Caesar was born on August 1st, 2008 in Providence (RI) in the United States. His parents are Lucas and Aline. He has two sisters, Maria-Anita and Helen aged 9 and 4 respectively.
He was born with a form of chronic anemia called sickle cell anemia. In 2011, at the age of 2, he started taking violin lessons, and at the age of 4 after played Vivaldi Concerto in A minor everyone stated called him of Violin Prodigy. Pretty much around at that time (5) he started doing Math 3rd Grade (he did Kumon since 2, started at the same time of violin) and got a Karate black belt. He was so happy child, very active, doing everything with a unique passion that was amazing everyone around him. Like I said on the National Geographic Documentary about him: ‘he was like a child who everyone dreams of..’
He never needed to be in a rush to the hospital due to the anemia before because our care with him was on point. However, it’s around this age that this blood disorder started to affect/attach the health with complications. Then, the first acute stroke hitting him when he was not even 5 and a few months later the second one. The 1st and 2nd were more acutely without much complications other than weakening his right limbs, mainly his right/bow arm. The 3rd stroke (2014) came about 6 months after the 2nd and it caused more damage due to hospital misleading than the previous ones. It resulted in further complications: mainly the control of his limbs — arms and legs. The only thing left there were hope and a test for real unconditional love from his family. His angel sister and best friend, Maria-Anita, is like the best piece of love around him all the time in the hospital supporting him.
At that point, his father ‘changed’ the job from working as a neuroscientist and started to support him fully: from being his personal physical therapist and his doctor dealing with from giving baths to teaching him how to move his legs, hold a pencil, a spoon, to walk again, to play his violin. As a result, he great overcame — up to 90% — and in September 2016, he played Meditation from This/Jules Massenet to the most prestigious and great violinist of the world and his idol: Mr. Itzhak Perlman. All this is THANKS to the grace of God for has been feeding our hopes and strengthen our daily journey, and to many support from folks of big hearts, many we never met. Without Caesar’s REMARKABLE SUPPORTERS, although it’s full of evidence that Caesar’s passion for music was his inner motor/motivation for him to fight back, it’s implausible to imagine him overcome so much on his journey.
Caesar’s journey is not over yet. His BONE MARROW TRANSPLANT has to be done in order for him to be free (cured: a chance of 95%) of this anemia that he was born with, and has a normal life. He has the ideal donor, his sister Helen, as you can see on his National Geographic Doc. In a meanwhile, while waiting for the transplant, he’ll be kept under the monthly blood transfusion — it doesn’t cure anything; it just mitigates the chance on new strokes coming in — but he can’t stay under it for too long once it damages the vital organs as a result of side effects such as iron overloading, etc…
Though his family got in dark deep waters (his father got a stroke and heart attack on June 2018 that put his heart to stop working for about 30min) and we’ll get this final job done. To that, we just moved (Feb 2019) to Memphis/TN for such purpose, to be beside of the transplant center. The transplant will be done in this Summer — hint the doctor. By next month we’ll have more updates about it. though we’ve been posting on a daily basis about what happened to him (us) on his social media. Please, follow him to don’t miss any piece of these updates.
Finally but not too late, a few months ago we started working on his 1st ‘Heaven’s Gates’ album, an ‘old’ idea and part of it is already released as you can see on his site here. About 70% of it is already done. We hope to finish the whole album by this June or so. You are very welcomed to buy Caesar’s music as well as share it with your family members and friends. Incredible — believe or not — Caesar is the happiest person you can imagine. None of what he has undergone took his happiness away from him. Thus, it seems that to be happy gives great pay off.
Thank you very much and God may bless you further,
Sant Family — Caesar’s father, Lucas
