They had leukemia, they fell in love with the doctor who treated them and they plan a life together: "We are not in bad faith for anything"

"I thought that Lucilla could be served by what Santiago said," says Dr. Isolda Fernández, head of hematology at Fundaleu. And laugh at the nickname "Celestina". He swears that he was surprised by the novelty with which they were coming out. But boys do not believe it too much. "For me, the film was shot and we were hooked," says Santiago Tbado (29). "It's obvious!" Adds Lucila Chiarella (26). At six years apart, they both had acute B-cell lymphoblastic leukemia. And this week, they wear red and black to raise public awareness of acute myeloid leukemia.

Before receiving the diagnosis, Santiago lived "worried for the boluses". The same thing happened to Lucila Chiarella: "I ran by then, stressed all day". It was detected on October 12, 2011. For her, on March 24, 2017. For two, holidays. Today, Santiago is cured: there is only one annual check. And Lucila, is in remission, so it should be checked every two weeks. Then the two agreed: "We were in bad faith for everything." And with a gesture, they laugh at the word game with this blood cancer, which starts in the bone marrow and can be of different types.

Santiago is from the Belgrano neighborhood, has three brothers and lives with their parents. He studied graphic design and worked in a web development company. The disease surprised him at 21 years old. "I had very bad bowels, as they punched me with a screwdriver, the day before I left school because I felt very pale and pale, and the next day at my wake up, I could not move. ", details about it Stop in capital letters that gave him life.

His parents took him to the Adventist clinic, which was just around the corner from where he had been diagnosed with "leukemia." From there he was transferred to the Sanatorium of Mater Dei, where the doctor Gonzalo Pombo saw him. With the confirmation of the painting, they sent him to Fundaleu, where he was received by the head of hematology. "I started chemotherapy the next day, it was very fast," he says, while he drinks a soda that his girlfriend is asking for as well.

Lucila lives in Palermo with her parents and has a brother. She has a degree in tourism and works in a travel agency. He was 24 when he was diagnosed with leukemia. "I felt very bad, I had lost weight and I was pale, had a hemorrhage, I went to see a guard and they sent me home, I do not I could not get up from bed a week, it was at my ex-boyfriend Mater Dei's house, and Dr. Pombo also saw me, "reveals that day that everything has changed.

"They spoke to me about anemia, but as soon as my parents arrived, they told us: leukemia. Because with a blood test, you can already know. Although you had to confirm with the puncture and see the type. From that point on, just like Santi: Isolda referred me to Fundaleu and Isolda, she "explained to me the doctor who, for them, will never be Dr. Fernández, but rather" a second mother ".

-They say leukemia and … what did it mean to you at the time?

Santiago: You think, "That's it, you left it." And it is not like that. The most difficult thing is to see your family badly. I tried to smile so that my last picture was not a sag.

Lucila: My grandmother died of leukemia. But that has nothing to do with it. This is not hereditary. However, the word cancer itself is … but nothing to see! Today, I know that leukemia is a roller coaster of emotions. All learning.

-What did all this process learn?

Lucila: To allow me to walk more slowly. Know my body For me, it was like going on the road and crashing 120 kilometers to the hour, but let the airbag come out, survive and recalculate everything. How would you like to drive from now? After so much time interned, it's a sunny afternoon. To make life normal is precious.

Santiago: It is that you become like a baby. You say, "Was it so hard to walk?" And the head is fundamental. That's why you have to understand what's happening to you. Accept it and do not ask, "Why me?"

Lucila: Although it takes time. In Fundaleu, they explained that it was equally dependent on me and the doctors. They did more. I put my will, but it cost me dear. In fact, he often needed blood transfusions. That's why it's so important to donate blood -No difficult-, as well as sign up for the bone marrow bank.

Santiago: We needed blood as a car needs naphtha. And there is something good for donors: Give them a free breakfasts! But beyond the jokes, you are suddenly mature. My friends were in the bowling and me there.

Lucila: My room overlooked Uriburu Street. And at night, on Friday, I saw "the precedents" in the departments on the other side of the street. It was hard.

WHAT IT SAYS TO BE A PATIENT

Santiago stopped going to the faculty for a year and a half. He did the chemotherapy, swelled with corticosteroids – "it was an olive that works," he recalls, his hair fell off. And little by little he resumed his life. But four months after the start of treatment, everything became complicated.

