Support Swati’s journey as she beats leukemia

Our dear best friend Swati was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia in April this year. Those of you who know Swati know that she is - above everything - probably the cutest person you have ever met. For those of you who don’t, in addition to being a loving baby sister, daughter, and a fiercely loyal friend, she is a selfless, hilarious, strong, and boundlessly kind person.

During this difficult time, we are reaching out to you in the hope that you will join us to help us support her family with her current and future medical expenses and hospital stays, while she undergoes a cord blood stem cell transplant procedure at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. More details about the diagnostic and treatment plan are shared below. We request that you donate any amount you can to support Swati and her family with the treatment and medical expenses involved as she focuses on beating AML. No amount is too big or small, and would help her family be surrounded by the love and care she needs and deserves. Please share this GoFundMe and help spread the word as well.

Swati has always been and continues to be a remarkable person. Even when faced with this very difficult illness and diagnosis earlier this year, in the midst of a global pandemic, Swati continued to find, share, and contribute to fundraisers raising money to aid pandemic relief efforts back in her second home in India, consistent with her commitment to participate in mutual aid. Despite being unwell and tired from her chemotherapy treatment, we see everyday that she continues to keep the needs and feelings of her loved ones at the forefront of her mind. Swati’s grace, heart, and generosity inspire everyone in her life. During this tough period of her life, we, as a community, hope to return to her the support that she has always extended to others.

Swati moved to Austin to live with her family at the beginning of the pandemic in 2020. While working as full-time paralegal, Swati has spent the last 2 years preparing for Law School. Earlier this year, she accepted an offer to go to The City University of New York (CUNY) Law School for Public Interest Advocates, which has currently been put on hold due to her treatment.

Medical Background

Swati is in remission as of May, and requires a few more cycles of chemotherapy over the next few months until the transplant date is confirmed - each cycle will be administered at her current hospital St. David’s Medical Center, Austin, Texas.

In addition to this, she will require a stem cell transplant. Her medical team was unable to find a related bone marrow donor; this led to a referral to stem cell specialists at MD Anderson. After speaking with the physicians there, Swati will be moving forward with a cord blood stem cell transplant as early as July.

MD Anderson requires patients undergoing stem cell transplants to stay in Houston for a minimum of 100 days - 30 days inpatient, 60 days outpatient but close enough to the hospital for regular check ups. We are looking to support Swati and her family through this stay in Houston before they can return home to Austin and be cared for by her current team at St David’s Hospital.

More about Swati

Swati was born in Canada, grew up in Bangalore, and currently lives with her sister and parents in Austin,Texas. In 2018, she graduated with a major in Political Science from Bryn Mawr College, Pennsylvania. Swati loves a good crossword and a bad Bollywood movie (specifically if from the 2000s) and is a connoisseur of good-bad TikToks. She has also been amazing at organizing things (making lists, having an up-to-date calendar) while being there for her friends in every way she can (scheduling calls, documenting their lives on the regular). It was due to this ability of hers to engage, document, and organize that she was Admin of one of the largest Harry Potter fan pages on Facebook when she was as young as fourteen.

Ever since she was little, Swati has been determined to stand up for the causes she believes in - whatever they may be - fostering a strong commitment to supporting her friends, family, and community. It is this sense of community that she wishes to take forward when she pursues the Public Interest Advocates law school program at CUNY. Through how she conducts herself and eventually through her practice, she hopes to be involved in what justice can look like through a lens she’s adopted all her life, one of kindness, collaboration, and transformative care.

The Ask (Again)

We hope this little overview into how amazing Swati is gives you a sense of how much she means to us. Swati has changed the lives of everyone who has been fortunate to know her in any capacity, from a freshman she interacted with as part of the Honor Board, to us, her best friends, who discover there are new things to learn from her every day and new ways of being present and kind. Despite being in a long distance friendship with Swati, she has always made us feel like she is right next to us, and has been there for us in immeasurable ways, and uncountable number of times. Now, we want to try to be there for her the same way.

We request that you donate any amount you can (anonymously if you wish) to support Swati and her family as she focuses on beating AML. As mentioned above, no amount is too big or small, and would help her family be surrounded by the love and care she needs and deserves. Please share this GoFundMe and help spread the word as well.

- Triku, Tanya and Aditi (friends of Swati, older sister)