HOUSTON (WHDH) — Patriots offensive tackle Nate Solder said he gained a whole new perspective on life after his young son was diagnosed with cancer.
Solder is a cancer survivor himself, undergoing treatment for testicular cancer in 2014. In late 2015, Solder noticed a lump on his then-3-month-old son, Hudson.
“When he first had his injury, he was pretty hurt by that. And then to turn around less than a week later and find out his son was ill, I thought it was going to emotionally crush him,” said Solder’s mother, Peri Solder. She spoke to 7News while joining other Patriots family members in preparing meals at a food bank in Houston.
“When you realize what he’s gone through with his family, you realize what you’re going through ain’t as tough as that,” said Patriots quarterback Tom Brady.
The baby was diagnosed with kidney cancer and received chemotherapy at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Solder said Hudson, now 18 months old, is an active toddler but still has tumors, though they are not growing or spreading.
“You don’t have to go far to see a lot of people going through a lot of tough things. You kind of get out of your own little head, you get out of your own little world and you go through your life one step at a time and you manage the things that you can and you pray for the things that you can’t,” said Solder.