Love For Logan

Logan Scott Stangler is a 12 year old

boy, from Gravenhurst and attends Glen Orchard Public School. While Logan enjoys the typical activities of a kid his age, riding his bike, spending time with friends and family, playing with LEGO... Logan has fought long and hard for it.

Logan was born at 29 weeks gestation weighing 2 lbs 9 oz. After spending the first 3 months of his life in the hospital, he started to become frequently ill. At the age of 2 he was diagnosed with asthma. As further years passed his condition worsened and Logan’s parents Carrie & Scott, would alternate taking time off work to take care of him. He would be unwell for weeks at a time and after taking him to several different doctors, they were convinced he had a severe case of asthma.

At age 7, he took a turn for the worse. He was having trouble breathing and had no energy. Upon arriving at the hospital he was put on oxygen immediately. They spent weeks trying to wean him off of it with no avail. His sats would drop to dangerous levels and they would have to put him back on it. The local doctor was stumped and sent Logan to Sick Kid's Hospital in Toronto. After numerous tests over a few days, he was diagnosed with Bronchitis Obliterans. They suspected he’d had it since he was 2 or 3 and was misdiagnosed with asthma. At the time of the diagnosis, he had 16% lung capacity.

Carrie & Scott then learned Logan would need a double lung transplant and he was placed on the transplant waitlist. All they could do was wait and hope but to stay on the list, Carrie & Logan had to remain in Toronto. They were so thankful for the Ronald MacDonald house as it was about 2 months before there was a compatible set of lungs.

Carrie & Scott were ecstatic to hear the news! The surgery took around 6 hours however having experienced a bit of rejection, Logan required a tracheotomy and sadly lost the use of his voice for an entire month. The rest of his rehabilitation however went relatively well.

At age 8 Logan had his first bout with post transplant Lymphoma and had to have one of his tonsils removed. Carrie & Logan would then spend another 10 months in Toronto again feeling grateful for the Ronald McDonald House. Scott worked hard to take care of the family financially while Carrie couldn’t work however keeping up with the bills and life’s curve balls became difficult with only one income coming in.

Logan finally got to go home and things were beginning to look up but sadly, it didn’t last long. After only 5 months he began getting severe fevers. Unable to break the fever, Carrie & Scott took him back to Toronto. They spent about a week trying to figure out what was wrong and after a ct scan, found 2 sizable clots on each side of his heart. After another scan, an abscess was found behind his heart which ended up being the cause of his symptoms.

Logan then had open heart surgery to remove the abscess which required his chest to be left open for a week. He remained in a medically induced coma and despite the scare for Carrie & Scott, Logan pulled through like a champ however had to have a pacemaker inserted. He spent 3 months recovering in Toronto and then the Stangler family got to return home once again.

This year Logan’s lymphoma has resurfaced. He began to complain about pain in his hip and while at first it didn't seem too serious, after a few days he was having a hard time walking. He was taken back to the hospital and tests found a 5x5x6 cm tumor in his pelvic area. He started chemotherapy immediately and remained in Toronto for 7 months while undergoing treatment.

Logan returned home in June excited for summer and to attend a Transplant Summer Camp. His recent follow up appointment showed his tumour had shrunk to 2 cm and it’s now a waiting game to see if he will need surgery. The surgery however would be quite dangerous as the tumour is close to a major blood vessel. Logan goes back at the end of August to find out if he will require surgery. In the meantime, he remains Netutrapinic which means he is at high risk for infection and sadly, came down with a virus that had him removed from Transplant Camp after only one day.

Let’s help support this family, rally for Logan and his recovery. Carrie & Scott have remained strong and done their best to maintain their family and their home during this long and difficult road however with only one income, it’s not been easy. While we can’t improve Logan’s health, we can offer a small relief by helping ensure Carrie & Scott can navigate the financial burden that comes with these hardships.

Please give generously, any amount will make a difference for Logan and his family!

With love and thanks in advance,

The Devitt Family