Fighting for Logan’s Life
Donation protected
Logan was born with a critical congenital heart defect called Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome. Essentially it’s being born with half of a functioning heart. The only treatments available are a heart transplant or a series of open heart surgeries. We found out about Logan’s diagnosis when I was 22 weeks pregnant and it was devastating.
At 37 weeks pregnant we traveled to Edmonton for Logan’s birth on which he was immediately transferred to the Stollery Children’s Hospital so he could be stabilized for surgery and receive medicine that would keep him alive until surgery day.
At 2 weeks old Logan had his first open heart surgery called the Norwood procedure. It was a tough recovery with collapsed lungs but after 43 days spent in the ICU we were able to come home for almost 3 months.
On November 10th 2021 we were admitted to BC Children’s Hospital because Logan was very sick and his heart wasn’t doing well. It was decided we would be transferred to Edmonton to have Logan’s second surgery earlier then planned due to a valve leaking in his heart. This surgery resulted in Logan being placed on ECMO which resulted in a major stroke that paralyzed his right side. (ECMO is a life support machine that oxygenates blood and pumps it through your body while your heart and lungs rest.) He had two more open heart surgeries that week and eventually a stent was placed in his pulmonary artery.
It was a very scary time and we didn’t know if we’d be getting out of the ICU. They talked about artificial hearts and devices that would help his heart pump.
Miraculously with physiotherapy Logan has made amazing progress and is regaining use of the right side of his body and his heart was getting stronger.
We thought we were getting close to going home but low blood oxygen levels persisted and Logan required supplemental oxygen. We pushed for further investigation and it was revealed that Logan had a secondary diagnosis as equally terrifying and critical as his first. They told us Logan had Pulmonary Vein Stenosis, a rare disease that could be very aggressive and could result in the loss of Logan’s lungs. A life ending disease.
The decision was made to have a fifth open heart surgery in February to allow more blood to flow through the pulmonary veins.
After spending the winter in Edmonton we returned to BC Children’s on March 10th. Again we thought we would be able to go home after some medication weaning.
We are still in hospital in the ICU, Logan is still sick, his oxygen isn’t improving and his doctors have decided to send us back to Edmonton for further procedures.
Our baby is only 9 months old and has undergone 5 cardiac catheterizations, 5 open heart surgeries, 2 runs on ECMO and countless other procedures, tests and needles. He has gone through more in 9 months than most people will in their entire lives. At the time of writing this we have spent a total of 184 days in hospital away from friends and family and just 94 days at home. We have not slept in our own beds in months.
It has been an emotional and physical roller coaster but we have been together as a family every step of the way and we want to continue to do so. Unfortunately my maternity leave runs out in May and James has not worked in almost a year. We are a team and being able to take turns in the hospital is how we’ve been able to keep going physically and emotionally. We’ve almost exhausted our EI benefits and we are starting to panic.
We did not want it to come to this but we desperately need help so we can keep fighting for our baby’s life as a family. If you could donate any amount or even just share our story with this page we will be immensely grateful. Being able to be together means more to us then you can imagine.
Funds raised will be used to pay bills, mortgage payments and insurances, cover groceries, pay for gas, accommodation and travel and any other expenses needed to support Logan and our family to help keep us all together while we receive treatment in Edmonton and Vancouver.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read about our journey so far.
At 37 weeks pregnant we traveled to Edmonton for Logan’s birth on which he was immediately transferred to the Stollery Children’s Hospital so he could be stabilized for surgery and receive medicine that would keep him alive until surgery day.
At 2 weeks old Logan had his first open heart surgery called the Norwood procedure. It was a tough recovery with collapsed lungs but after 43 days spent in the ICU we were able to come home for almost 3 months.
On November 10th 2021 we were admitted to BC Children’s Hospital because Logan was very sick and his heart wasn’t doing well. It was decided we would be transferred to Edmonton to have Logan’s second surgery earlier then planned due to a valve leaking in his heart. This surgery resulted in Logan being placed on ECMO which resulted in a major stroke that paralyzed his right side. (ECMO is a life support machine that oxygenates blood and pumps it through your body while your heart and lungs rest.) He had two more open heart surgeries that week and eventually a stent was placed in his pulmonary artery.
It was a very scary time and we didn’t know if we’d be getting out of the ICU. They talked about artificial hearts and devices that would help his heart pump.
Miraculously with physiotherapy Logan has made amazing progress and is regaining use of the right side of his body and his heart was getting stronger.
We thought we were getting close to going home but low blood oxygen levels persisted and Logan required supplemental oxygen. We pushed for further investigation and it was revealed that Logan had a secondary diagnosis as equally terrifying and critical as his first. They told us Logan had Pulmonary Vein Stenosis, a rare disease that could be very aggressive and could result in the loss of Logan’s lungs. A life ending disease.
The decision was made to have a fifth open heart surgery in February to allow more blood to flow through the pulmonary veins.
After spending the winter in Edmonton we returned to BC Children’s on March 10th. Again we thought we would be able to go home after some medication weaning.
We are still in hospital in the ICU, Logan is still sick, his oxygen isn’t improving and his doctors have decided to send us back to Edmonton for further procedures.
Our baby is only 9 months old and has undergone 5 cardiac catheterizations, 5 open heart surgeries, 2 runs on ECMO and countless other procedures, tests and needles. He has gone through more in 9 months than most people will in their entire lives. At the time of writing this we have spent a total of 184 days in hospital away from friends and family and just 94 days at home. We have not slept in our own beds in months.
It has been an emotional and physical roller coaster but we have been together as a family every step of the way and we want to continue to do so. Unfortunately my maternity leave runs out in May and James has not worked in almost a year. We are a team and being able to take turns in the hospital is how we’ve been able to keep going physically and emotionally. We’ve almost exhausted our EI benefits and we are starting to panic.
We did not want it to come to this but we desperately need help so we can keep fighting for our baby’s life as a family. If you could donate any amount or even just share our story with this page we will be immensely grateful. Being able to be together means more to us then you can imagine.
Funds raised will be used to pay bills, mortgage payments and insurances, cover groceries, pay for gas, accommodation and travel and any other expenses needed to support Logan and our family to help keep us all together while we receive treatment in Edmonton and Vancouver.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read about our journey so far.
Organizer
Rhiannon Weiss
Organizer
Abbotsford, BC
