Remembering her life - an obituary for the cancer foundation

Vaishali (my beloved sister) died on April 4th, 2020 in her sleep. She was 49 years old. She was blessed in her life with two amazing children Vivek age 19, Varun age 19 and a loving and supportive husband.

She has left a void in her parents (ages 78 and 72), and 2 sisters (ages 46 and 44) hearts, that will never be filled. She never wanted to be defined by her cancer, and so I would like to pen down a few words to describe how she was and how she battled her disease.

She was our parents first born child. She was a good student, surrounded by loving friends and family. She loved to listen to music and read books. She took great pleasure in simple outings, walks, and was always moved by nature. She was a guide to us her younger sisters and was the best eldest sister we could hope for. She was an engineer, and got a job at the prestigious Space Applications Center - at the Indian Space Research Organization. (ISRO). However, she happily quit her job, when she found her soulmate in her husband, (her words), and moved abroad to be with him. She was happily married.

She always wanted to be a mother, and she loved bringing up her two kids. After her kids started kindergarten, she ventured into entrepreneurship. She owned a Kumon Franchise, which she managed to grow and it was a thriving center. She took a keen interest in cooking, gardening, music, decorating the house. She was a gracious hostess and threw the best of parties. But of all the things she did in her life, nothing compared it with her wanting to spend time with her husband and her two kids. After her first cancer diagnosis, she sold her Kumon Franchise. Through her battle of 8 years with cancer, she made sure her kids thrived in school, had friends, and lived a happy content life. It is not a mean feat.

She took pleasure in the smallest of things. And even after her cancer diagnosis, she continued living her life with the same gusto and happiness. She repeatedly told me to not be sad for her, she said she was very happy. Cancer comes into your life, and starts to break the threads that hold you and you are left to see pieces of yourself slip away and dreams fade. Yet through all of that, till her last days, she continued being happy, and enjoyed the moments she had with her loved ones.

She would want to be remembered as someone who loved dearly and someone who was happy. She wanted all of us to cherish and enjoy life.

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