THE BUZZ

On Saturday, June 4th, one month to the day we found out that Theofanis was diagnosed with Neuroblastoma, he began to lose his hair. Fifteen days and four hours after his first infusion of chemo, his hair quietly fell into our hands as we ran our fingers along his scalp. "My hair is falling out," he said as he wiped away the tiny hairs that fell over his eyes and onto his nose. We told him it was happening because of the chemo. He understood.  He told us he didn't want to be bald as he scratched his scalp and saw more hair fall onto his pillow. We told him that the chemo may cause him to go bald temporarily, and we reminded him that his hair grows very fast. We told him we would go get a buzz cut the next day. He agreed to the haircut. We said our prayers together and he fell asleep. He fell asleep accepting of what was happening to his body. Our son is the most courageous boy in the world!

We gathered his fallen hair, placed it in a small zipper baggie, and dated it 6/4/11.

The next day, when Theofanis woke up, he looked at his pillow covered with hair, and as-a-matter-of-factly called out to his sister, "Hey, Demetra, my hair is falling out!" They looked at it, and talked about how kids who have cancer go bald. They talked about how they saw other kids at the hospital with short hair, no hair and patches of hair. Soon after, Sophia joined them, noticed the hair on the bed, and like her two siblings did not appear to be phased by what she saw. We gathered the loose hair with a sticky lint roller and got ready for church. Theofanis was serving the altar, and he did not want to be late!

Hair was falling softly and resting on his shoulders and face throughout the morning and early afternoon. He would quietly wipe them away.

After church, we went to his cousin's birthday party. Full of energy, he sprinted around the party room.  When he ran his hands through his sweaty scalp, they emerged filled with hair.  So, he yelled out to his cousins, "Hey guys, my hair is falling out!" and waited for an "it's so cool" reaction. 

We made an appointment for all three Yianas kids to get haircuts at Kidsnips later that afternoon. Deme went first, and got about an inch taken off and layers added in.  Then, Sophia had her ends cleaned up. Both girls opted for glitter, too. Then, it was Theofanis' turn.  The hair dresser started with #2 clippers, but because Theofanis' hair is so thick, she took it down to #1. She started along the back and side, and then asked Theo if he wanted a mohawk. As she left a crazy patch through the middle of his head, the kids smilled at the silliness of it. As the clippers moved along his head, our terrific hairdresser caught each lock into her hands and placed it into a baggie for us. She understood how important it was to us to hold on to every small strand of our son's hair.

Theofanis smiled in the mirror and rubbed his head back and forth to check out his new buzz cut.  He told us he didn't like it. He kept smiling, though. He said he looked like Carlos Boozer. We told him he looks great!

He is a beautiful kid, inside and out!

Theofanis spent the rest of the day getting used to his haircut. He wore a baseball cap when he played basketball outside.  He noticed that when he rubs his head forward, his buzzed hair feels soft, and when he rubs it from front to back, it feels rough. He asked us to feel his head, too.  He was right.

His buzzed head is soft as silk, especially when you kiss it!

THE SPOT

Our home nurse Joanna is coming tomorrow morning to draw a new set of labs. We expect them to come back looking very good. His white blood count was on the rise on Friday, and he's been full of energy this entire weekend. So, we're planning on going back to Comers on Wednesday for round #2 of Chemotherapy. Once again, he'll be admitted to the hospital for five days of chemo.

After this round of chemo, the doctors will run tests and scans to validate that the chemo is working and killing the neuroblastoma cells that are in Theofanis' body. It is imperative that these test results show that the chemo is shrinking his tumor. We are praying that the chemo is working and we are praying that Theofanis will be able to get through this next round of chemo without pain, discomfort and complications.

WITH LOVE, FAITH AND PRAYER, HE WILL WIN!

Friday was the last day of school and also the end of the year program. Theofanis, Demetra and Sophia all had a great time spending the last day of the school year with their friends. There were a ton of photos taken with kids from Theofanis' First Grade class and the girls from his original Kindergarten class, including, but not limited to Vanessa, Elena, Litsa, Olga, Gia, Eleni, Katerina, and Alexa. (Someone has to email us the photo where Theofanis was wearing the fedora and the girls were posing around him!). Our cousins Sofia and Anna came to the program, too!

Friday was also Kosta's birthday. We celebrated that evening with dinner and birthday cake, like we always do as a family. The kids made daddy some great cards, and Eleni apologized throughout the day for forgetting in the morning to acknowledge her husband's birthday until she was reminded to (by him)! 

On Saturday, we watched our little Sophia perform in her very first Ballet Recital. She wore a cute pink and green flower costume and danced to "The Little Mermaid" song. She was adorable and we were all very, very proud of her!

And, as mentioned, on Sunday we went to church and then to a family birthday party. The weekend wound down with Kosta's uncle Chris who drove up from Decatur to visit and have dinner and ice cream with us.

This weekend, Theofanis and our family was surrounded by a lot of love and many, many strong wishes and prayers by our friends, our community, our neighbors and our family. Everyone's support means the world to us and gives us strength.  We constantly pray to God to give us strength each moment of each day to battle our son's cancer, to protect all our three children, and to not let our tears overtake our emotions. 

P.S.

Hello All,

I am a friend of Theofanis and have been helping Eleni and Dean manage this blog. As I have sent confirmation to them for each posting, I have included some scripture from the Bible to give them some Godly hope and encouragement. I figured we could all use some hope and encouragement, so I will add the scripture to the blog.

I am in process of planning a hair shaving/cutting party so we can stand united for Theo. Please check back within the next day or two to get information. Let's see how many of us are willing to go to a #1:) My sister, who is a hairdresser, will also be available for those of us who would like to cut our tresses for Locks for Love.

Hugs,
Galinda Tunney

Ephesians 4:1-3

"...I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace."

Let us all be united in the Spirit for Theofanis.