Logan's Make a Wish Trip 4/29-5/5
- Thread starter WendyLou
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WendyLou
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This was our Halloween celebration at the lake the weekend before Logan's Diagnosis, last days of normal. Tyler was the dog catcher and Logan was the poor puppy 
I'd like to take a few minutes and tell you about our Journey over the past year so that you may have a little understanding of our group of travelers, and thus it begins…..
Looking back I can see so many things so much clearer. 20/20 no lie. God was trying to prepare me for what was ahead, I was getting ready to wage war and had no idea. In October of last year I became very unsettled and anxious almost overnight and was sure that something was wrong. I was completely overcome with an unknown fear that took over every minute of my day, out of the blue. I had never experienced anything like this before and can remember going next door and getting my neighbor Susan to go walk with me. I gad to get out of the house and I had to talk to someone. As we walked I explained this feeling I was having along with the growing fear that I had cancer. The big "C" word was all I could think about. Keep in mind, I have never been like this before. She reassured me that I was going to be fine was probably just over stressed from my crazy busy life with a 2 and 9 yr old and advised me to pray about it which I had been . I'm sure she secretly thought I was loosing my mind.
The next morning while changing my youngest Logan, I noticed a large knot on his abdomen above his diaper. I immediately called his pediatrician and the nurse was unconcerned if it wasn't bothering him but I persisted and she scheduled an appointment for the next afternoon. I called my husband Rusty and explained what was going on. Rusty is and always will be my rock, he balances me since I tend to be a lil bit of a worrier, just a tad, I say this with a grin and he is my laid back, no worries hero. He was worried once he got home and felt the knot on Logan's abdomen. When Rusty worries I REALLY worry. We prayed and went to bed, I was so upset because I just knew from my vast knowledge gained from webmd ( stop googling folks, leave it to the professionals) that Logan had a hernia that would more than likely require surgery. Little did I know..
Somehow we made it through the night and I went into work in tears the next morning and told my coworkers to please pray and that Logan had a knot on his stomach and had an appointment that afternoon. The day finally progressed enough that it was time for our appointment. Rusty met us at the office which he normally would never do since he doesn't worry and things will always be fine. His motto is " what's worrying about it going to change" along with " work smarter not harder" but that's a whole new story for another day and you honestly don't have that much time available today. Dr. Warner came in and in less than 5 minutes we were in our way to imaging with him assuring us that at this point it would be fruitless to guess what was wrong as there were so many things it could be. We all knew without words that something was very, very wrong. Off to imaging we went with a happy, healthy 2 yr old that's biggest concern was getting a snack. Logan laid there the entire time and talked and giggled with us and the technician. She was a mother too and I could feel her sorrow as she scanned him but couldn't say a word. It's an unspoken bond us moms share. I cried the entire time. We were told to take him home and after his Dr had read the reports he would call. I made it maybe 1 mile down the road before the phone rang. Dr. Warners first question was whether I was driving or not. As I sit and type this I can literally feel the same fear, nausea and panic as I did at that very minute. I knew my life was getting ready to be forever changed in the next few seconds as I looked in the rear view at my happy smiling baby munching on goldfish. While I made silly faces in the mirror at Lo I heard the words " there's a large mass on his left kidney and they are waiting on you at Brenners". I asked if we were supposed to call and make an appointment and bring him to Brenners in the morning and he said "no, i don't' think you understand, you need to go right now, they're waiting on him". I ended the call with Dr. Warner and called Russ, I had turned around and headed back towards Winston and suddenly couldn't figure out how to get to Brenner's to save my life. I told Rusty what the Dr had said and that he would have to come and get us, I couldn't even tell him where I was at that point the shock was so bad. Rusty finally found us and we headed to Brenners and were met by a Dr and the testing began. CT scans even when decorated as a pirate ship are very scary for 2 yr olds, xrays as well and the restraints are horrible, next came the blood draws and catheter. A moms worst nightmare all rolled up in about 30 minutes time. We were told fairly quickly that is was without a doubt cancer, they question was what kind and how severe. Our ER Dr. felt pretty sure it was a Wilm's tumor, due to the large size, which we were told is a very favorable childhood cancer, if there is such a thing. Say that together, favorable childhood cancer, its like saying yummy decaying worms. No thank you.
As the night progresses, were told he would be admitted and we would be put in the Pediatric oncology ward. Rusty and I are expecting a few rooms designated to pediatric cancer, maybe even one, its rare right? I will never forget coming off the elevator and walking (well I was pushed, holding Logan in the wheelchair) through the double doors into an entire floor dedicated to children with cancer. Surely it would be a ghost town, not even close. Every room was filled with one left open for us. We were told since it was so late they would just get us settled and let us rest for the night and begin meeting with Dr.s in the morning. Settled in a hospital does not mean settled at home, nurses were in and out for the next few hours getting all the info they needed and we were trying to get Logan to sleep in a bed, they were out of cribs, yep out cause childhood cancer is rare right? He had never slept in a bed before so eventually exhaustion won over. We finally were able to get to sleep around 1 am, around 3 a nurse came in and checked his vitals and asked if I thought he would wake if she changed his diaper. Yes, I explained that I would change him in the morning and never changed him through the night. She proceeded to explain that Dr.s orders were to change and weigh the diapers every 3 hrs to measure urine output since the tumor was on the kidney. As I sat and watched this stranger wake my child against my will I realized that this was only the beginning and I no longer was the one in charge of my child anymore. This simple exchange stunned and devastated me more than all the horrific news we had received all day. I no longer even had the voice or authority to protect him in sleep.
