"TEAM THEOFANIS"

Clippers were buzzing, scissors were styling, and lemonade was flowing!  The Great Shave Off Was A Success!

From 10 am until past 2 pm on Saturday, a steady flow of friends, teammates, family, neighbors and supporters came by the Yianas home to show their support of Theo's fight against Neuroblastoma.  About 200 people stopped by to try Theo's lemonade and to support the "Great Shave Off"!  It was a beautiful, sunny day and Theo, Demetra, and Sophia were super excited to see everyone! What made it even more special was that 40 people got their hair cut!  Some got their head shaved all the way to look like Theo, some got buzz cuts and nine girls cut their long hair which was donated to Pantene's Beautiful Lengths Program!  Kids played, laughed, ate hot dogs and sweets, cheered all those who who gave up their locks for Theo, and everyone celebrated with lemonade toasts!  People wore gold ribbons that symbolize the fight against childhood cancer, and Theo's orange wristbands sold out! And best of all, Theofanis', Demetra's and Sophia's smiles that shone throughout the day warmed and comforted their parents' hearts.

A reporter and photographer from The Chicago Tribune covered the day's events by taking photos and talking to supporters about Theo and his family. (Be sure to pick up a copy of Wednesday's Trib to read all about The Yianas' great day!

An infinite amount of thanks goes to Galinda and Jim Tunney for organizing the party and shaving  heads all day!  Also, To Teja and Pete Kics for all their help in planning the party, too.  Special thanks to Stacy Rokkas for cutting and styling hair for about three hours straight! 

And lots of hugs and kisses to the people who got their hair cut: 

Georggia, Taxiarchi, Pantelis, Anastasi, Val, Leo, Noah, Ben, Theio Jim, Theio Pete, Rowan, Demitri, Theio Kosta, Georgio, Anastasia, Katerina, Evangelos, Aixa, Jimmy, Mr. Brian, Eleni L., Paul, Isabella, Kosta, Dan, Mrs. Tina, Vasilli, Hunter, Constantino, Louis, James, Eleni P., Lincoln, Peter, Pano, Dean, Mrs. Toni, Pete, Paul, and Daddy.

PLUS....Thank you to Father Andrew and Mr. George who could not stop by the party, but who surprised the Yianas family (and the entire St. Demetrios parish) when they showed off their newly shaved heads at church on Sunday! Father sweetly explained to everyone that he's a member of "TEAM THEOFANIS!"

Hugs also go out to the Yianas' dear friends, George Scarlatis and Connor Scarlatis for buzzing their heads at home, too and sending them a photo of their father-son new look.

So, as their exciting weekend came to an end, the Yianas kids happily prepared for Vacation Church School 2011 which started on Monday morning.  They were excited about spending the week at church, seeing their friends, and being surrounded by hundreds of people spreading love and faith. Kosta and Eleni were a bit nervous about Theofanis being exposed to so many people and possible germs, but the great staff members of VCS have taken every extra precaution to protect Theofanis throughout each activity. Because he understood that he has to stay healthy, he was perfectly ok with wearing a surgical mask all day long, too.  And, what's made VCS even more special this year is seeing how all the kids are supporting Theo. You could overhear the kids reassuring eachother that "Theofanis is going to be ok."  Plus, there's news that "The Great Shave Off" has inspired more VCS students such as Sam Hanke and Andrew Petrulakis to join TEAM THEOFANIS. They buzzed their heads to support him and an end to all childhood cancers.

The Great Shave Off was such a success that an encore event has been requested. Keep an eye out for the next event towards the end of summer.  Demetra and Sophia are growing out their hair so it will be long enough to donate in a couple of months! 

THE SPOT

Theo returns to Comer Childrens Hospital on Thursday and Friday for his MIBG scan and CT scan that was previously postponed because of his neutropenic fever. These scans, along with the bone marrow biopsy (which he had last week) are important in determining how effective his treatment has been at killing off neuroblastoma cells. There needs to be evidence of a positive reduction of the cancer. The results should be finalized by the time he begins his third round of chemo on Friday afternoon.  Please pray with his parents that Theo's test results come back good. Starting on Friday, he will be admitted to the hospital for four days and will be getting drugs that he has not received before. This round of chemo will be difficult on him. Please pray with his parents that the side-effects of these chemo drugs are few and that his body is able to stay strong.

 

Theofanis is a fighter and likes to win, as we all know. And, it's important to celebrate the milestones in his treatment. Last week, he underwent a stem cell harvest procedure, where the doctors extracted blood and collected his stem cells for his upcoming transplant. This procedure required sedation to insert a catheter from which the blood is extracted and then re-circulated back into this body. Theofanis had to remain still during the harvest and displayed an incredible amount of bravery as he saw himself connected to this machine. The doctors scheduled two days of stem cell harvest so that they could gather enough stem cells for multiple transplants (if ever needed). Their goal was to harvest approximately 600 million stem cells over those two days. But, as the blood bank doctor and stem cell transplant nurse were reviewing his blood tests taken earlier that day, they commented that Theo had some of the highest blood counts (for stem cells) that they've ever seen. So, the next morning news came in that Theofanis was able to give enough stem cells in a single harvest for four transplants! So, the catheter was removed and Theo didn't need to do another harvest. Mom told him that he has "super duper stem cells!" Let's pray that they are extra super duper so when they're transplanted back, they regenerate into stronger, healthier-than-ever cells!

 

WITH FAITH, LOVE AND PRAYER HE WILL WIN!

 

During VCS, Theo's teachers, Mrs. Deme and Mrs. Demetra, asked Theo and his classmates to each write down something that they experienced that was difficult. Theo wrote "Going through cancer." That was the first time Theo openly wrote about his feelings about his illness. He hadn't written anything about the cancer in his journal at home which caused his parents to worry that he was keeping his feelings bottled up and to himself. At Vacation Church School where he's surrounded by faith, love and prayer, he documented his cancer.

 

Last week, a dear friend underwent a biopsy to remove lumps doctors found in her body. Today, they heard the wonderful news that the tumors are benign.  Eleni and Kosta included her in their prayers to God, Christ, the Virgin Mary, and all the Saints to whom they trustingly beg for Theo's cure. Extra thank yous will be said tonite for putting their arms around Gia and protecting her!

 

Prayers are powerful. God is almighty. God is good.

Psalm 34:1-3

I will extol the LORD at all times;

   his praise will always be on my lips.

My soul will boast in the LORD;

   let the afflicted hear and rejoice.

Glorify the LORD with me;

   let us exalt his name together.