At the beginning of December, Shivani was rushed into hospital after a routine blood test. Shockingly, after two weeks of turbulence, she was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia. She is going to start chemotherapy imminently (around Monday 15th January), and will undergo at least two rounds (each round is approximately seven weeks long). In addition, her doctor has recently informed her that she will require a bone marrow transplant after the chemotherapy treatments have concluded.

This is a fundraiser organised by Shivani's and Ali's friends, and it is directed towards them as well. Although we have Shivani's blessing, it is important to state that in no way was this proposed by Shivani, Ali or her family. We believe this initiative will be the most efficient and synchronised way for us to help, giving her the support to iteratively direct resources where appropriate. It is given to explicitly support with her health, bringing light in small ways throughout the next chapter of her life. Whilst we recognise Shivani, Ali and their family are capable of navigating this journey by themselves, we think it will depressurize the load if we offer our support in this way.

It reduces the admin and logistics of arbitrary gift giving, opening up space for Shivani to optimally channel our contribution to the myriad healthcare solutions that are available. In addition, the effects of chemotherapy are unpredictable and severe, and many of the solutions being advised are expensive enough to give pause; a pool of cash that is explicitly ring-fenced for health will simply smooth out any hesitancy, and support Shivani to maximise her self-care. How many times have we all known we should get something, but we have held back due to concerns with 'over-doing it'? This gift from us is designed to side-step that pattern of thinking, enabling Shivani to tolerate chemo more effectively, providing increased comfort and hopefully speeding up the recovery.

Shivani is one of the kindest, sweetest, most selfless people we've ever known. Shivani's diagnosis proves that there is no rhyme or reason or justice in this world and that sometimes the worst things happen to the best people. So if you’ve ever been touched by Shivani’s sweet nature, kind heart or good will, we hope you can make a small contribution, so we can support Shivani and Ali in this very challenging time. On the other hand, this is one of many ways in which you can provide support; if you want to help through other mediums, please do so. We understand that times are tough for everyone at the moment, so any contribution, small or big, will be greatly appreciated.