The staff is wonderful at Brenner’s and the nurses are a special God send put on this earth to help these children and parents, this was just a whole new world to me. Over the next few days we met with surgeons, Dr.s and pain teams several times a day and nurses on the hr every hour while we tried to tag team which parent would be at the hospital and which one would be at home with Tyler who was silently suffering during this entire ordeal. The ward also came alive during the daytime hours, when I would peek out in the hall I would see all these little bald children pushing their poles down the hall or being pushed in the wagon. I would cower in the room as Rusty met families in the hall and playroom, everyone there was so supporting and took us in with open arms, I was the stubborn one in the room. Denial was my happy place. I guess if I didn't see it then it wouldn't be real, really mature. Not my proudest moment, I simply couldn't take anymore. I think i must of felt like Dorothy did on the Wizard of Oz when she wakes up in Oz surrounded by cheerful little people with no clue where she is except we woke up in a whole new world surrounded by the bravest bald little people you've ever met.
Dr.s decided that surgery would be performed to remove the tumor and kidney and also check the other kidney as there was a suspicious spot on it as well and place his port a cath for the chemo treatments. If the spot on our "good" kidney was cancer the tumor would not be removed from the "bad" kidney and we would immediately stop surgery and begin treatments. Cancer on both kidneys would be a deal changer. We had the highest confidence in our surgeon, Dr. Petty, once again God placed us with this man that held my hand and cried and prayed right there with me. How many esteemed surgeons do you know that do that or even take the time? So we prepared ourselves for a long surgery and prayed harder than we have ever prayed before. On the morning of October 24th 2013 we sent our beautiful, happy child back to have a monster surgery. It was very hard to wrap our mind around all of this and to send a child that is completely happy and seemingly healthy that had never felt bad or had the first complaint back to surgery. We went to the waiting room and began our wait and prayed that the right kidney spot would be noncancerous and that they would be able to remove the tumor and left kidney. Yes, you heard that right, we prayed diligently that they could remove my sweet baby's kidney and that it was a wilm's tumor and not Neuroblastoma. Dr.s were unsure which one he would be diagnosed with, Wilm's was definitely the lesser of the beasts. The rest of this morning is a complete fog in my memory other than hearing that the small spot on the right kidney was NONCANCEROUS and they would proceed with surgery as planned. After 81/2 hrs of surgery the surgeon came out and said that everything had gone well and the tumor was around 2.1 lbs, keep in mind Logan was a little bitty 21 lb 2 yr old. It was huge, the term small football was thrown around several times to describe the tumor. Now we would wait for pathology reports that would take about a week but preliminary would be back in a few days to determine cancer type and staging. Praise God, now we try to console a 2 yr old who went to sleep fine and awoke to pain and confusion and we pray for a Wilm's diagnosis. Ever sat down and prayed with all your heart that you child will be diagnosed with one kind of cancer and not another? Very surreal feeling to pray for a certain cancer, so quickly your life can change.
We made it through the nest few days by pure will and the prayers of others as we had a really hard time getting Logan's pain management correct and it was heartbreaking to not be able to pick him up and comfort him. Rusty and I continuously tag teamed between home and the hospital so that someone was with Tyler as much as possible. Tyler was 9 and a very intelligent and sensitive little boy. We had decided that until we knew what type of cancer we were up against we would not discuss the big "C" word with Tyler until we had answers for the questions he would ask. Big Mistake.We did what we thought was best and to be honest there's really not a guide book or anyone to ask 'hey, by the way how did you tell your son his baby brother had cancer?" We thought we were protecting him, when in reality he had friends at school whose parent's were praying and supporting us who had overheard and shared with Tyler that his little brother had cancer. As we laid in the bed on my night at home, Tyler started crying and asked when i was going to tell him that Logan had cancer. Talk about heartbreaking, he had heard it was lung cancer, brain cancer and kidney cancer. By trying to protect him we had left him completely blindsided and unaware, one day things were fine, the next day his parents didn't come home and his life was forever changed. Cancer takes the entire family down, don't ever let anyone tell you any different. I stayed up that night until the wee hours of the morning trying to assure Tyler when I didnt have any assurances myself so I simply told him that there would be no more secrets and what we knew he would know. He wanted to know if when Logan started treatments would we be at the hospital again and where would he be and would the treatments make Logan all better forever. My self assured child had vanished in a week and turned into an insecure boy to proud to cry and breaking on the inside. His words to me were that he "felt invisible, everyone was sending gifts for Logan and we were with Logan and he was hurting too". Thank God for wonderful teachers, school staff, friends and parents. I knew when Tyler was at school he was loved as much as If I were there with him.
