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Roger Logan, 57, hadn’t moved from the same room of his house in Gulfport, Mississippi for the past 12 years. Day in and day out, he sat in an oversized, gray armchair that he bought about five years ago to fit his constantly growing mass.
12 years ago, a tumor began to develop on Logan’s lower stomach. His doctors told him it was “just fat.” But when it grew at a rapid pace, Logan became unconvinced of his doctor’s diagnosis.
One doctor in Indianapolis finally told him it was a tumor, but performing surgery on it was risky. There was only a 50/50 chance that Logan would survive, and so he refused to help Logan.
Logan had no choice but to return home and continue seeking further medical advice elsewhere. But again and again, doctors would just say, “It’s just fat, you’re just fat.”
As for Logan, the more the tumor grew, the lower his quality of life declined. Soon enough, the growth was inhibiting from running his store, going fishing, or even leaving his house to do anything on his own.
The mass had transformed from a lump on his lower abdomen to a huge mass that felt like he was stringing along “three bags of cement” from his neck. It hung down to the floor from between his legs.
For years, he and his wife, Kitty, researched and reached out to doctors around the country, hoping to find someone who could help him out, but no one was willing to do so because of the same 50/50 survival rate the first doctor had mentioned.
About a year ago, the Logans became hopeful when two doctors finally seemed to agree to see Logan and surgically remove his growth.
But then, abruptly, they backed out.
Logan lost hope and became so depressed, he stopped eating and drinking water for two weeks. He ended up in the hospital and required treatment for liver failure and dehydration.
That was when it really hit Logan and his wife. “We realized if we don’t do something now, I’m just going to give up again,” Logan said in the wake of his hospitalization.
Kitty renewed her doctor search with vigor, determined to find a specialist who would agree to perform the tumor-removal surgery on her husband, even if there was only a 50/50 chance of survival. In her and Logan’s eyes, the low survival rate didn’t seem “so bleak when you’re facing life in an armchair.”
In August 2016, Kitty finally stumbled upon Dr. Vipul Dev, based in Bakersfield Memorial Hospital in Bakersfield, California.
Dr. Dev had performed similar operations in the past, so when Kitty reached out, the doctor agreed to see Logan.
The Logans spent the past six months figuring out their insurance plans and making arrangements to transport Logan and his massive growth 2,006 miles across the country.
They ultimately bought a cargo van that they furnished with Logan’s armchair and ottoman that was “just like [his] living room at home” and drove across the country to have the surgery performed and the tumor finally removed.
Finally, in February 2017, Dr. Dev performed the life-changing operation on Logan. The mass tipped the scales at 140 pounds after removal. The doctor suspected that the benign tumor had begun as an ingrown hair. Over time, the swelling progressively worsened until the mass was large enough to develop its own blood flow.
Thankfully, the procedure went smoothly and the mass has been permanently removed. Logan is recovering well and is set to return home in about two weeks’ time. He is ecstatic at how the procedure went, commenting, “My feet are together. They haven’t been together in years.”
As for his armchair, he has plans to get rid of it for good. When he returns home, he intends on buying a loveseat that he can share with his wife. “I never want to see that armchair again,” he said vehemently.
