Sandro’s Legacy
Sandro, a Brookline, Massachusetts, High School 2020 graduate and college athlete, was in pain when he returned to Ohio in the fall of 2023 to begin his senior year at Ohio Wesleyan University. His wrestling team’s trainer quickly scheduled an MRI. After seeing the results, the MRI technician escorted him immediately to the ER, and his mom, Jennifer, caught the next flight there, arriving just in time to meet with the hospital’s neurosurgeon.
The doctor confirmed that Sandro had a tumor in his upper spinal cord and told Jennifer that only two surgeons in the country would be able to handle such a difficult operation, one of them at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, near the family’s home in Brookline.
The doctor also urged Sandro and Jennifer to act quickly, explaining that the tumor needed to be removed within the next 10 days.
A few days later, Sandro returned home, and he and his family met with the neurosurgeon at MGH. Sandro was admitted immediately and, on September 15, underwent a complex and lengthy surgery lasting more than nine hours. The operation was successful, and the surgeon observed the tumor to be aggressive in nature.
Biopsy results revealed the tumor to be a Diffuse Midline Glioma (DMG, mutation H3K27M), a very rare, aggressive, and malignant type of tumor for which there is no well established effective treatment.
Although Sandro was able to move his arms and one leg after surgery, a blood clot discovered at the surgical site nine days later began to affect his lower body and required emergency surgery to remove. This complication left Sandro unable to walk and with limited sensation and function below the chest.
Along with rehabilitation, Sandro underwent radiation therapy. His age and disability excluded him from participating in clinical trials. Despite enduring the grueling side effects and complications of daily chemotherapy for seven months, Sandro persisted in working out four times a week.
Sandro approached his illness the same way he faced an opponent on the wrestling mat or on the football field, with unyielding determination, passion, and courage.
Our Donation Story
After 18 months, Sandro passed away on March 15, 2025. He donated his body to selected research labs working to find a treatment for DMG and DIPG.
Sandro was an extraordinary young man, and we know he is watching over us now with great love and compassion. Over the past year and a half, Sandro taught us many things, including the importance of staying in the present moment and responding to life’s challenges with love, dignity, and grace.
We will miss Sandro’s sharp intelligence, fierce loyalty, playful sense of humor, generous spirit, bone crushing hugs, delicious meals, and handsome face.