Over the next few days we received preliminary results that it was a stage 2 Wilm's tumor and treatment would be 19 weeks outpatient instead of what we had been told would be 26 weeks inpatient. Praise God! We finally received the green light to return home with Tyler and began our chemo. We had 12 weeks of once weekly to begin with. During our first few visit to clinic for our treatments the Dr.s kept asking if we had signed up for make a wish yet, Rusty and I discussed it and decided that we really didnt feel comfortable doing that as there were so many more kids in clinic that needed it so much more. We didn't want to take the chance away from anyone else, Dr. McLean explained that it didn't work that way that there was usually a wish granted for each child that had a life threatening disease and that we had been through plenty and Logan had earned it. I told him we would discuss it further since Rusty and I still didn't feel really comfortable with it. You can imagine my surprise when we received a letter from MAW in early December that Logan had been approved for a wish. Rusty and I sat the boys down and read the letter to them and it was priceless, within 2 seconds they are dancing and screaming about Disney world, we were so surprised as well. Wonder what his wish will be?
We continued on through the holidays and our treatments as we anxiously awaited our visit with our wish granters. Finally the day arrived, our beautiful Genies as Tyler calls them came to visit. Lynn and Kathy arrived with presents for both children and asked Logan what he wished for. We all anxiously waited, he had told me Mickey's castle for the past month and sure enough, Mickey's castle it was. We filled out the necessary paperwork and went back to navigating our crazy life while we awaited news to see if his Disney wish would be granted. We were finally finished with the once a week treatments and moved out to only going every 3 weeks. Logan continued to sail through like the little champ that he is and on March the 10th we celebrated our last chemo treatment and port removal with a huge family celebration complete with cake and ice cream.
Logan ready for port removal
Logan ringing the end of treatment bell!
Now we got back to life, its kind of scary in a way, when your in treatment you want to be finished so bad but when your done you almost feel a little insecure like your out on your own without a game plan a little. During this time Tyler astounded me by participating in a 5k for a local Chilhood cancer support group and energizing our entire community to host an Alex’s Lemonade stand, with the help of Tyler’s entire school, community and Chik-Fil-A he was able to raise over $3000 for pediatric cancer research. That’s amazing for a lemonade stand. It was very humbling to see these 10 yr old tough boys consumed with sports out there selling cupcakes and holding signs to save our children. Tyler is my hero and the best big brother ever. He has taken a tragedy created so much good and raised so much awareness. He has raised more awareness in one year than if I screamed about childhood cancer for years. As we got back into the swing of things we also celebrated Logan's 3rd birthday then breezed through his 1st post chemo scans, Praise God! Scanxiety if for real!! Even when your faith is so strong, scans are not for the weak and will bring about the deepest fear you've ever felt. So since our family is awesome, we celebrated our 1st clear post chemo scans with an impromptu Thanksgiving dinner complete with Turkey and all the fixins in March. We were then released back to normal life with scans every 3 months for at least the next 5 years then we will get to spread out a little farther from 3 months to 6.
Early April I received a call from our wish granter, Lynn to see if we could all get together for dinner. Of course, I love her. We arrived at Olive Garden (feel the delicious carbs, yummy) for what I assumed was just a normal "catch up and how are you doing" meal to realize that Logan's wish had been granted!! What a wonderful night that I will always remember and such happy boys! We have decided to complete our wish trip in the spring of 2014 so that Logan would have time to recuperate from treatments and Rusty could build back vacation days at work that had been depleted with hospital stays.
our family and our beautiful wish granters
Our Happy Letter! Logan's wish was to meet Princess Sophia
, we have since moved on and are trying to decide a new favorite. The Princesses are his fave 
, he loves all the others as well as the super heroes at Universal.
We are still trucking right along and now survived and cleared 2 more scans! We are now preparing for dental surgery for Logan (scheduled for 12/5)as we have just found that he has approx 10-14 cavities from the chemo and will have to be placed under general anesthesia in the OR to fill and repair what we can. Tyler has had a really hard time with this and is afraid it means the cancer has returned or during surgery more cancer will be found, this is not a normal fear for a 10 yr old to have.I told him to please let me worry about these things and that he is a child, his response is that I have already had a lifetime of worry and dont need anymore. He should be picking on his lil brother and ribbing him to brush better not worried that a cavity means cancer. It will never really be just a cavity or just a tummy ache ever again. We will always live with this fear. It dawned on me when the left the dentist and Tyler was in tears because his brother would have to endure more that this disease will never truly let go. It is like a pebble thrown in the water, God willing the ripples will be small but they never really stop. This started off as just a introduction but I really feel like you needed to understand our journey to know how precious our wish is to each and every member of our family. We have honestly had an easy experience with childhood cancer compared to most families and it has simply been Hell. Our wish trip is such a wonderful little burst of sunshine in the midst of the clouds and something so special to get my children through the tough days especially Tyler who most days I will swear wears the majority of the scars from this ordeal. Logan, God willing will grow and forget but Tyler is forever changed. What a wonderful gift to give. From a mother, thank you from the bottom of my heart for listening, and to all the MAW volunteers and GKTW volunteers , YOU ROCK!
I'd like to take a few minutes and tell you about our Journey over the past year so that you may have a little understanding of our group of travelers, and thus it begins…..
