IYRA RUPESH GONDLE

#MOMMYSSTRONGGIRL

DREAM TRIP TO INDIA

$601.97 of $10,000

Donate Now

“As a playful, happy child and someone who absolutely LOVES to play dress-up, do make-up, and get her nails done, my beautiful 3 1/2-year-old baby girl was diagnosed with Stage 3 Rhabdomyosarcoma. Not in our wildest of dreams, did we think we would hear a sentence like- “ Your child has cancer. Being a second-time mom to a less than two-month-old and losing father-in-law to Covid in less than a few days prior to Iyra’s diagnosis, we felt like our family was being sucked into a pool of terrible/bad news.

Before Iyra’s diagnosis- she adored going out and playing in the parks with her friends. She also loved doing science experiments with her friends. We had a custom that every other Saturday (during summer and fall) her friends would come over do some fun activities and eat together (Iyra’s favorite was and has ALWAYS been pizza ). With her cancer diagnosis she was no longer allowed to do these activities with her friends anymore (this breaks my heart). In addition to that, she no longer felt comfortable being around other kids because of the way she looked/looks.

As a family, we have missed every opportunity to enjoy ourselves like other normal people. We no longer hang out with our other friends like we used to because of the complete discomfort. Living this isolated life has been hard on Iyra and on us as parents. We miss going to zoos, trampoline parks, malls, etc.

My parents/ Iyra‘s grandparents are here to help us during this hard time. She always questions where my parents are from, and how did they get here?? What an airplane looks like inside, Etc. The whole idea of sitting in an airplane, and traveling to a different country has always got so much enthusiasm. My mom shows her pictures/videos of our country, Mommy’s (Iyra’s mommies) home, and all other things about my childhood. With Iyra being a very keen Child, she has always wanted to go visit India and see what it is like in real and see her family back home. Sadly she’s never seen them in person :(.

With the COVID-19 restriction, during my pregnancy, we never had the opportunity to go back home. And now, with her cancer diagnosis, it made it, even more, tougher/harder for us to visit home. Going to India, seeing her great-grandmother (Iyra is the first great-granddaughter), her cousins, and our family would be like a dream come true. She always tells my mom (her grandmother), will I ever get a chance to sit in an airplane and go to India and see mommy’s house, my cousins, uncle, and auntie??? And our answer is always-“yes. Hopefully someday”. As Hindus, we also do multiple rituals/customs when kids are born, and sadly all of it which Iyra has missed. This dream trip would make it happen for us to do all of the rituals in addition to meeting family members, cousins, friends, etc.

Regards.

“Divya”