Moment Grandpa Surprises Family With First Visit After ‘Miracle’ Transplant

After years of living with a blood disease, one granddad was forced to stay away from his family when he underwent a stem cell transplant last year. However, as soon as he was cleared to travel, he couldn’t wait to surprise his three grandchildren with his first visit in over a year.

For more than a decade, Kevin Finocchiaro had lived with a blood disease, and he remained “a happy warrior” throughout. However, in 2022, it morphed into myelofibrosis, a rare blood cancer that causes scar tissue to form in the bone marrow, and his health deteriorated drastically.

It was decided that Finocchiaro’s best chance of survival was to have a stem cell transplant, and fortunately his brother was a strong match. This came as such a relief to the family, including Finocchiaro’s daughter Amy Demos. She told Newsweek that she is “so thankful” for her uncle’s sacrifice.

The transplant was a positive step, but it meant a long and difficult road to recovery, leading to more than a year without seeing his family.

Demos, from Nashville, Tennessee, said: “In November 2022, he started chemotherapy to prepare his body for a full stem cell transplant. His younger brother was a perfect match, which gave him the best-possible chance at success. But post-transplant is brutal, as the body is trying to adapt to the new stem cells, which is why they require isolation afterwards.

“He had to quarantine in the hospital for about a month after the transplant, and only my mom could go and visit, as long as she was staying away from people outside of the hospital. They had to be extremely careful with all exposure for the first 100 days,” Demos added.

What Is Myelofibrosis?

This rare form of blood cancer is a chronic leukemia, according to the Cleveland Clinic, and it involves the production of too many abnormal blood cells. Bone marrow is known to produce blood-forming cells, which will later become white or red blood cells, or platelets. However, a person with myelofibrosis may have a change in their stem cell’s DNA, meaning the cells become defective or cancerous.

It is thought that there are around 1.5 myelofibrosis cases per 100,000 people each year in the U.S, most commonly diagnosed in people over the age of 50.

‘A Gift To Have Him Here With Us’

The family made do with regular phone calls and video chats “whenever he was feeling up to it,” and he would regularly read a bedtime story to his three grandchildren over the phone. Demos’ three children, Beckett, 6, Emily, 4, and Ellie, 1, loved their “virtual story time” with their granddad, but it wasn’t the same as getting to see him in person.

“The kids knew grandpa was very sick, but not necessarily how scary things were at times,” Demos added.

However, in February 2024, after more than a year, Finocchiaro was finally cleared to fly from his home in Scottsdale, Arizona, and there was only one place he was going to go first. While Demos and her mom were in the house with the children, they FaceTimed Finocchiaro as usual, but the children quickly realized that his backdrop looked quite familiar.

“The kids had gotten so used to seeing him on FaceTime, so we decided to make it a fun surprise for the kids to FaceTime grandpa when grandma arrived, only to discover that he was in the backyard swinging in their hammock,” Demos said.

“The kids were so excited, especially Beckett. It was really emotional for all of us. There were moments when we weren’t sure he was going to make it, so it felt like such a gift to have him with us here in Tennessee. It’s like he has a second lease of life.”

The family loved “getting to make these new memories together” with their granddad, and they spent that weekend visiting the zoo and going on long walks. Demos added that her dad is doing really well with “his miracle recovery” and getting stronger with every passing day.

After the emotional visit, Demos shared footage of the surprise on Instagram (@amy_demos) to delight her followers. The video has already been viewed over 3.8 million times and gained over 295,000 likes at the time of writing. The positive response has been so overwhelming for Demos, who has been inundated with support and praise.

Among the almost 3,000 comments on the post, one person wrote: “This is the sweetest thing! Beckett’s pure joy! Love it!”

Another Instagram user responded: “Oh my goodness, uncontrollable tears right now! What a beautiful moment for you all to have! God is Good!”

Another comment reads: “All the tears. What an incredible gift that you are getting to live out these memories together!”

Is there a health issue that’s worrying you? Let us know via [email protected]. We can ask experts for advice, and your story could be featured on Newsweek.