Looking back I can see so many things so much clearer. 20/20 no lie. God was trying to prepare me for what was ahead, I was getting ready to wage war and had no idea. In October of last year I became very unsettled and anxious almost overnight and was sure that something was wrong. I was completely overcome with an unknown fear that took over every minute of my day, out of the blue. I had never experienced anything like this before and can remember going next door and getting my neighbor Susan to go walk with me. I gad to get out of the house and I had to talk to someone. As we walked I explained this feeling I was having along with the growing fear that I had cancer. The big "C" word was all I could think about. Keep in mind, I have never been like this before. She reassured me that I was going to be fine was probably just over stressed from my crazy busy life with a 2 and 9 yr old and advised me to pray about it which I had been . I'm sure she secretly thought I was loosing my mind.
The next morning while changing my youngest Logan, I noticed a large knot on his abdomen above his diaper. I immediately called his pediatrician and the nurse was unconcerned if it wasn't bothering him but I persisted and she scheduled an appointment for the next afternoon. I called my husband Rusty and explained what was going on. Rusty is and always will be my rock, he balances me since I tend to be a lil bit of a worrier, just a tad, I say this with a grin and he is my laid back, no worries hero. He was worried once he got home and felt the knot on Logan's abdomen. When Rusty worries I REALLY worry. We prayed and went to bed, I was so upset because I just knew from my vast knowledge gained from webmd ( stop googling folks, leave it to the professionals) that Logan had a hernia that would more than likely require surgery. Little did I know..
Somehow we made it through the night and I went into work in tears the next morning and told my coworkers to please pray and that Logan had a knot on his stomach and had an appointment that afternoon. The day finally progressed enough that it was time for our appointment. Rusty met us at the office which he normally would never do since he doesn't worry and things will always be fine. His motto is " what's worrying about it going to change" along with " work smarter not harder" but that's a whole new story for another day and you honestly don't have that much time available today. Dr. Warner came in and in less than 5 minutes we were in our way to imaging with him assuring us that at this point it would be fruitless to guess what was wrong as there were so many things it could be. We all knew without words that something was very, very wrong. Off to imaging we went with a happy, healthy 2 yr old that's biggest concern was getting a snack. Logan laid there the entire time and talked and giggled with us and the technician. She was a mother too and I could feel her sorrow as she scanned him but couldn't say a word. It's an unspoken bond us moms share. I cried the entire time. We were told to take him home and after his Dr had read the reports he would call. I made it maybe 1 mile down the road before the phone rang. Dr. Warners first question was whether I was driving or not. As I sit and type this I can literally feel the same fear, nausea and panic as I did at that very minute. I knew my life was getting ready to be forever changed in the next few seconds as I looked in the rear view at my happy smiling baby munching on goldfish. While I made silly faces in the mirror at Lo I heard the words " there's a large mass on his left kidney and they are waiting on you at Brenners". I asked if we were supposed to call and make an appointment and bring him to Brenners in the morning and he said "no, i don't' think you understand, you need to go right now, they're waiting on him". I ended the call with Dr. Warner and called Russ, I had turned around and headed back towards Winston and suddenly couldn't figure out how to get to Brenner's to save my life. I told Rusty what the Dr had said and that he would have to come and get us, I couldn't even tell him where I was at that point the shock was so bad. Rusty finally found us and we headed to Brenners and were met by a Dr and the testing began. CT scans even when decorated as a pirate ship are very scary for 2 yr olds, xrays as well and the restraints are horrible, next came the blood draws and catheter. A moms worst nightmare all rolled up in about 30 minutes time. We were told fairly quickly that is was without a doubt cancer, they question was what kind and how severe. Our ER Dr. felt pretty sure it was a Wilm's tumor, due to the large size, which we were told is a very favorable childhood cancer, if there is such a thing. Say that together, favorable childhood cancer, its like saying yummy decaying worms. No thank you.
As the night progresses, were told he would be admitted and we would be put in the Pediatric oncology ward. Rusty and I are expecting a few rooms designated to pediatric cancer, maybe even one, its rare right? I will never forget coming off the elevator and walking (well I was pushed, holding Logan in the wheelchair) through the double doors into an entire floor dedicated to children with cancer. Surely it would be a ghost town, not even close. Every room was filled with one left open for us. We were told since it was so late they would just get us settled and let us rest for the night and begin meeting with Dr.s in the morning. Settled in a hospital does not mean settled at home, nurses were in and out for the next few hours getting all the info they needed and we were trying to get Logan to sleep in a bed, they were out of cribs, yep out cause childhood cancer is rare right? He had never slept in a bed before so eventually exhaustion won over. We finally were able to get to sleep around 1 am, around 3 a nurse came in and checked his vitals and asked if I thought he would wake if she changed his diaper. Yes, I explained that I would change him in the morning and never changed him through the night. She proceeded to explain that Dr.s orders were to change and weigh the diapers every 3 hrs to measure urine output since the tumor was on the kidney. As I sat and watched this stranger wake my child against my will I realized that this was only the beginning and I no longer was the one in charge of my child anymore. This simple exchange stunned and devastated me more than all the horrific news we had received all day. I no longer even had the voice or authority to protect him in sleep.
