Milton couple riding third Pan-Mass Challenge to support pediatric leukemia research, celebrate son's health

The gift of having two healthy children is never lost on Camila and Rob Obi-Tabot.  In March of 2023, their daughter Louisa Catalina (Cata) was 5 when their son Leandro Sebastian (Seba) was born.

A happy baby with a sweet smile and big brown eyes, Seba developed RSV before his 2-month checkup.  Shortly after he recovered, Camila and Rob noticed that he had developed small red bumps, sinus-like issues, and a slight fever.  They assumed it was a relapse of RSV.  At Seba's two-month checkup, his doctor observed the symptoms and sent the family to Boston Children's Hospital for tests.  They weren't home 20 minutes when the hospital called them back with a sense of urgency. "They were like, we need you to come back right now. We have a room for you in the emergency room, we're waiting for you," Camila remembers.

They were told that Seba's white blood count was unusually high.  "We do what you're definitely not supposed to do," Rob explains. "We go on the internet. Looking up 'what does a high white blood cell count mean for a baby?'" Rob says they were startled by the answer. "We started seeing leukemia show up," he said.  

Devastating diagnosis

Sure enough, within minutes of their arrival, a doctor at Children's was preparing the couple for the devastating news that Seba had some form of leukemia. He assured them that the diagnosis was no longer a death sentence. "I want you to have hope. We're going to have the doctors down from Dana-Farber immediately," Rob recalled the doctor saying. 

To this day, Camila is certain that the doctors who cared for Seba that night saved his life. With his blood so viscous that it wasn't circulating properly, Seba was struggling to breathe. Doctors had no choice but to sedate him and start chemotherapy. The toxins in the treatment threatened his tiny liver and kidneys. Rob remembers the first two days in the hospital as frightening and uncertain. "We just had to look at each other and hope and pray that everything was going to be all right," Rob said.  

Seba, their little "Guerrero" (warrior in Spanish) turned a corner on Day 3. His kidney problems dissipated. After making steady progress, the little 8-week-old was strong enough to move from the intensive care unit to 6 Northeast, the floor at Children's for patients with cancer.

Seba, who doctors determined had acute myelogenous leukemia, spent the next five months in the hospital undergoing five rounds of chemo.  Camila and Rob took turns staying with him.  The staff set up a desk in Seba's room so that Rob could continue working without leaving his son's side. Family members flew into Boston from around the country to help. "We could not have done the five months without our friends and family," Camila says with deep gratitude.

Knowing that Louisa was spending time with loved ones gave them peace of mind and much-needed time to make critical decisions in the hospital.  "There were just so many difficult conversations of like—he's having morphine. What will that do to him? Will he become addicted? Will that have lasting effects?" Rob said. The doctors and nurses became like family. "It was home. And they made it that way for us," Rob explains.

Leaving the hospital as a family

In October 2023, Seba was discharged from Children's cancer-free.  The memory of that emotional moment still moves Rob to tears almost three years later. "I said, back when we were in the ICU and everything was really dreadful," Rob recalls, "I told everybody I could, we are leaving this place as a family. And that day, for that to be the reality was, I can't explain that feeling."  

In the footage of their departure from the hospital, the family is beaming as they navigate colored streamers in the hallway and soak up the elated applause of hospital employees.  "The triumph that you have walking out of there as a family. We believed it but for that to be a reality was … it's indescribable," Rob said.  

Thankful, they wanted to do something to support other families.  The day of Seba's first post-hospital checkup, that "something" revealed itself as they crossed the Pan-Mass Challenge bridge on the way to the Jimmy Fund Clinic. Camila noticed the photos of cyclists and began to read the captions and stories. "It was kind of instinctual," she recalls. "I said, I'm going to do this." 

Team Guerreros por Seba  

Rob was also taken with the display and immediately wondered how they would ever ride the distance that PMC riders complete. "I don't like driving 100 miles much less riding a bike for that long," Rob laughed. One other important factor was that Camila did not know how to ride a bike. But that didn't seem to matter. "When she said she wanted to do it, I was all in. Let's do it!" Rob said.

Leading "Team Guerreros por Seba," Rob and Camila began training in February of 2024.  She learned to ride on a heavy 10-speed they bought on Facebook Marketplace. Rob rented the city's Blue Bikes. They quickly discovered a joy and purpose in riding together. "To have the gratefulness we had and to be able to do something with that," Camila explains, "we couldn't have had a better gift."

It also gave them a chance to reconnect in a fun, positive way after the anxious months they spent with Seba in the hospital. Riding was therapeutic. "It fueled us," she said. "It helped us heal a lot more because we started going on rides together." In August of 2024, they rode their first PMC with friends and family members. They were hooked.

They now have a new pedal partner: 16-year-old Paul Gauthier of Billerica who will finish his last treatment in August.  They also welcome a new teammate.  Seba's oncologist Dr. Jessica Pollard is training for her first PMC, an experience that has brought her even closer to the Obi-Tabot family. "This is a very special family who is just so fun, so positive," Pollard said.

Last year, Dr. Pollard cheered on riders on Cape Cod. This year, as she pedals from Bourne to Provincetown, she says she will be thinking of Seba and her late mother-in-law who died of pancreatic cancer in November.  "I'm excited to be with all these people who are united in an effort to help raise money to support people going through cancer treatment and to aid in cancer discovery," Pollard said. "I think that's my greatest love in medicine, it's the camaraderie and the teamwork. This bike ride is another example of that."

How the PMC supports research

Dr. Pollard helps run a clinical research program at Dana-Farber and describes PMC support for researchers' work as "invaluable." 

She says that, particularly with funding cuts, their work relies on philanthropy to keep clinical trial programs open. Clinical trials are essential to prove that new treatments are beneficial and safe.  Team Guerreros por Seba directs its PMC funding to Dr. Pollard's research and the Pediatric Patient Assistance Fund.

At their home in Milton, Louisa and Seba play tag on a summer day.  On the Saturday of PMC weekend, they'll be with their mom in the Pedal Partner tent. Camila looks forward to sharing the experience with them. "The joy they feel seeing our team come through. Each kid makes their own poster. They have so much fun," Camila said. "Other kids might complain that they're out there a long time, but it's become our family tradition. It's a really fun day for us."

Rob will ride Day 1 from Worcester to Bourne. Camila will ride Day 2 from Bourne to Provincetown. Rob is looking forward to riding from the new Day 1 start at the College of the Holy Cross, being with their teammates, and not getting a flat tire this year.

Seba is thriving. His check-ups are now every six months as opposed to the monthly or weekly check-ups he's had in years past. Rob and Camila describe him as a typically fearless toddler who loves to push boundaries.  Even when parenting is hard, they say they are thankful.  Every day they are reminded that had Seba not responded to the treatment he received in those first months of his life, they might not have the opportunities they enjoy now.

They ride the PMC with gratitude and hope that their efforts will lead to lifesaving breakthroughs for other children.  "On that ride," Rob says, "I'm directly contributing to ensuring that a family doesn't have to be told by a doctor there's nothing else we can do."

To donate or learn more about the Pan-Mass Challenge, go to pmc.org.100% of every rider-raised dollar goes directly to Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.