A Family’s Journey: Finding Strength, Hope, and Healing Together
Just five months before Hema’s son Aadi was diagnosed with leukemia, life felt like it was falling into place. They had just moved into their own home, Hema had completed her schooling as a Licensed Practical Nurse, and her husband, Ashwani, was busy working to support their young family. Their two boys, Aadi and Neil (ages nine and seven), were full of laughter, energy, and played every night at the park near their home in Surrey.
In a single day, everything changed.
The morning of December 6th in 2021, Hema brought Aadi to the hospital based on her intuition that something was wrong, and the family learned that Aadi had cancer. By that same evening, he had been transferred to BC Children’s Hospital, had a port placed, and was beginning a long and difficult journey of treatment - starting with biopsies, lumbar punctures, and chemotherapy - an entirely new reality none of them were prepared for.
The Ripple Effect of a Diagnosis
Diagnosis changed life for the whole family. Treatment was tough for Aadi, with hospital stays, painful side effects, and long days and nights. For his brother Neil, it meant staying home from school and all other activities to help keep Aadi safe while his immune system was down. For Hema and Ashwani, without much family nearby, it meant living on the road between Surrey and Vancouver, making the trip at least twice a day. Both parents were trying to balance love, fear, exhaustion, and caring for both of their boys.
Cancer is hard to explain to kids, but Hema tried her best to help them both understand their new reality. “When I was at the hospital with Aadi, I explained to him, ‘I love you, that’s why I brought you here - because I want you to get better.’ And when I was with Neil, I told him, ‘I love you too - but right now your brother needs me more.’”
For nearly three years, their family lived in survival mode. Between hospital visits, medications, physiotherapy, and constant worry - there wasn’t time to process all that was happening. Hema held everything together because felt she had to.
“Now that treatment is finished, I’m feeling the effects of being strong for so long,” she shares. “It’s a healing process. There are days I want to talk about it, and days I just can’t.”
Finding WCK
For the first eight months of treatment, Aadi was cared for at BC Children’s Hospital. That’s where the family first met West Coast Kids Cancer Foundation - through something so simple yet impactful, snacks in the family lounge on the oncology floor.
“When your child is sick, you don’t feel hungry,” Hema recalls, “but when I passed by the kitchen, I’d grab juice for Aadi and chips or nuts for myself. I remember seeing the purple WCK sticker.”
When Aadi’s care moved closer to home in Surrey, a Child Life Specialist introduced them to WCK’s then Virtual Hangouts program. These online sessions became a lifeline for Aadi, who was feeling isolated and discouraged. He joined fun activities like martial arts and therapeutic breathwork sessions from the hospital, and soon began smiling again. When his brother Neil saw how much fun he was having, he joined too.
“I saw him start to laugh again,” says Hema. “It was like counselling, too - he would talk about how he was feeling. I could see it made him feel better.”
Confidence, Connection, and Camp
The first time Aadi attended WCK’s City Camp, Hema says she witnessed a transformation she’ll never forget. When camp began, Aadi still needed help walking after months of treatment and using mobility aids. By the fourth day, when she came to pick him up, he was running.
“At camp, I saw him go from holding volunteers' hands to walking alone, and even running - he was getting his confidence back, joking around, laughing. He told me, ‘Mama, I want to do this every day.’”
“You know the best part of WCK,” Hema says, “is that siblings are there, too.”
City Camp didn’t just bring back Aadi’s confidence - it did a lot for his brother, too. Neil got to feel included and special, it was a place he could play and just be a kid again. For the boys, it provided much-needed bonding time together. For Hema, it gave her something she hadn’t had in years: a few hours to breathe, reflect, and simply rest, knowing her boys were safe and happy.
Support That Walks With Families
Today, Aadi is 13. He’s funny, kind, and always ready with a joke - the same bright spirit he had before his diagnosis. Healing, for their family, is still a journey. There are tough days, but there is also gratitude - for how far they’ve come, and for the people who’ve walked alongside them.
Through WCK’s Peer Support program, Hema was matched with a volunteer who also has lived experience as a parent of a child with a cancer diagnosis, and as a parent to teenagers. She now has someone who understands her experience deeply and is there to listen, talk, and help with strategies and resources.
“As a mother, you’re always the one checking in on everyone else,” she says. “Now, there’s someone checking in on me. That means so much.”
A Message to Donors and Volunteers
When asked what she would say to the people who make WCK’s programs possible, Hema takes a deep breath. “WCK City Camp helped my child get his smile back, his confidence back - to be the boy he was before all this. I would say thank you to every person who donates, because they don’t know how much families need it.”
You Can Help Families Like Hema’s
A child’s diagnosis is a family’s journey - one that no family should have to walk alone. Your gift helps ensure that programs like City Camp, Peer Support, and Food Programs that supply meals and snacks at the hospital continue to reach families across BC when they need it most.
Donate today to help families like Hema’s find strength - together.
