Day -5 of Stem Cell Transplant #1

Once again the day started at 4 am with a chilly shower, clothing and linen change. And once again, the Thiotepa arrived and was hung promptly at 9 am. But, today's "stem cell medicine" prescription was slightly different. On Day -5, Theo was given three doses of chemotherapy. In addition to Thiotepa(his last dose by the way), he received a high dose of Cyclophosphamide and Mesna. All were administered in the morning. All were done by late morning. Besides being "bummed," he tolerated the immediate infusions well.

Well, his "bummed" attitude didn't last too long this particular morning. All because he was getting an exceptional visit from his sisters Deme and Sophia, who got the ok to miss school. None of the kids really understood how rare it was for the three of them to be together in Theo's isolation room. Kosta and Eleni, though, knew how precious it was to have the three of them together. Theofanis' white blood count was unusually high at 5.0 and the girls had no signs of a cold, cough or virus. So, mom and dad felt comfortable that the risk of an infection was low. And, as they later found out, the doctors also made sure that the girls exhibited no signs of a cold. Again, it is so rare for such an exception to be made that even our head nurse in charge of the Stem Cell Transplant made a comment that she never meets her patients' siblings.

So, the family huddled together in Theofanis' hospital room to take a family portrait. As the photographer snapped photos, the Yianas family smiled and laughed. And they were reminded that they had many reasons to smile and laugh!

One of the first things that Demetra and Sophia (as well as all the doctors, nurses and staff members) noticed upon entering the hospital room that day was not the 100 or more cards taped to the walls of his room, but instead Theo's most recent Legos creation. The Star Wars Tantive IV command center. Made of 1408 pieces, it was rather impressive. But, the most impressive thing of all was that Theo had started it and completed it in less than two days!

So, the Yianas kids hung out for a few hours on Friday. They played Wii together, they painted together, and they ate lunch together. They even played "Body Parts Bingo" via the direct video feed from the playroom, too. And when it came time for the girls to say good-bye, Kosta and Eleni reminded everyone that they would "see" eachother every night via Facetime. Although there was some comfort in those words, each of the kids knew how difficult the coming weeks would be. And the tears each of them shed later that night proved it.

Plus, for Theofanis, later that night, the classic side effects of the high dose chemotherapy surfaced. The nausea and vomitting began. The "yuckies" were starting to take over.