The staff is wonderful at Brenner’s and the nurses are a special God send put on this earth to help these children and parents, this was just a whole new world to me. Over the next few days we met with surgeons, Dr.s and pain teams several times a day and nurses on the hr every hour while we tried to tag team which parent would be at the hospital and which one would be at home with Tyler who was silently suffering during this entire ordeal. The ward also came alive during the daytime hours, when I would peek out in the hall I would see all these little bald children pushing their poles down the hall or being pushed in the wagon. I would cower in the room as Rusty met families in the hall and playroom, everyone there was so supporting and took us in with open arms, I was the stubborn one in the room. Denial was my happy place. I guess if I didn't see it then it wouldn't be real, really mature. Not my proudest moment, I simply couldn't take anymore. I think i must of felt like Dorothy did on the Wizard of Oz when she wakes up in Oz surrounded by cheerful little people with no clue where she is except we woke up in a whole new world surrounded by the bravest bald little people you've ever met.
Dr.s decided that surgery would be performed to remove the tumor and kidney and also check the other kidney as there was a suspicious spot on it as well and place his port a cath for the chemo treatments. If the spot on our "good" kidney was cancer the tumor would not be removed from the "bad" kidney and we would immediately stop surgery and begin treatments. Cancer on both kidneys would be a deal changer. We had the highest confidence in our surgeon, Dr. Petty, once again God placed us with this man that held my hand and cried and prayed right there with me. How many esteemed surgeons do you know that do that or even take the time? So we prepared ourselves for a long surgery and prayed harder than we have ever prayed before. On the morning of October 24th 2013 we sent our beautiful, happy child back to have a monster surgery. It was very hard to wrap our mind around all of this and to send a child that is completely happy and seemingly healthy that had never felt bad or had the first complaint back to surgery. We went to the waiting room and began our wait and prayed that the right kidney spot would be noncancerous and that they would be able to remove the tumor and left kidney. Yes, you heard that right, we prayed diligently that they could remove my sweet baby's kidney and that it was a wilm's tumor and not Neuroblastoma. Dr.s were unsure which one he would be diagnosed with, Wilm's was definitely the lesser of the beasts. The rest of this morning is a complete fog in my memory other than hearing that the small spot on the right kidney was NONCANCEROUS and they would proceed with surgery as planned. After 81/2 hrs of surgery the surgeon came out and said that everything had gone well and the tumor was around 2.1 lbs, keep in mind Logan was a little bitty 21 lb 2 yr old. It was huge, the term small football was thrown around several times to describe the tumor. Now we would wait for pathology reports that would take about a week but preliminary would be back in a few days to determine cancer type and staging. Praise God, now we try to console a 2 yr old who went to sleep fine and awoke to pain and confusion and we pray for a Wilm's diagnosis. Ever sat down and prayed with all your heart that you child will be diagnosed with one kind of cancer and not another? Very surreal feeling to pray for a certain cancer, so quickly your life can change.
We made it through the nest few days by pure will and the prayers of others as we had a really hard time getting Logan's pain management correct and it was heartbreaking to not be able to pick him up and comfort him. Rusty and I continuously tag teamed between home and the hospital so that someone was with Tyler as much as possible. Tyler was 9 and a very intelligent and sensitive little boy. We had decided that until we knew what type of cancer we were up against we would not discuss the big "C" word with Tyler until we had answers for the questions he would ask. Big Mistake.We did what we thought was best and to be honest there's really not a guide book or anyone to ask 'hey, by the way how did you tell your son his baby brother had cancer?" We thought we were protecting him, when in reality he had friends at school whose parent's were praying and supporting us who had overheard and shared with Tyler that his little brother had cancer. As we laid in the bed on my night at home, Tyler started crying and asked when i was going to tell him that Logan had cancer. Talk about heartbreaking, he had heard it was lung cancer, brain cancer and kidney cancer. By trying to protect him we had left him completely blindsided and unaware, one day things were fine, the next day his parents didn't come home and his life was forever changed. Cancer takes the entire family down, don't ever let anyone tell you any different. I stayed up that night until the wee hours of the morning trying to assure Tyler when I didnt have any assurances myself so I simply told him that there would be no more secrets and what we knew he would know. He wanted to know if when Logan started treatments would we be at the hospital again and where would he be and would the treatments make Logan all better forever. My self assured child had vanished in a week and turned into an insecure boy to proud to cry and breaking on the inside. His words to me were that he "felt invisible, everyone was sending gifts for Logan and we were with Logan and he was hurting too". Thank God for wonderful teachers, school staff, friends and parents. I knew when Tyler was at school he was loved as much as If I were there with him.
Over the next few days we received preliminary results that it was a stage 2 Wilm's tumor and treatment would be 19 weeks outpatient instead of what we had been told would be 26 weeks inpatient. Praise God! We finally received the green light to return home with Tyler and began our chemo. We had 12 weeks of once weekly to begin with. During our first few visit to clinic for our treatments the Dr.s kept asking if we had signed up for make a wish yet, Rusty and I discussed it and decided that we really didnt feel comfortable doing that as there were so many more kids in clinic that needed it so much more. We didn't want to take the chance away from anyone else, Dr. McLean explained that it didn't work that way that there was usually a wish granted for each child that had a life threatening disease and that we had been through plenty and Logan had earned it. I told him we would discuss it further since Rusty and I still didn't feel really comfortable with it. You can imagine my surprise when we received a letter from MAW in early December that Logan had been approved for a wish. Rusty and I sat the boys down and read the letter to them and it was priceless, within 2 seconds they are dancing and screaming about Disney world, we were so surprised as well. Wonder what his wish will be?
