Caesar Sant
Caesar and his sisters, Helen (left) and Maria-Anita (right).
Caesar is a six-year-old boy who plays the violin with incredible skill and joy, solves math problems at a third grade level, speaks seven languages, reads, and has earned the Little Dragon’s black stripe belt in Karate. Caesar was born with sickle cell anemia, which caused him to have three acute strokes in the span of two years. Although the previous two strokes did not cause much neurological damage, the third one (in June 2014) left him temporarily paralyzed and unable to walk for six months.
Most sickle cell patients receive blood transfusions after strokes to prevent another crisis. Caesar’s parents knew more blood transfusions would only ease the symptoms, not cure them. They decided the best option was a bone marrow transplant using the bone marrow donated from a sibling.
Caesar’s parents decided to go through in vitro fertilization (IVF) in order to ensure they did not pass along the sickle cell gene to another child, as well as to find a 100% bone marrow match for him. After two years of trying, his parents were able to have another child who could help give Caesar another chance at life.
In December 2014, the newest family member, Helen, was born beautiful and healthy, without the sickle cell gene and a full match to Caesar. In a totally non-invasive procedure, the blood from Helen’s umbilical cord (a typical waste material), was collected and stored in a blood bank to be used later in a life-changing transplant for Caesar.
Caesar’s family hopes the transplant will be completed in the summer of 2015, but it will not be an easy process. Once Caesar can proceed with a transplant, his entire family will have to move from their home in Winston-Salem, North Carolina to a transplant center in another city so Caesar can receive chemotherapy to prepare for the transplant. To help cover the treatment costs and housing expenses, the family has turned to the Bone Marrow & Cancer Foundation to set up this One-to-One Fund.
Caesar has enriched his family’s lives in so many ways – his bright smile, his beautiful music, and his unwavering passion for learning. It has been torturous for his parents to watch him struggle to sit up, hold his violin, or run and play with his five-year-old sister, Maria-Anita. Please, if you are able, help support Caesar’s treatment. Please give whatever you can. His family needs your help. Caesar needs your help.
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“We would like to take the opportunity to thank everyone who has come along and helped us in many ways. Among those, not limited to, are Father Demetri from the Greek Orthodox School, Dr. Sam Deadwyler, and Dr. Hunter Bradley.
With love and gratitude,
God bless you”
-Lucas and Aline – Caesar’s parents
Click here to see more about Caesar’s unique abilities
Click here to read about Caesar and his extraordinary talent in an article featured in Our State Magazine.
Click here to see Caesar play a Vivaldi piece
Click here to contribute to Caesar’s One-to-One Fund
Or you can send a check, payable to the Bone Marrow & Cancer Foundation.
Be sure to include Caesar’s name on the front of the check.
Send check to:
the Bone Marrow & Cancer Foundation
515 Madison Avenue, Suite 1130
New York, New York 10022