again yesterday allowed similar participation through our side windows. I am grateful to Mike and Kim, Amanda’s parents, who watched Logan at the hospital during our gathering. Amanda and AJ’s diligence in social distancing has paid off, as Logan remains infection-free. Praying this continues.

Of course, we said grace before our meal. And grace came easy to me. Then I wanted to say a few words about looking forward to gathering together in the future, in the same room, all of us. And it took almost no time for me to choke up as I was speaking. My words were few, because what I said was all that I could get out of me without crying. While I remain grateful for our gathering, I miss those who could not join us.

Merry Christmas

Time to ask Spotify for Christmas songs. Because in the immortal words of Buddy the elf, “The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear.” That will make me merrier.

So, for all who are ill, or separated, or lonely, I do wish you a Merry Christmas. I pray that you find joy in the arrival of Christ today.