Stephen William Keller, 25 October 2003

On September 29, the "bad cold" that our son, Stephen Keller, had developed into something more. He checked into the hospital where they live, Xanthi, Greece (look east of Thessaloniki about 220 km) . A doctor, a friend, knew that he had a spleenectomy about 15 years ago, and a bone marrow transplant 14 years ago (for CML), so she knew his immune system is below par. The doctors did a quick CAT scan and a spinal tap, and used those tests, combined with his symptoms, to diagnose an aggressive attack of meningitis. Stephen sank into a coma at some point in this process. He was rushed to intensive care in Thessaloniki, where his pneumonia was defeated, his temperature returned to about normal, his breathing improved, his blood chemistry returned to normal (there were a few platelet transfusions) and his other organs (kidneys, liver, etc.) settled down to normal operation. So, all systems except his central nervous system were “go”.

Alice and I flew to Thessaloniki the day after the coma began, arriving on Thursday, October 2. We settled into the apartment of Elena's brother Alekos. For several weeks, we (and Elena's father, Takis, and brothers Thannis and Alekos, visited the hospital twice a day for a few minutes at a time. Some days, we are briefed by one or more of the doctors. They used thousands of words of Greek, and tens of words of English. Thannis is very proficient in English, and he did most of the translations for us. Elena, our daughter-in-law, a lawyer, also bilingual (she had a great teacher!), also translated.

Three sets of CAT and MRI scans showed a diffuse edema (swelling) in the brain cavity. The doctors used diuretics, steroids, and other drugs to try to reduce the edema. Unfortunately, his pupils displayed no reaction to light. We were told that a) there was no way to know when he would react (a day, a week, a month, a year…), b) there was no way to know how badly the brain may have been damaged until he was back with us, c) every day he worked hard on his own to recover was a good day and pointed to a better chance of complete recovery, and d) we must just wait.

We now understand that yes, the rest of his body was recovering, but each day his brain stayed unresponsive was not a good day, but was in fact, a further indication of probable brain death.

Starting on Monday, October 20, the doctors at the hospital began to perform daily brain death tests, and he failed those tests each day. After two days, they declared that Stephen was brain dead. Their protocol required them to wait for his heart also to stop, which they expected to happen within the next 24 hours. Stephen's strong young body fooled the doctors yet again, and it kept right on functioning until Saturday, October 25, when, at noon, having had no messages from the brain for several weeks, his heart slowed to a halt.

Stephen's funeral was held in the Saint Sophia Greek Orthodox Church in downtown Xanthi (the church in which he and Elena were married) on Tuesday, October 28. Hundreds of tearful Greek friends attended. At our request, one of the priests read both Psalm 23 and 1 Corinthians 13 in English. Davidson friend, Jon Morris, read a eulogy he had written. Stephen's body was then buried just south of town.