Miracle Maya Fundraiser

As you may have read our previous blog about Maya Ahuja, last night some our staff and friends attended a fundraiser for her.  We would like to share with you, our experience.

Friday night after work, we met at Zaika Tastes of India, to help support the Ahuja family.  We did not know what to expect.  It was beyond our expectations. The food was wonderful, the staff and family greeted us with smiles and laughter.  We felt more than welcome.  There was a silent auction, door prizes, toonie tosses, and cute little gifts that we could purchase to help raise money for the BC Children's Hospital.

Just before dinner was served, buffet style, Maya and her family arrived.  When Gary and Karm arrived with their children, the whole room lit up with life.  There was so much love and support!  Maya is a little ball of courage and energy.  She was lively, she smiled, played and was even dancing!  The best part was that she was surrounded by so many people that love her.   As the night wound down and she began to tire, she cuddled up in her parents arms for security.

To see the love that her family has for her is absolutely wonderful!  I would like to thank the Ahuja family for welcoming us to be a part of their lives and all the individuals that were able to attend and share their support. It is important that we stand together as friends, neighbors, colleagues, and as a community to help those around us.  I feel honored that I was able to help in any way that I could. (Even if it was just our presence and donations.) Every little bit counts, and the support is amazing!

At this time I would like to conclude that we had a wonderful evening and we strongly encourage you to help in any way possible.  Mark your calendars for May 26th at 5:00 pm-11:00 pm, a World of Smiles Telethon. Tune to watch the 15th anniversary telethon on Shaw's Multicultural Channel (cable 116), Shaw Direct (channel 299) and your local Shaw TV Channel.

Even if you can only afford to donate a dollar, it will go towards saving a child's life.

Share your stories and let us know if you donated!

-Kerissa


Visit the website to donate and learn more: http://www.bcchf.ca/events/events-calendar/a-world-of-smiles/

Opportunity to reach out to the community

From now until May 10, 2013 we will be collecting donations for the Ahuja family.  Please see reception for any additional details of how you can help raise money for Maya and her family. Below you can read Maya's story and learn about her conditions.  Please feel free to share her story and help pay it forward. 

We thank you for your support.

Two-year-old Maya loves Dora the Explorer and playing with her older brother, Danveer. Her life, however, has not always been so cheerful.

Months before she was born, Maya’s parents Gary and Karm found out through an ultrasound that their daughter had a congenital heart defect called Tetralogy of Fallot as well as a cleft palate. As soon as Maya was born, she was taken to the Intensive Care Unit at BC Children’s Hospital.

“Every mother looks forward to the end of the journey of labour and that moment they get to hold their baby in their arms,” says Karm. “I had 30 seconds and then she was whisked away from me. I didn’t hold her again for 10 hours. Even then, it wasn’t the same feeling as we were in the ICU, with little to no privacy.”

Maya underwent open-heart surgery in October 2010 to treat her heart defect – she was only four months old. Shortly after the operation, with her parents at her bedside, Maya suddenly flat-lined and showed no sign of a pulse on the heart monitor. The intensive care doctors and nurses took action immediately. “Watching doctors save a life may be exciting on TV or in the movies, but as a parent, it is unbearable,” says Gary.

Maya’s heart had stopped beating for 22 minutes. Thanks to the expertise of the caregiving team at BC Children’s, Maya’s life was saved. To aid in her recovery, Maya was hooked up to ECMO, a heart and lung machine. After six weeks at BC Children’s, Maya was finally able to return home.

Today Maya still faces developmental challenges. She uses a feeding tube to drink milk and struggles to gain adequate weight. Since her hospital stay she has also been diagnosed with a genetic condition called Cornelia de Lange syndrome, a developmental disorder that affects many parts of her body. As she grows she will still require another heart operation to fix the blood flow between her left and right atria.

Despite these challenges Gary and Karm say words can’t describe the gratitude they have for the hospital’s doctors and nurses. The couple is also thankful for the support of family and friends for giving them a shoulder to cry on, and a much-needed distraction from the hard reality that their daughter was so terribly sick. The Ahuja family is comforted in knowing that whatever medical challenges lay ahead for Maya, they will not have to face them alone. With the support of family, friends and the outstanding caregivers at BC Children’s, Maya will be given the best chance of a bright future.

Maya is this year's A World of Smiles telethon Champion Child. Find out more about A World of Smiles.

Story posted from : http://www.bcchf.ca/stories/miracle-stories/maya-ahuja/