The Perfect Match
November 2019 marked an unusual Thanksgiving for spouses John and Laurie Bianchi. They laugh about its absurdity now. About 40 or so of John’s relatives assembled an impromptu DNA testing site at a resort where the Bianchi clan always gathers for a holiday reunion. The DNA testing kits had been rushed to the resort in John and Laurie’s stead. A sister-in-law who happened to be a medical lab technician volunteered to manage the testing blitz. The goal: Determine if any of John’s nine siblings or children could be his stem cell donor.
John had been stunned by a diagnosis of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) mere days before the family’s annual reunion. He was already receiving chemotherapy at UVA Health in Charlottesville and was told he’d be lucky to be home in Blacksburg, VA, by Christmas.
The odds of finding a compatible stem cell donor among relatives, especially siblings, are good. That’s why having a large family was exceptionally fortuitous for John. He was also lucky to learn less than a month later that one of his older sisters, Theresa Bianchi Abood, was a perfect match. By February 2020, he had the transplant.
In gratitude for Theresa’s donation and the quality of care John received, the Bianchis made a gift to UVA Health to create the Theresa Bianchi Abood Fund to Support Cellular Therapy Patients.
“I’m so appreciative of Theresa, and we wanted to honor her and donors like her,” said Laurie. “We joke about Theresa’s stem cells having superpowers, but it’s not an exaggeration. We also realize how fortunate we are to have financial security and an amazing support system. Dealing with cancer is hard enough without worrying about how you’ll manage things like meals, lodging, or transportation,” she said.
The Bianchis’ fund will help all stem cell transplant patients, regardless of financial resources, focus on what’s important: getting better.
“The stem cell transplant team at UVA is very grateful for the Bianchi family’s donation and delighted to see how well John is doing! Caregiving is a vital part of the transplant process, and 24-hour caregiving is required for several months after a donor transplant. This requirement makes it difficult for many patients to receive a potentially life-saving transplant,” said Karen Ballen, MD, chief of the division of hematology/oncology and the medical director of UVA Cancer Center’s stem cell transplantation program.
“We hope to use the Theresa Bianchi Abood Fund to Support Cellular Therapy Patients to pioneer an initiative for patients lacking post-transplant care because, for example, family members need to work or attend to childcare or other duties,” said Dr. Ballen. “This initiative will improve access to caregiving for all of our stem cell transplant patients in need,” she said.
Cancer Is a Friends and Family Affair
“From a caretaking standpoint, I’m very fortunate to have a wife like Laurie, who stood by me every step of the way, coached me, and encouraged me,” said John. “Caretakers like Laurie are often forgotten. In a way, I had the easiest job, lying in a bed while others attended to me. Laurie had to ensure not only that I was cared for but also that our kids continued to function, and she was the primary communicator to our families,” he said.
The question is, who supported Laurie while Laurie cared for John?
“She had a support network of her own,” said John.
One of Laurie’s supporters was the mother of an acquaintance who offered a key to her Charlottesville apartment so Laurie could bunk there and stay close to John rather than travel back and forth to Blacksburg. The couple’s two kids, Leah and Sean, took breaks from college life to keep John company in the hospital—Leah, a UVA undergraduate, occasionally slept on a couch in John’s room before getting up and returning to class.
Then there were Laurie’s friends in Blacksburg, whom she calls her “life buoy.”
“It’s remarkable what people will do for you,” said Laurie. “For folks who don’t have that kind of support—we just wanted to provide some kind of assistance because it’s essential.”
“We wanted to make a meaningful gift that would reflect all the people who took care of me and who took care of Laurie,” said John.
At the heart of those people was Theresa, who traveled to Charlottesville from Florida more than once to get a physical and undergo other required tests and shots before making her donation. John and Laurie happened to pass by when Theresa was sitting in the stem cell transplant unit, having her precious cells collected. Recognizing the collection bag next to Theresa contained John’s hope, all three burst into tears.
“It was an incredible experience for me,” said Theresa, who commends every one of the UVA Health clinicians and staff she interacted with. “I never felt like just a number. I’m in awe of everyone I encountered, especially the incredible apheresis nurses,” she said.
During apheresis, the stem cell donor’s blood is drawn from a vein in the arm and cycled through a machine that removes the stem cells for later transplantation. The rest of the blood is returned to the donor. It takes several hours but is done on an outpatient basis. Theresa, however, was told that because her veins were small, she might need to have a central line placed in her neck.
Theresa dreaded the possibility of the central line. On the day of her donation, one of those incredible apheresis nurses told her not to worry. “She told me, ‘I’ve got this. We can do this! You just can’t move for six hours!’” Theresa said she was more than happy to oblige.
Focus on the Caregivers
Dr. Ballen is another hero at the center of the Bianchis’ story.
“She was always so informative and took a great interest in me and my overall well-being. She was always asking questions. What can I address for you? What are your concerns?” said John.
One of his concerns was returning to physical activities, including biking to work and running, which Laurie had inspired him to start before his diagnosis.
“Dr. Ballen was very understanding of the active lifestyle that Laurie has led me to,” said John. “She took care of my health in a way that would allow me to do the things I love to do and the things I love to do with my wife,” he said.
Laurie is also grateful for the compassion shown by Dr. Ballen and her team.
“I’m so appreciative of how kind, helpful, honest, and informative everyone was,” said Laurie. “UVA Health is a really good place to be taken care of when you are paralyzed with fear and uncertainty,” she said.
Laurie recalled one particularly memorable interaction with Dr. Ballen after the Bianchis received an insurance company notice challenging a portion of John’s treatment. Laurie asked Dr. Ballen for guidance in responding.
“She told me, ‘You don’t worry about that. We’ll deal with that. You need to worry about other things,’” said Laurie. “Knowing that you have that in your corner,” she said, fighting back tears, “is huge.”
On the Road to Recovery
It wasn’t all smooth sailing for John and Laurie. Not long after John’s stem cell transplant, the couple was hit by another health scare. This time, it was John’s heart. He had to have triple bypass surgery and a pacemaker implanted. By then, it was April 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic was in full swing, and almost all patient visitation at UVA Health University Medical Center was prohibited. John was left to recover without Laurie by his side, and Laurie was left to worry alone. The couple said it was a stark reminder of the support patients and their families need during health crises.
John also developed graft-versus-host disease—a common complication of stem cell transplants. Today, though, he’s in good health, regularly biking to work (at close to his record pace) and starting to run again with Laurie. The couple recently completed a 5K race in Grand Teton National Park. John admits he walked some of it, and Laurie beat his time.
“But he did it,” said Laurie. “He survived a stem cell transplant, triple bypass surgery, and graft-versus-host disease, and then finished a 5K at 6,000 feet.”
John, indeed, may have superpowers. Thanks to Theresa.
Learn how you can support the stem cell transplantation program by contacting us at uvacancercenter@virginia.edu or 434.924.1871.
