Immunotherapy #2-A and Theo's Day +100 celebration!

Theo with a bowl of fresh fruit and his
super large "100" ballons and poster
signed by his doctors and nurses!

Friday, March 23rd was a very, very BIG day for Theo:

• He completed the first half of his Immunotherapy Round #2 (IL-2 infusion) completely asymptomatic! It was by far, the quietest, easiest, most boring week spent at Comer! 
• He was discharged from the hospital and sent home to spend the weekend with his family!
• He celebrated the end of his "100 Days" post-transplant isolation! (Which was really more like 150 days since he had two transplants.)
• He was done taking Acyclovir, the twice daily, worst tasting, oral medicine he obligingly took for nearly 140 days straight.
• He went to school for 1/2 a day, the first time in over five months!
• He ate a huge bowl of fruit filled with FRESH strawberries, FRESH pears, FRESH apples and FRESH bananas! And, he took a shopping trip to Whole Foods where he filled the grocery cart with more FRESH fruits and vegetables!
• He ate pizza from Rosati's!
• He went to bed extremely happy!

The entire Yianas family went to bed that night very, very happy!

Yes, Friday March 23rd was the start of a very "normal" weekend for the Yianas Family. They were back at doing normal family activities without restrictions. They went to the movies and saw The Lorax. They went video game shopping using Christmas/Birthday present gift cards, they went out to breakfast, lunch and dinner, and they went to church where Theofanis served in the Altar. They saw both Giagia Sofia and Giagia Agni. They hung out with their cousins, Demetri, Sofia and Anna, too.

And, when Theo went out in public, there was nothing to draw attention to him. There was no mask telling people, "I'm immunocompromised." No pale skin. No bald head. Nothing telling the world, "I'm battling cancer." All anyone noticed was a smiling, happy kid with a buzz cut!

And actually, something happened during his 1/2 day return to school that made everything seem "normal" for any seven year old. Theo got picked on by a fifth grader! Really! Here's what happened: Theo was wearing a Cubs hat while waiting to be picked up after school with his sister. A fifth grader wearing a Sox hat went up to him and flicked off Theo's baseball cap. When Theo put his hat back on, the boy flicked it off for the second time. So, Theo then decided to give it right back at him. He went up to the fifth grader and flicked the boy's Sox cap off of his head. Then, the boy flicked off Theo's cap for the third time. So again in second retaliation, Theo flicked off the fifth grader's cap.  Finally, the boy realized that this first grader wasn't going to back down, so he gave up and walked away. In the midst of this, Deme went to Theo's aid, called the boy "mean", but realized that Theo had things under control. She watched her younger brother stand up for himself! Little did this fifth grader know that Theo has faced and has overcome much scarier things than a bully's attempt at intimidation. So, during dinner that night, Eleni and Kosta unexpectedly had to teach their son about bullies, how to deal with them, and how to make sure he doesn't end up in Mr. Kerkemeyer's office with a possible detention. (Note: Mr. Kerkemeyer is a Cubs fan.)

The Yianases actually have a confession to make. They slightly broke the "rules" before Theofanis' 100 days of freedom. Theo was feeling great, his counts were good, and he was getting stronger each and every day. The weather was summer-like and by day +90, Theo was itching to "get out of the house." There were frequent signs of sadness of not being able to see his friends or go to school. So Kosta and Eleni selectively and cautiously chose an outing or two or three. The first was attending the Marion Jordan "Fun Fair." The second was attending his sister Deme's Volleyball Tournament. The third was going to church the day he was starting Immunotherapy #2-A. Although it was not what the doctor ordered, it was exactly what he needed. With unexpected tight hugs and kisses for his mom and dad, he would simply say, "Thank You, Mommy and Daddy." But the smile on their son's face said more.

THE SPOT
Theofanis is undergoing his second round of Immunotherapy. This is a two-part treatment program. He completed part A last week while he was inpatient. He received a 24-hour infusion of IL-2 (interleuken) for four continuous days. This was the first time that Theo received this drug and it was unknown what side effects would surface during this infusion. The list of risks filled two pages of the COG protocol; some kids get through it without any issues; other kids have serious life-threatening side effects. Fortunately, with God's grace, Theo had no issues whatsoever with the IL-2 infusion. He was in great spirits throughout the week (outside of a few bouts with boredom). He was not in pain. He had no fevers. His appetite was normal. His blood pressure, heart rate, oxygen levels and all his vitals were normal. He was talkative and he even played Wii with his nurse, Frances. He was discharged right after the infusion was done on Friday. Kosta and Eleni both agreed this was the easiest week that Theo spent in the hospital. The only unfortunate thing about the week was that Theo and dad missed Demetra's Greek dance troupe performance and Sophia's Pythagoras Children's Academy program in honor of the 25th of March Greek Independence Day.

WITH FAITH, LOVE AND PRAYER HE WILL WIN!
"Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better." - Dr. Seuss. This was the message in the movie, The Lorax.  And when the Yianases saw that statement printed on the big screen, they thought about how true it is for all the families who are battling childhood cancer, and how applicable it is to their son's own fight.  If it wasn't for all those people who care, for all those people who have shown their love and support for Theofanis, for all those people who are praying for their son...if it wasn't for all of you...it would have been hard for the Yianases to imagine that one day things would be better...and continue to get better.

This time of year, an organization called St. Baldrick's holds thousands of head shaving events throughout the U.S. to raise money and awareness for the need for childhood cancer research. This year, a team from Jay Stream Middle School (Cousin Sophia Haab's school) under the team leadership of Officer Diane Wells, shaved their heads in honor of Theofanis! On March 9th, the Jay Stream team of teachers and students gathered at Dave and Buster's in Addison and joined hundreds of other people who raised money and shaved off their locks for the children fighting pediatric cancers. So, a huge thank you to Officer Wells and the others who care enough about Theo and all our children to express such a wonderful act of kindness and compassion! With you, things will get better!