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Idaho Family Goes Greek In Anemia Fight

50be2bf940f3d.imageKatie Stevens, mother of Riley Stevens, an 11-year-old Hayden, Idaho boy diagnosed two months ago with aplastic anemia, said she has always shared the stories of Greek gods and heroes with her kids.

Although aplastic anemia is not cancer, the symptoms and treatment are similar to those for leukemia. “He does try very hard to see the bright side,” Stevens said.

It was a Press story about a T-shirt sale to raise funds to help Riley’s family deal with their growing medical bills that brought the Stevens family’s situation to the attention of Dino and Fotini Tsakarestos, owners of Santorini’s Greek Cuisine in Coeur d’Alene.

T-shirts, designed by Riley, are emblazoned with an ancient Greek soldier’s head, and bear the words, Riley’s Warriors. Fotini and her husband Dino, decided to hold a fundraiser at their restaurant with 100 percent of the proceeds going to help pay Riley’s medical bills.

They said their decision to help the Stevens’ family, also comes from a deep sense of gratitude for the success of their business. Riley is receiving immunosuppressive drug therapy, a course of powerful medications that could put the disease into remission.

The therapy compromises the patient’s immune system, making the young boy extremely vulnerable to illnesses and leaving him with few resources to fight any germs that manage to make him ill. If the drug therapy isn’t successful, Riley will likely require a bone marrow stem cell transplant.

(Source: CDAPress)

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