Happy Birthday Logan!! Our sweet baby would have been 1 today. We can’t believe that it’s been a year since that little rascal came into our lives & won us all with his spunky spirit. In honor of Logan’s birthday, we’ll be visiting our NSCU family to thank them – again – for the amazing job they do each & every day. It’s because of the dedication of the NSCU staff that we were blessed with 8 wonderful weeks with Logan.
We ask that you join us in remembering our little angel on his special day . . . hug your loved ones, donate blood and/or platelets, make a donation to Kapiolani’s Newborn Special Care Unit, tell someone how much you love them.
We miss you Logan . . . we wish you could be here with us to celebrate your big day. Mommy & Daddy are so proud of you . . . we love you baby!
Some difficult days ahead . . . we’ll be celebrating Logan’s 1st birthday with the family on Sunday night. We never thought we’d be celebrating his 1st birthday like this . . . no party favors, no goodie bags, no presents, no 1-year-old rascal trying to blow out his candles.
We’re both taking a “mental health” day on Monday, which is Logan’s actual birthday. We’ll be stopping by the hospital to visit with our NICU family. We haven’t been there in a looong time . . . not sure how hard it’ll be to be there on Logan’s birthday. June 1st will always be a bittersweet day for us . . . it’s the happiest day because it’s the day that Logan came into our lives, but it’s also a sad reminder of what we’ve lost.
My emotions have been “rollercoastering” up & down lately . . . I’m just barely keeping it together . . . some days I feel fairly human, and some days I don’t even recognize who I am anymore. Always on my mind is the fact that July 27th is just around the corner. Like I said . . . difficult days ahead.
It’s hard to believe it, but today makes 10 months since Logan left us. Even harder to believe is that Logan’s 1st birthday is just 5 days away! We miss him so much. Sorry . . . just a quick post because recess just ended.
It was a bittersweet 1st mommy’s day for me . . . had a nice lunch at my parent’s house this afternoon with the whole family. The day was full of memories of our sweet Logan and wishes for things that might have been if Logan were still with us. This was not at all how I envisioned my first mother’s day to be . . . in my mind, I imagined that Lance would get Logan from his crib & bring him into our room so that Logan could wake me up with hugs & sweet kisses. I imagined that we would spend the morning, snuggling in bed together before getting ready to go to lunch. I never imagined that I would be giving “good morning” kisses to the smooth wood of Logan’s urn, rather than his soft cheeks & tiny lips. I miss him.
March for Babies 2009 was a success!!! Walk day turned out to be a beautiful day – we were a little worried since there was a flash flood warning just days before.
Kim and I would like to thank everyone for all your support. Together, Team Logan pushed past our goal and raised $6,294 for the March of Dimes!!! Hopefully, our contributions will get them closer to their goal… “one day… all babies will be born healthy.”
If you still have donations to turn in, you can mail them to the March of Dimes Hawaii Chapter:
Today is April 27th . . . it’s been 9 months since Logan left us. It was a rough day for me at school today. At first, I blamed it on my students . . . some of them were acting like little monsters today. But then I realized that I was just in a crappy mood.Â
This past weekend was a difficult one for us. As most of you know, we participated in the March for Babies walk on Saturday. Team Logan had just under 50 walkers & raised a staggering $6300 for the March of Dimes!! GO TEAM LOGAN!! It was a beautiful day for a walk . . . nice weather, great company. Of course, Logan was on our minds the entire day, both in happy & sad ways. We could feel his strength & his love, but we could also feel the huge hole in our hearts . . . the hole that’s been there since Logan left us.
On Sunday, we went to a baby shower for our good friends. They’re expecting a boy in May & we couldn’t be happier for them! The shower was nice, but again, a little difficult. Seeing their beautiful nursery was hard . . . couldn’t help but think about the nursery that we never got to decorate for Logan. Watching them open their gifts was hard too . . . couldn’t help but think how we wouldn’t be needing any of those things for Logan.
But, as always, we put on a brave face & made it through the weekend. I think I might have been okay, if 9 months hadn’t hit us today. Just before typing this, I sat in our living room, crying my eyes out as I watched the beautiful slide show that Cheri created for us. I’m overwhelmed with waaay too many memories of Logan . . . I miss him.