We continued on through the holidays and our treatments as we anxiously awaited our visit with our wish granters. Finally the day arrived, our beautiful Genies as Tyler calls them came to visit. Lynn and Kathy arrived with presents for both children and asked Logan what he wished for. We all anxiously waited, he had told me Mickey's castle for the past month and sure enough, Mickey's castle it was. We filled out the necessary paperwork and went back to navigating our crazy life while we awaited news to see if his Disney wish would be granted. We were finally finished with the once a week treatments and moved out to only going every 3 weeks. Logan continued to sail through like the little champ that he is and on March the 10th we celebrated our last chemo treatment and port removal with a huge family celebration complete with cake and ice cream.
Logan ready for port removal
Logan ringing the end of treatment bell!
Now we got back to life, its kind of scary in a way, when your in treatment you want to be finished so bad but when your done you almost feel a little insecure like your out on your own without a game plan a little. During this time Tyler astounded me by participating in a 5k for a local Chilhood cancer support group and energizing our entire community to host an Alex’s Lemonade stand, with the help of Tyler’s entire school, community and Chik-Fil-A he was able to raise over $3000 for pediatric cancer research. That’s amazing for a lemonade stand. It was very humbling to see these 10 yr old tough boys consumed with sports out there selling cupcakes and holding signs to save our children. Tyler is my hero and the best big brother ever. He has taken a tragedy created so much good and raised so much awareness. He has raised more awareness in one year than if I screamed about childhood cancer for years. As we got back into the swing of things we also celebrated Logan's 3rd birthday then breezed through his 1st post chemo scans, Praise God! Scanxiety if for real!! Even when your faith is so strong, scans are not for the weak and will bring about the deepest fear you've ever felt. So since our family is awesome, we celebrated our 1st clear post chemo scans with an impromptu Thanksgiving dinner complete with Turkey and all the fixins in March. We were then released back to normal life with scans every 3 months for at least the next 5 years then we will get to spread out a little farther from 3 months to 6.
Early April I received a call from our wish granter, Lynn to see if we could all get together for dinner. Of course, I love her. We arrived at Olive Garden (feel the delicious carbs, yummy) for what I assumed was just a normal "catch up and how are you doing" meal to realize that Logan's wish had been granted!! What a wonderful night that I will always remember and such happy boys! We have decided to complete our wish trip in the spring of 2014 so that Logan would have time to recuperate from treatments and Rusty could build back vacation days at work that had been depleted with hospital stays.
our family and our beautiful wish granters
Our Happy Letter! Logan's wish was to meet Princess Sophia
, we have since moved on and are trying to decide a new favorite. The Princesses are his fave , he loves all the others as well as the super heroes at Universal. 
We are still trucking right along and now survived and cleared 2 more scans! We are now preparing for dental surgery for Logan (scheduled for 12/5)as we have just found that he has approx 10-14 cavities from the chemo and will have to be placed under general anesthesia in the OR to fill and repair what we can. Tyler has had a really hard time with this and is afraid it means the cancer has returned or during surgery more cancer will be found, this is not a normal fear for a 10 yr old to have.I told him to please let me worry about these things and that he is a child, his response is that I have already had a lifetime of worry and dont need anymore. He should be picking on his lil brother and ribbing him to brush better not worried that a cavity means cancer. It will never really be just a cavity or just a tummy ache ever again. We will always live with this fear. It dawned on me when the left the dentist and Tyler was in tears because his brother would have to endure more that this disease will never truly let go. It is like a pebble thrown in the water, God willing the ripples will be small but they never really stop. This started off as just a introduction but I really feel like you needed to understand our journey to know how precious our wish is to each and every member of our family. We have honestly had an easy experience with childhood cancer compared to most families and it has simply been Hell. Our wish trip is such a wonderful little burst of sunshine in the midst of the clouds and something so special to get my children through the tough days especially Tyler who most days I will swear wears the majority of the scars from this ordeal. Logan, God willing will grow and forget but Tyler is forever changed. What a wonderful gift to give. From a mother, thank you from the bottom of my heart for listening, and to all the MAW volunteers and GKTW volunteers , YOU ROCK!
FaithsWish
You can't take the sky from me...
- Joined
- Sep 24, 2014
- Messages
- 358
Found you and subbing in!! I can't wait to hear more about Logan.
WendyLou
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Mar 28, 2013
- Messages
- 440
So Logan's oral surgery was supposed to be at 7 am last Friday morning and we found out at 4pm on Thursday that his insurance had started over December 1st instead of January 1st like we had been told. This means his deductible had started over again and all of the medical would be out of pocket until our $6500.00 deductible was met. 
He starts a new plan in January with an entirely new deductible so we would be meeting 2 different deductibles within 2 months! We have rescheduled his oral surgery for the beginning of February with the new plan with the lower deductible.
Now I have to reschedule his scans which were in December as well. ARGHHHH!!! I am not complaining, we are home and not spending Christmas in the hospital and he is doing great, just gets frustrating. I know y'all understand. Yes, I said Y'all, I'm in NC and I eat grits darlin! So thankful for our Wish trip on the horizon to look forward to! Hope everyone is doing great.
