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Chapter 27: Stella
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Five Feet Apart, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Love and Sacrifice
Death, Grief, and Guilt
Risk and Consequences
Survival, Terminal Illness, and Hope
Hardship and Family Dynamics
Summary
Analysis
Still weak and exhausted as he recovers from the frozen pond and giving CPR, Will lies on a gurney with his mom by his side. As Stella is rolled out of the room, Will calls after Dr. Hamid. He tells her that he gave Stella CPR, and everyone is quiet, because they know this means it’s likely that Stella contracted B. cepacia. Dr. Hamid says that Will did the right thing, and that they’ll go ahead with the transplant anyway. Will quickly falls asleep, wearing an oxygen mask, and his mom strokes his hair.
Will had to give Stella CPR, as she likely would have died without it. Usually people with B. cepacia are not eligible for lung transplants due to a worse survival rate, but Dr. Hamid decides to take the risk with Stella by going through with the surgery. Previously, Will’s relationship to his mom was strained by his illness, but this harrowing experience brings them closer together.
Themes
Will and Stella’s mom wait outside the operating room during Stella’s surgery. Stella’s mom thanks Will for convincing Stella to get the transplant. Jason, Hope, Camila, and Mya all come to the waiting room. After hours of waiting, Dr. Hamid and the surgery team emerge with the news that the transplant was successful. Later, Barb comes to Will’s room to tell him that Stella tested negative for B. cepacia. Will’s mom asks about Will’s tests, and Barb says that the drug trial isn’t working.
After all the precautions taken to prevent Will from infecting Stella, it seems like a miracle that she didn’t contract B. cepacia after receiving CPR from him. Will didn’t expect the drug trial to work, but—inspired by Stella— he had recently started to have a little hope that it would.
Themes
