Soon after her second birthday, little Vanhi Kaushik lost her life to blood cancer on 9 July 2015. Four years on, her family wants to turn this personal tragedy into a lasting legacy.
"When my little daughter was fighting cancer, every minute we had to wait for the right blood type to become available literally killed me. I have seen many other helpless parents whose children are in the queue for blood donation. I really want to change that," says Nidhi Kaushik, mother of Vanhi.
It's been four years now since 2 year old Vanhi passed away and her parents want to keep her memory alive through a blood donation drive Source: Supplied
"I saw how Vanhi would get a new lease of life with every transfusion, and I really don't want more little children to be placed in a queue to receive it," she told SBS Punjabi. "I now know how important blood donation really is, and want to encourage everyone in our community, especially first time donors, to come forward."
"One in three Australians will need blood at some point in their lives, but only one in 30 donate."
"I want to assure first time donors that it is completely safe, and in fact good for your own health if you donate blood regularly. And please, you must know, the Red Cross will only accept your blood donation after a complete health check up. So there is no question of risk to the donor's well being," said Ms Kaushik.
"Every blood donation saves three lives – and you feel so good when you get a message from Red Cross thanking you on behalf of the recipients, when the blood is used .
The Kaushik family was left distraught after their little daughter put up a very brave fight against blood cancer in her short lifetime.
Vanhi, who the Kaushik family will always remember as their smiling star Source: Supplied
"Vanhi only lived for 116 weeks. That's why last year, we wanted to raise 116 units of blood in her name. We started on July 9 last year (the date she passed away inn 2015) and this year before July, our ‘Red 25 Vanhi the smiling star’ campaign has raised 119 units of blood and saved 357 lives."
She especially thanked SBS Punjabi listeners who came forward last year after her first interview with SBS Punjabi and hoped they would do the same this year.
Speaking about how the family is dealing with Vanhi's loss, Ms Kaushik said, "I can never forget her. Some days are ok, but some are very hard. Her memory comes flooding back in waves – at that time, it feels like your soul wants to leaves the body. I feel like isolating myself from this world, but for the sake of my other two children, I inspire myself to get back to normal."
Source: Supplied
"My daughter Vidhi was only four when she saw her baby sister begin her fight with cancer. No child should ever have to go through that. But I'm so proud of Vidhi - she still writes poems in the memory of her brave little sister."
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