He starts a new plan in January with an entirely new deductible so we would be meeting 2 different deductibles within 2 months! We have rescheduled his oral surgery for the beginning of February with the new plan with the lower deductible. Now I have to reschedule his scans which were in December as well. ARGHHHH!!! I am not complaining, we are home and not spending Christmas in the hospital and he is doing great, just gets frustrating. I know y'all understand. Yes, I said Y'all, I'm in NC and I eat grits darlin! So thankful for our Wish trip on the horizon to look forward to! Hope everyone is doing great.
WendyLou
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Mar 28, 2013
- Messages
- 440
Hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
We are still celebrating Logan's CLEAR SCANS from last Friday!!!
What a way to start the New Year. Thank you God! I sure have enjoyed my time with the kids at home but this past Monday was their first day back at school and preschool. On the outside I'm all 
when Tyler asks me but on the inside I'm 
! So good to get back to work and relax a little. I am excited to finally have a minute to let my mind wander back to....DISNEY PLANNING!! Trying to hammer out park days and then work on outfits! Poor Tyler, he's 10 and gets a little tired of my matching attire for them, but hey, at Disney you've got to do it. I can usually find a few things for him that aren't too childish, any ideas? Still haven't heard about flight time so I'm still hoping we can get an early flight and enjoy a lot of day 1 settling in, orientation and exploring the village. Have read some where that there is an afternoon orientation at different times some days? Anyone know about this or if it is still offered? on a side note, I have started a new diet to be slim and beautiful by our trip 
and I AM STARVING!! just keep telling myself, "I can do this, I can do this". I would much rather have spinach than cake 
Gotta go fix aforementioned Spinach, yummy! bye Guys!
We are still celebrating Logan's CLEAR SCANS from last Friday!!!
What a way to start the New Year. Thank you God! I sure have enjoyed my time with the kids at home but this past Monday was their first day back at school and preschool. On the outside I'm all when Tyler asks me but on the inside I'm ! So good to get back to work and relax a little. I am excited to finally have a minute to let my mind wander back to....DISNEY PLANNING!! Trying to hammer out park days and then work on outfits! Poor Tyler, he's 10 and gets a little tired of my matching attire for them, but hey, at Disney you've got to do it. I can usually find a few things for him that aren't too childish, any ideas? Still haven't heard about flight time so I'm still hoping we can get an early flight and enjoy a lot of day 1 settling in, orientation and exploring the village. Have read some where that there is an afternoon orientation at different times some days? Anyone know about this or if it is still offered? on a side note, I have started a new diet to be slim and beautiful by our trip and I AM STARVING!! just keep telling myself, "I can do this, I can do this". I would much rather have spinach than cake Gotta go fix aforementioned Spinach, yummy! bye Guys!
WDWRids
Running towards Disney as fast as I can!
- Joined
- Aug 22, 2011
- Messages
- 445
Hi, fellow NC dis'er!!! I'm in Greenville. Thank you for sharing Logan's journey. So excited for your family for your MAW trip! Sounds like all of you, especially Tyler, could use some time away to remove the heartaches you all have experienced. Can't wait to hear about your plans! We just got back and had so much fun.....ask away if you have questions! Alyson
FaithsWish
You can't take the sky from me...
- Joined
- Sep 24, 2014
- Messages
- 358
Hi WendyLou! I had asked this same question but didn't get a response so I contacted GKTW. Here is the response:
We have family orientation every day at 9:00am and 7:45pm. Sometimes there is an afternoon orientation scheduled, but we determine that each day based on the time and number of arrivals for the day. More than likely there will be a mid-afternoon orientation, but like I said, we wont determine a time for that until the day of. Orientation will last about 45 minutes. Once you arrive, if the scheduled orientation times dont work for your family, please feel free to ask our front desk staff or Manager on Duty about the possibility of a private orientation. If we are able, we will certainly do that for you!
Hope this helps you! Any word on flights yet?
WendyLou
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Mar 28, 2013
- Messages
- 440
Great to meet you Alyson, my brother went to Greenville for school for awhile , unfortunately it didn't last long as he was not quite ready to be on his own snd make decisions for himself.
He now has his PhD and is a professor at Catawba. So proud! Tyler is truly my shining star and makes me so proud every day. He's just started planning this years lemonade stand to raise much needed funds for pediatric cancer research. He turned our tragedy into triumph and is truly doing great things. How was the trip? Did you get to ride the mine train? It was supposed to be soft opening when we were there last year but it wasn't ready , not to mention it rained everyday but 1. Praying for great weather this year.
WendyLou
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Mar 28, 2013
- Messages
- 440
Thanks, no word yet on flight info, hopefully soon.....
FaithsWish
You can't take the sky from me...
- Joined
- Sep 24, 2014
- Messages
- 358
Those pictures are awesome!!!! YAY!!!
Blissikins
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jan 4, 2012
- Messages
- 234
Subbing in, I can't wait to hear about your trip.
You have two amazing boys, what wonderful brothers.
You have two amazing boys, what wonderful brothers.
Huskerkelsey
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Feb 21, 2011
- Messages
- 68
Your boys sound amazing! I can't wait to hear more!
