Logan Loftus’ Journey to Breathe

As many of you know, a few short months after Patrick and Kristin welcomed their twins Logan and Harper in March of this year, they noticed that something did not seem right with Logan. He was often very short of breath, had extreme coughs and weak cries.

In June, after a month or so of doctors visits and various tests, Logan was admitted to the Neonatal Intenstive Care Unit at Crouse Hospital in Syracuse, NY. He would go on to spend two weeks there after being diagnosed with Tracheomalacia with an Innominate Artery compression of his lower trachea. This caused Logan to struggle significantly while eating and breathing.

As a result of this diagnosis, Logan was transported via ambulance to Boston Children’s Hospital, which is one of only two hospitals in the country to perform the surgery Logan would require. He stayed at Children’s for two more weeks before being sent home to Syracuse, where the plan was to monitor his condition and get him strong enough to eventually withstand surgery.

These past few months they have been monitoring Logan from home, giving regular breathing treatments and fighting off illnesses as best they could. They were in constant contact with the Esophageal and Airway Team at Children’s Hospital, who became increasingly more concerned with his progress, or lack there of.

While Patrick and Kristin were always planning to return to Boston eventually, this turn of events expedited their move significantly. Just this past Monday, the Loftus family moved back to Boston after selling their home in New York. The need to be as close as physically possible to Childrens has become their utmost priority.

The initial plan was for Logan to have a final bronchoscope on Friday, October 18 and to schedule surgery before Christmas.

Following his scope, the surgeon began the conversation with : “Logan is an interesting case” . He went on to explain that under normal calm static breathing Logan has a severe compression and 80% collapse of his airway. The big concern came when they lightened the anesthesia during the scope to cause Logan to cough. This showed that when he coughs his trachea completes collapses beginning at his neck and continuing down the entire windpipe to the bronchi branches, which lead to the lungs. The strain on Logan is extreme and will, in fact, need to be repaired immediately via surgery.

At this time the doctors believe he will need two types of repair. They will begin with a Posterior Tracheopexy, entering through his back under his shoulder blade and pulling the back wall of the trachea and attaching it to the back bone. If Logan handles this procedure well they will turn him over and continue on with an Artopexy, entering through his chest and lifting the Innominate Artery off his trachea, attaching it to his breast bone. If they don’t feel comfortable completing both procedures during one surgery then the Artopexy will be performed at a later time.

The surgery is now scheduled for Thursday, October 24th. Logan will have a Pre-op appointment on Tuesday and one final CT Scan on Wednesday in preparation.

As a result of Logan‘s condition, Kristin has been out of work since the twins were born and the financial load has been mainly on Patrick’s shoulders. He was scheduled to attend a 4-day training in Florida, beginning on Thursday the 24th, in order to officially transfer back to JetBlue in Boston. Now that Logan has been scheduled for surgery on the same day, Patrick is not only unable to attend the training, but will not be able to begin work until the next training.

As you can imagine, between the move back to Boston for Logan, coupled with their current employment situation, the financial strain has been significant on the Loftus family.

It is expected that Logan will spend anywherefrom one and a half to four weeks in Children's post-operation. Patrick and Kristin will be spending the majority of the next month (or more) at Childrens, and Logans recovery at home is expected to be quite strenuous.

Neither Patrick or Kristin has ever asked for any financial help and have expressed nothing but gratitude to both their Syracuse and Boston villages, who have assisted not only in their journey with Logan, but have helped facilitate their move, and covered many shifts with Harper and Finn.

I am hoping that we can help lessen any financial stress, through what is likely to be the most trying month of their lives. Any amount that you may be able to contribute will be so very appreciated.

We are looking forward to Logan’s first, true deep breaths and towards a path to recovery.

Thank you,
Katherine Loftus 

#LogiBear #LoganStrong