"He gave me an apple cider vinegar. Spend one in a million. I had a headache, I was shaking and I had a seizure at home. Fortunately, the only sequel is seizures and that's why I take a pill every day, "he said, adding that during treatment, he had cut with Cordobesa's daughter who was his remote girlfriend at that time.

"I found blisters on my head, I also came with a plus!" Lucila details and tells how she is recovering. "I was hospitalized for a month and a half. Then I went to Fundaleu every month for a week to get my chemo. And in this case, the catheter became my best friend, "he said pointing to his shoulder, where he had this tube used to transmit the remedies and perform the extractions by avoiding pricking at all times.

And it continues: "Since January, I get blood every two weeks and I show the results in Isolda. I take chemotherapy with pills but I can have a normal life. In fact, I enrolled in the gym and I have no excuses!"Then she adds that she will be there until the end of the year, that she has four cases to heal and that she does not live in fear." I know it will be fine. For Santiago, add: "We amortize social work". And both laugh hard.

Then, about the sanatorium that made them meet, Santiago says that "it has become like a club". And Lucila points out: "They know everyone's names and diagnoses, you're not a number, they take care of you too much. They treat you right from the admission to the doctor. I remember that there was a girl who was cleaning this by already seeing my face realized if I was wrong not to make myself talk. In Fundaleu, everything is empathy. It's my second home. "

– Who was next to you at the worst moment?

Santiago: My family. My mother especially since he slept in an armchair. My brother opened a Twitter account and we received good energy from all sides. I've tried not to let my friends see me like that, so I would not be sorry. But there, they fell surprised at my place.

Lucila: I was accompanied by my family, my cousins ​​and my ex-boyfriend … until his departure. My friends were not so present. Only one. But I learned to accept it and not to get angry with people who did not want or could not be at that time. In addition, many other people appeared. Like the Fundaleuenses. We have a WhatsApp group and we meet once a month. We are children with or suffering from leukemia or lymphoma. Some wait to be grafted, others in remission, others cured. We talk about life. There are relapses and we are. They do not tell you from the outside. We know what the other feels and we move it better.

She appears as the doctor of both beds and with the seriousness of the doctor, Isolda Fernández (MN 69088) specifies: "Lucila being very ill, I asked Santiago to see her around the room.Like Facundo Arana, who has had leukemia, we always ask recovered people to share their experiences with those who are undergoing treatment. A few months later, surprise! Lucila sends me a picture of both together. I could not believe it! "

However, the thing did not happen like, or when the doctor suggested. "In the middle of the treatment, my ex-boyfriend left me after four years. Isolde did not want to see him! Then he started talking about "a certain Santiago, with clear eyes". It ended in 2017 and I was still naked and I had gained a lot of weight. I did not want to know anything. In March, he insisted: he said that Santiago Tbado had arrived some time ago but that we had crossed. I did not give him a bullet. Until August, one night … "

"Hello! Consultation: Are you an Isolda patient?", Says Santiago, who has arrived on Facebook. "Oops, I have a question from someone who's wrong right now," he thought. And Lucila continues with the story: "I wrote to her at noon and we chatted until six in the morning, literally that week, she invited me to leave..

-And they have plans for the future …
Santiago: In a year we will live together. We buy devices. We already have enough stock with us. We also want to write a book about our experience with leukemia.

Lucila: And we have a dream: that they accept us as partners of Boca Jrs. Will it be too much to ask?

April 21 is World Accidental Myeloid Leukemia Awareness Day. The slogan proposed at the international level to give visibility to this disease is simple: dress in black and red.

"It affects a specific white blood cell, which develops indiscriminately and does not let grow the rest of the normal white blood cells responsible for defense. This is why infections occur. And as the reds can not grow either, the anemia begins and the patient is very tired. Platelets also can not and that is why bruises appear. These are the symptoms for resorting to early consultation. Because the sooner the better! ", Emphasizes Isolda Fernández, who adds that it is the most common leukemia in adults, especially after 65 years.

But in addition, it is positive in terms of treatment. "Chemotherapy, first. But moreover, there are currently many new drugs for specific molecular genetic alteration. In Argentina, only FLT3 is approved, but in the United States, five more will happily arrive soon, "concludes the hematologist.