We just wanted to give everyone an update on how things are going and remind you that it’s not too late to sign up or make a pledge.
Team Logan is doing well… we have just under 50 people walking and as a team have raised $3,868 for the March of Dimes!!! Thank you to everyone who made a pledge. We still have a few more days… keep those pledges coming.
If you haven’t had a chance to sign up for the walk (http://tinyurl.com/dyjwm3) or enter a pledge ( http://marchforbabies.org/shinsato), please do. The March of Dimes is an amazing organization with such an extremely important goal… “one day… all babies will be born healthy”
For all those that are thinking of pledging, but haven’t made up their minds yet, here’s some additional incentive… Farmers is providing matching donations!!! For all those that enter a pledge between now and walk day, please be sure to fill in the match amount and put “Farmers” as the matching company.
Thank you for all your love and support. We’re truly amazed at the impact Logan has made – and continues to make!
A friend of mine created a beautiful slideshow for Logan’s Celebration of Life. I only just got around to putting it online for those who couldn’t make it to the Celebration of Life.
Through Logan, Kim and I learned what an amazing organization the March of Dimes really is.
The March of Dimes is having its annual March for Babies event across the country.
There are two ways you can help: join our team and walk with us OR sponsor me and I’ll walk for you.
Please join our March for Babies Family Team ‘Logan… Forever Loved‘.  We’re walking in memory of our son Logan who passed away on July 27, 2008. Logan was with us for eight short weeks, but in that time he touched our hearts and showed us what it means to be strong and brave. To honor Logan’s birth and short life, we invite you to join our team and raise funds to help March of Dimes efforts to give every baby a healthy start. To join us, visit marchforbabies.org/teams/659237 and sign up today or contact Lance Shinsato at shinsato@gmail.com to get more information!
If you can’t make the walk, but would still like to sponsor me – so I can walk for you – please visit my March for Babies page marchforbabies.org/shinsato and enter your pledge.
Here’s the information for the March for Babies on Oahu:
April 25, 2009
Registration Time: 7:00AM
Start Time: 7:30 AM
Kapiolani Park
2750 Monsarrat Avenue
Honolulu, HI 96815
Walk Distance: 5 miles
March of Dimes – Hawaii Chapter Phone #: (808) 973-2155
To find out about a March for Babies in your area, please visit marchforbabies.org.
With your support, there’s hope! Premature birth and birth defects take a tremendous emotional and physical toll on babies and their families. You can help by joining our Family Team at March for Babies to walk and raise funds for March of Dimes research and programs to help moms have full-term pregnancies and healthy babies.
Received this update from the March of Dimes… If you or someone you know is expecting, it is highly encourage that you learn more about newborn screening. In Hawaii, it is state law that every newborn baby be tested for 32 different disorders…
We have some very good news to share: After nine years of intensive advocacy efforts, nearly every baby born in this country now lives in a state that requires screening for most of the 29 serious but treatable disorders recommended by the American College of Medical Genetics.
This is a remarkable public health advance essentially eliminating state-by-state screening gaps. And it was made possible by people like you — the volunteers, donors and staff of the March of Dimes — working in tandem with our partners and state officials. The clear beneficiaries are babies and their families.
Recently, TIME Magazine, The New York Times, Los Angeles Times Health Blog, San Francisco Chronicle, Health Day, Health News Digest, MedPage Today, CNN Radio and several NBC-affiliate stations shared this story following the release of our Newborn Screening Report Card.
Newborn screening involves a simple blood test taken before the baby is discharged from the hospital and is done to detect certain rare disorders before any symptoms begin. If diagnosed early, these disorders can be successfully managed or treated to prevent death, disability or other severe consequences such as mental retardation.
If you or someone you know is expecting, I encourage you to learn more about newborn screening.
Even while we are celebrating, we are continuing to work hard on this issue. Please join us either by signing up as an eAdvocate to help secure federal funding for the Newborn Screening Saves Lives Act (Public Law 110-204) or by working with your March of Dimes Chapter on this topic.
Together we are touching—and improving — the lives of our nation’s babies and families.
