WELCOME!
A WEBSITE ALL ABOUT LOGAN BERTHIAUME
Logan's Updates
Saturday - May 9th 2009
Logan was flown by helicopter to DHMC last night. He's had a cold for the past week (we all have), but it progressed into pneumonia. So last night Logan, his nurse and I took a trip to the ER in Keene. He was extremely lethargic and working hard to breath. The DART team came down and flew him back up there. When I called last night he was on 90% oxygen. I'm hoping he will be doing much better today when I go up there. They gave him an antibiotic through his IV and an albuterol treatment. His nurse last night told me that he seemed much better after his treatment.
For the most part Logan has been doing pretty good. He's learning to stand and take steps. He's been doing very well with his physical therapy. Everyone has been very impressed with the physical progress he has made. So this is just another little bump in the road and hopefully he will be home soon and back to himself.
I know I haven't been very good at updating this site lately, but life gets pretty hectic sometimes and I forget. I will do my best to update it and let everyone know how Logan is doing.
Saturday - May 16th 2009
Logan came back home this past Wednesday (5-13). He is doing very well! I think he was extremely glad to be back home. He has been cheerful and playful and overal, just in a great mood! Of course we are all very pleased that he is back home with us and doing well again! Hopefully there will be no more trips to the hospital anytime soon!
YOU'VE COME A LONG WAY BABY!
Thank you to Dr. Smith , A GREAT DOCTOR!
ENT @ DHMC - Lebanon, NH
Without you, this tracheostomy wouldn't have been possible.
Logan's History
Logan was born July 24, 2007. During my pregnany everything had been normal. All the test, ultrasounds and prenatal visit were always good. Immediately after Logan was born everyone knew something was wrong. He was blue and wasn't breathing on his own. The DHMC DART helicopter team flew down from Lebanon, NH and Logan was rushed up there by ambulance. Doctors soon discovered that Logan was born with a rare congenital heart defect called Tetralogy of Fallot w/ Pulmonary Artresia. This happens to 1 in 10,000 babies. Logan was then flown to Boston Children's Hospital. August 8th he went in for surgery to repair his heart. The surgery was a success and Logan has recovered from that. Unfortunately Logan was also born with rare defects of his ribs and spine. The most rare doctors have ever seen. He only has 9 ribs on each side and his spine is missing vertebrate and some are deformed. His spine cannot be operated on until he is between 1 and 2 years of age. The problem is his rib cage is very small. This has posed a problem for the growth of his lungs. His lungs are what doctors call hypoplastic - meaning; not fully formed. Since his lungs and rib cage are small and Logan is growing, his lungs are having trouble supporting his body. We looked into the possibilty of a Titanium Rib Implant procedure, but because of Logan's circumstances, that might not be possible until he is older and more developed. It could be a year or two (around the same time his spinal surgeries can be done). He was moved back to Boston October 27th. The originial plan was to do a trachestomy. When Logan got there he pulled his vent tube out. This started a downward spiral for his health and he is now recovering and getting back to being the sweet, alert little boy that he was. Doctors looked into performimg a trachestomy on Logan and decided it cannot be done. Logan's cervical spine has missing, fused and deformed vertebrate. Because of this he has no neck. There is literally no room for a trache. Doctors also looked into putting a trache through his sternum, but the risks are far too great and it would most likely prove fatal for Logan. So Logan is back at Dartmouth in Lebanon, NH.
UPDATE: After careful examination of Logan and all of his test, Dr. Smith (ENT) at DHMC, believes that a tracheostomy CAN be done. Dr. Smith believes that Boston is wrong and that the surgery is possible for Logan. The surgery date has been set for January 16th. Doctors will have a special moniter for the spinal cord that detects any stress or tension and Dr. Smith has ordered some special traches that he believes will work for Logan. We are very excited! This means Logan might finally be able to come home! He will still be on a ventilator, but he will be home. It is also a little scary too. There are risks and complications that go with this surgery and any surgery. We are doing what we think is best for Logan though. We are just keeping our fingers crossed and hoping for the absolute best.

