Logan Setzer

"Logan began having headaches and spontaneous vomiting in May of 2007. They increased in severity until we visited the ER on July 29, 2007. A CT revealed a brain tumor, and Logan was in surgery five hours later to relieve pressure on his brain. The neurosurgeon explained that the tumor was benign, but it was in a bad place (where the hypothalamus, pituitary gland, and optic nerves cross paths). We only heard benign and didn't really "hear" the next ten minutes of how devastating this benign tumor would be on Logan's remaining life. On August 3, he had a six hour surgery (partial resection) to remove half of the tumor (the soft part). The calcified half was to be removed with radiation. Chemo would not work on this type of tumor. In September 2007, he had another surgery to insert a shunt to keep the spinal fluid circulating properly in his body (instead of seeping out through the new surgical cracks in his skull and leaving him with a lump on his head...fondly named by Logan as Mr. Jiggly because you could see the liquid jiggle when he shook his head). Radiation was delayed because doctors agreed that we had to find out what was going on with Logan's vision before we radiated the area around his optic nerves. It was determined that the optic nerves atrophied (died), and Logan was diagnosed as being legally blind. He has no vision in his left eye, no peripheral vision in his right eye, and what is left is very poor. He finally began radiation, but we were interrupted with cysts forming from the remaining tumor that we couldn't zap fast enough with the radiation. A fourth surgery was performed on Halloween 2007. It removed all of the remaining tumor. This surgery on Halloween was a vivid picture of the many childhood experiences that Logan would lose. Radiation was resumed, and Logan completed 31 radiation treatments in December of 2007. Since then, we have lived the devastation resulting from four brain surgeries and 31 radiation treatments. Logan's vision has gotten better, then worse. He now lives with only 1/4 of his right eye (corrected with glasses to 20/30). This brain tumor caused Logan's personality to completely change, and his physical appearance has completely changed. He is a different child...legally blind, personality change, biological eating disorder (could weigh 500 pounds if not controlled), will always be overweight to obese, narcolepsy, sleep apnea, cognitive deficits, impaired processing speed, emotional outbursts, anxiety, transitioning issues, social deficits, obsessive compulsive disorder, complete hormone dysfunction, sensory processing disorder, ticks, loss of skin pigmentation, and crazy enough - kids with this brain tumor go flat-footed, which causes chronic body aches. He will be 21 on Feb. 27, 2018, takes around 28 pills a day, 1 growth hormone shot a day, 1 testosterone shot a week, 1 allergy shot a month, uses a CPAP machine at night to help with his breathing, and travels periodically to Nashville for a medical trial for his hypothalamic obesity. After six great years, he graduated high school in 2017! He is a genuinely faithful young man. He believes God has a plan, and Logan is trusting Christ and the Holy Spirit to guide him completely through this journey. Logan never questions why anything is happening to him. The only negative thing he says is that he hates his brain, and this is usually when his brain is telling him he's starving because his brain can't tell him when he's full. Logan is an inspiration to all who know him. He has a kind and friendly word to all who hear his story."

- The Setzer Family