WendyLou
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Mar 28, 2013
- Messages
- 440
Hope I do this right, so excited, never had enough responses to multi-quote! I'm just a little happy about it..
Thank you, they are my life! They share a very special bond, Tyler has really amazed me with how active he is in the childhood cancer community now.
Thanks! Hope to have updates soon.
Thank you for joining in!!! They are pretty stinkin cute
I'm just a little happy about it.. Thank you, they are my life! They share a very special bond, Tyler has really amazed me with how active he is in the childhood cancer community now.
Subbing in, I can't wait to hear about your trip.
You have two amazing boys, what wonderful brothers.
Thanks! Hope to have updates soon.
Thank you for joining in!!! They are pretty stinkin cute
WendyLou
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Mar 28, 2013
- Messages
- 440
Got a little bit of trip news yesterday. Talked with our son's wish granter while we were delivering Olive Garden to the Pediatric oncology ward (she does this once a month for all the inpatient families, she is AWESOME) where my son was taken care of and .... she said MAW would more than likely set up an extra for our trip like a character meal if we are interested!! um, yes please! I had booked CRT for our MK night (yes Logan loves the princesses 
and wanted to eat in the castle)but we cancelled it after a few weeks due to the pricing. Poor Logan was not happy! Wowzer, I know Disney is high but we can not justify that price for a meal. I know, I know it's the experience. I was looking forward to it too. I still have my lil Princess in me!
So....that Ressie is long gone but i did also have one scheduled for a lunch at Hollywood and Vine since he loves all of the Disney Jr. characters as well. She feels fairly certain MAW will cover his character meal!!! We are getting so excited! Hoping we will still be able to find all the princesses through meet and greets. Hope you all are doing well!
Don't forget World Cancer day was this week, it's not too late to honor all those that you know that have fought and battled this nasty disease!
<a href="http://s50.photobucket.com/user/wen...a-4a1a-b527-060444ffa3ef_zpsl3vftqef.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f...2-640a-4a1a-b527-060444ffa3ef_zpsl3vftqef.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 1cf990b2-640a-4a1a-b527-060444ffa3ef_zpsl3vftqef.jpg"/></a>
My lil warrior!
<a href="http://s50.photobucket.com/user/wen...a-4d82-86ef-7287968331f4_zpsvqklp8iy.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f...7-b00a-4d82-86ef-7287968331f4_zpsvqklp8iy.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 07c17067-b00a-4d82-86ef-7287968331f4_zpsvqklp8iy.jpg"/></a>
and wanted to eat in the castle)but we cancelled it after a few weeks due to the pricing. Poor Logan was not happy! Wowzer, I know Disney is high but we can not justify that price for a meal. I know, I know it's the experience. I was looking forward to it too. I still have my lil Princess in me! So....that Ressie is long gone but i did also have one scheduled for a lunch at Hollywood and Vine since he loves all of the Disney Jr. characters as well. She feels fairly certain MAW will cover his character meal!!! We are getting so excited! Hoping we will still be able to find all the princesses through meet and greets. Hope you all are doing well! Don't forget World Cancer day was this week, it's not too late to honor all those that you know that have fought and battled this nasty disease!
<a href="http://s50.photobucket.com/user/wen...a-4a1a-b527-060444ffa3ef_zpsl3vftqef.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f...2-640a-4a1a-b527-060444ffa3ef_zpsl3vftqef.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 1cf990b2-640a-4a1a-b527-060444ffa3ef_zpsl3vftqef.jpg"/></a>
My lil warrior!
<a href="http://s50.photobucket.com/user/wen...a-4d82-86ef-7287968331f4_zpsvqklp8iy.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f...7-b00a-4d82-86ef-7287968331f4_zpsvqklp8iy.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 07c17067-b00a-4d82-86ef-7287968331f4_zpsvqklp8iy.jpg"/></a>
chcmama
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jun 30, 2007
- Messages
- 447
that is great that they will cover a character meal for you. We didn't do too many characters because my son was not too interested, but the few we did do they did put us in the front of the line. I know that the genie card is technically only for the rides but most of the CM's will put you in the front for the characters or at least let you see them even if they are closing down the line. Good luck!Got a little bit of trip news yesterday. Talked with our son's wish granter while we were delivering Olive Garden to the Pediatric oncology ward (she does this once a month for all the inpatient families, she is AWESOME) where my son was taken care of and .... she said MAW would more than likely set up an extra for our trip like a character meal if we are interested!! um, yes please! I had booked CRT for our MK night (yes Logan loves the princesses
Don't forget World Cancer day was this week, it's not too late to honor all those that you know that have fought and battled this nasty disease!
<a href="http://s50.photobucket.com/user/wen...a-4a1a-b527-060444ffa3ef_zpsl3vftqef.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f...2-640a-4a1a-b527-060444ffa3ef_zpsl3vftqef.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 1cf990b2-640a-4a1a-b527-060444ffa3ef_zpsl3vftqef.jpg"/></a>
My lil warrior!
<a href="http://s50.photobucket.com/user/wen...a-4d82-86ef-7287968331f4_zpsvqklp8iy.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f...7-b00a-4d82-86ef-7287968331f4_zpsvqklp8iy.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 07c17067-b00a-4d82-86ef-7287968331f4_zpsvqklp8iy.jpg"/></a>
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