Goodbye to Sonia Rai…
Some days just begin with news that delivers a powerful kick to your gut and the world seems to stop for a minute. Sonia Rai, the young woman who gave a human face to the South Asian bone marrow drive, lost her fight against Acute Myelogenous Leukemia today. You feel saddened and quite helpless. So we pause and think of the beautiful life lost and what she would have liked us to do, what efforts she would like us to make.
The battle may have been lost but the war goes on.
“We are beyond heartbroken to tell you that after a long and brave struggle, our beloved Sonia passed away this afternoon,” wrote her family on the Facebook page, CureSonia. “She was at peace, passed painlessly, and was surrounded by family and friends who loved her beyond all measure. There are no words that can even begin to express the depth of our tragic loss. She will live forever in our hearts and the exceptional joy that she brought to each and every one of us every day of her life will be always with us.”
They add, “We are all inspired by Sonia’s courage and fortitude in this battle. She persevered, fought patiently, and had an incredible will. The world is a better place because she lived in it and a worse one because she has left it, but her legacy will be eternal in the lives of all of us who knew and loved her.”
Sonia was admitted to a hospice on Friday and passed away on Sunday at 2 pm. Her trademark joyful smiles will be remembered . “I was fortunate enough to visit Sonia on Saturday with some other friends,” recalls her friend Anjali. “She was in good spirits. We were reminiscing about her antics and adventures over the last few years. She was surrounded by people she loved and even had a chance to eat some of her favorite foods, something she hadn’t been able to do so in more than a year, such as Dunkin Donuts, a turkey sandwich and JP Licks ice-cream.”
Among her last wishes was that the efforts that went into the Cure Sonia campaign continue and grow in the hope that other lives will be saved.
There has been an outpouring of grief. Some comments from Sonia’s page on Facebook
Letty Carbonell Brice: “You should be very proud for your efforts to find her a match. Although she could not benefit from a transplant, there will be many others that will through these efforts. I am glad to have been part of those Cure Sonia Bone Marrow Drives. In her honor we should continue to grow and diversify the Be the Match Registry, so every patient regardless of the race could get a second chance.”
Kirsten Crase :”Wishing comfort and peace for Sonia’s family and friends. And trusting that she will rest in peace, secure in the knowledge of how many lives she touched. I joined the registry after hearing of her story through a friend, and her story also inspired several other friends of mine to join. I’m heartbroken by this news, but inspired by all that she accomplished.”
As Malati Saravan wrote: “Sometimes life makes you wonder about the mysteries … She has been an inspiration for many. The Cure Sonia movement has had a tremendous reach . I have met so many selfless souls in the drives, together we will definitely pass on her message for the world.”
A brief life but one lived fully, beautifully – whose effect will reverberate in so many other lives…
Related Article
Here is the piece I had written about her in 2011.
Sonia Rai, South Asians, and the Bone Marrow Drive
7 Comments
Dear Lavina,
We at SAMAR want to thank you for the coverage you had provided about marrow/stem cell transplants and the need for increased donors to the Be The Match Registry in the past.
At this time we are proud to inform you that our very own Medical Director, Dr. Ron Jacob came up as a match for a patient and donated his cells to potentially save a life. Dr. Jacob is of Malayalee descent and currently lives in Long Island.
It is extremely rare for someone who is so closely associated with the registry to come up as a a match, but he viewed it as a privilege and donated without any hesitation.
Since you were an advocate of our mission, we wanted to reach out to you to see if you would like to cover this story.
All the SAMAR executives and Dr. Jacob are available for interviews.
So heartbreaking. Thank you for this article. My condolences and strength go to the family.
Thanks for your comments, Indu, Siraj, Kriti and Theresa. This tragedy has touched everyone, and hopefully more people will be galvanized into action.
I will pass the comments on to the family.
I heard the heartbreaking news last night about a friend of my daughter’s. A special girl named Sonia Rai. My daughter had visited and taken trips with her and also had worked with her at UCI Irvine. Ca. I feel I knew Sonia just through the pics and stories my daughter tells me. I regret that I had never had a chance to personally meet her and thought for sure I would one day. So, it hits sort of close to home. The effort to save Sonia and others with this illness, I understood started with her family/sibling brother (Sumit Rai) starting “CURE SONIA.Org”
My heart goes out to the Rai family in their loss. The Rai Family has a legacy that will live on in many hearts and affect many more to come in their efforts to help others in their fight against something so tragic. There will not be a day that goes by that you don’t feel that hurt but remember first and foremost all that the Rai Family has done for humanity…….continues on so, thank you for families like yours and know that Sonia and her family have done a big thing for many and many more to come…..RIP Sonia
A sad day indeed! Makes one realize how vulnerable we are and how death has the strongest will amongst us. Nothing we do can deter him… RIP Sonia!
Via Facebook
Sorry to hear about the loss. RIP.
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Our prayers are for the family