Family, loved ones rally after baby’s cancer diagnosis

By Mary Ann Price

Kadisha (Kiki) Harris and Nate Santos, Sr. had very much settled into their life as parents of their son, Nathan Santos, Jr., when things suddenly took a different and unexpected turn. In late August, Nate Jr. was diagnosed with acute B-cell lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL). Now the young family is caring for the baby over what is likely to be a two-year period of treatment and recovery.

Kiki Harris and Nate Santos Sr. with their son, Nate Jr.

Santos is an electrician employed by IBEW Local 103, while Harris has been on leave since December from her position as a teacher in the preschool program at Kindercare on Route 138 in Canton. Harris was induced last January 3 and gave birth January 5 at Beth-Israel Hospital. She remained in the hospital following some postpartum complications before returning to their Canton home.

“He’s usually a smiley baby,” Harris said of her son. “He’s usually laughing, smiling, talking.”

In August, Santos and Harris took the baby to the doctor for a vaccination, and the nurse told them that they could expect the baby to be uncomfortable for a few days following the shot. But Nate was miserable.

“We were well into the weekend, and he showed no signs of improving,” Santos said. “He was crying a lot and sleeping a lot.”

Harris added that the baby was not engaging with other family members the way he usually did. Breastfeeding comforted him, but also caused him to fall asleep.

“When he woke up, he’d start crying again,” Santos said. “He was clearly in some kind of pain.”

They called Boston Children’s Hospital and spoke to a nurse who told them to make sure that the baby wasn’t dehydrated, which he wasn’t. “We did also notice that his lips were a bit pale,” Santos said. “My aunt made a comment that his color was off.”

On Thursday, August 20, a week after Nate received his vaccinations, Harris and Santos decided to take the baby to Children’s Hospital. “He still wasn’t perking up; he still wasn’t his usual self,” Harris said. “He still wasn’t laughing, giggling, all those things. We thought, just to be sure, let’s just take him in anyways to get some answers.”

The hospital staff did a routine assessment and then ran other tests, one of which showed that Nate’s heart was slightly enlarged. A cardiologist double-checked the results and then the staff started to do laboratory work. “The doctor came in and said that the baby’s hemoglobin was abnormally low,” Santos said after the lab results were available.

The doctors suspected bone marrow failure, and when they returned to the room for a third time, they told Harris and Santos that it looked like a form of cancer.

“We went in Thursday night at 10 p.m. or so,” Santos said. “We got that initial diagnosis at 4 in the morning.”

According to Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), also known as acute lymphocytic leukemia, is a quickly progressing disease in which too many abnormal white blood cells are found in the bone marrow (the soft, spongy center of long bones). ALL accounts for about 75 to 80 percent of childhood leukemias.

After the diagnosis, the baby was moved to the intensive care unit, where he began to receive blood transfusions, which he needed due to the low hemoglobin levels. Harris has stayed with her son at Children’s since August 20 and the two will stay there until the middle of October. Santos visits his family every day.

Nate’s treatment includes being part of a research study that gives patients different medications to destroy leukemia cells. He started with steroids and then doctors added chemotherapy to his treatment. He is receiving medicines orally to protect his organs, while at the same time he receives the steroids and chemo intravenously.

“He’s responding well,” Santos said. The baby has had diarrhea and diaper rash, and may have some gastro-intestinal sores, but his father added that there have been no major side effects.

“He’s stable; his levels look good,” Harris said. “Everything is going as they expected it to go.”

At the end of September or the beginning of October, Nate Jr. will start a different medication and stay at the hospital for a week to see how he handles it. If things go well, he will be able to go home with a backpack of medications and then return to Children’s for outpatient visits, the timeline of which has yet to be determined. Harris said that the baby has a central line for his non-oral meds.

The couple said they are dealing with their son’s illness and treatment as best they can. “Day by day,” Santos said.

“Every hour, every minute at a time,” Harris said. “We have a great support team. Our families are supporting us during this time.”

The couple has been told that Nate will be undergoing treatment and medical supervision for the next two years.

Catarina Amaral, a neighbor of the family, worked with the family that organized their neighborhood’s block party to put together a raffle to help raise funds for the expenses that Santos and Harris are facing. Harris’s brother and Santos’s cousin were at the table set up for the raffle during the party last weekend.

Nate Jr. is one of the entrants in the Jessica Alba Presents Baby of the Year contest. If he is selected as the winner, his parents will use the cash prize to help with expenses around his treatment. For more information and to vote, go to babyoftheyear.org/2026/nathan-e3ce.

One of Santos’s cousins created a GoFundMe for the family, and any funds will be used for treatments, living expenses, bills, and expenses not covered by insurance. To help support the family, go to gofundme.com/f/support-baby-nates-fight-against-rare-infant-leukemia.

Harris and Santos wish to thank everyone for the support they have received during this difficult time.

Short URL: https://www.thecantoncitizen.com/?p=134651