Nikki Spoelstra, the wife of Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra, is offering an inspiring update on the couple’s four-year-old son Santiago, who was first diagnosed with cancer during the Heat’s 2021-22 season.
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Back in March, Santiago Spoelstra underwent what was described at the time only as a medical procedure. His father missed one game because of that issue.
Heat update that Erik Spoelstra is away from the team due to a medical procedure for one of his two sons.
— Ira Winderman (@IraHeatBeat) March 26, 2022
The serious nature of Burkitt lymphoma required quick efforts on the part of the medical staff that was treating Santiago Spoelstra, That’s because it’s a form of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma that begins in the immune cells and can spread rapidly.
Despite the uncertainty of his son’s situation and the chemotherapy that was required to bring the disease into remission, Erik Spoelstra continued to coach the team, though he offered no insight on what he and his wife were enduring.
In retrospect, that makes Erik Spoelstra’s efforts to coach the Heat into their second finals in the past three seasons a remarkable accomplishment. The Heat fell in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals last season to the Boston Celtics, who subsequently lost in the finals to the Golden State Warriors.
Of course, Nikki Spoelstra was also enduring her own pain and was forced to do it as she carried the couple’s third child, That pending arrival was announced by her last month, with the baby, a girl, due this fall.
Santiago Spoelstra and his younger brother Dante will be ready to welcome their new sister when she arrives. The hope is that some point in the future that his medical issues will be a thing of the past,
