Our little Suvir passed away 3 years ago today. So many life events have happened between then and now because life goes on but we remember our little boy almost everyday and talk about him often. The process of grieving takes its due course and there are things we do to try to help ourselves through it.

Earlier this year, in June, Suvir would have turned 4 years old. Ever since he passed, each year on his birthday we have been giving back to the people and organizations that supported us through his life journey. Doing so has brought us closure year after year and helped in the grieving process. This year we were not able to do that on his birthday so instead we are picking up where we left off today. This year we made a donation to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). Specifically, we donated to one of the NICU funds there.

Through Suvir’s blog (suvirstory.com), I have tried to give snippets of what our life at CHOP was like and what CHOP means for us. CHOP is a charitable, nonprofit hospital devoted exclusively to pediatric medicine. It’s an oasis of its own where life comes to a standstill for many children and parents. Suvir was there in the NICU for almost 3 months during which life came to a standstill for us. We were pulled apart from Rihaan until social workers at CHOP got us into the Ronald McDonald House; we spent on gas, tolls and meals while driving back and forth between NJ and Philly without a full income stream as parental leave soon turned into a medical leave of absence. It all started adding up quickly. We became disconnected socially and isolated from what was going on anywhere else. We had only one routine and that was the life of a NICU parent. We would drive back from Jersey well past midnight only to sleep in the parents’ room in the NICU. CHOP had a break room for parents serviced with coffee and some snacks which were complimentary. That was clutch because it helped save your money, the coffee felt so good and it got you going to be present and attentive for early morning rounds. CHOP offered parents meal coupons, parking coupons and in some instances even travel funds if a family lived far away and needed help to pay for their flight to and from home. No matter where you were in the NICU, you would have access to a breast pump and pumping supplies. We were truly awed by the support and service we received in the NICU during Suvir’s stay there. CHOP’s NICU Social Work Fund supports many of these initiatives so this year we chose  to donate to this fund.

If you would like to follow up our donation with one of your own, firstly thank you very much! The way to do so is by visiting https://www.chop.edu/giving. You can donate an amount that is comfortable for you and if you like you can choose the option to make the donation “in memory of” Suvir Shah. We donated by selecting “a specific area of the hospital” option in the drop down asking what you would like your donation to support. In the free textbox you can type in “NICU Social Work Fund”. The NICU Social Work supports things like stocking the parents room with amenities, purchasing baby gear for parents in need, providing meals to parents who can’t afford lunch every day from the hospital. Thank you for reading!