A perfect note for those who knew her
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Deepa Bharath
Aria.
It was the perfect name for that little girl whose life ended on a
high note.
Like a beautiful, rich, sweet melody, she touched many hearts,
placated their senses and left them yearning for more.
Those who knew Aria best have a hard time describing her. All they
know is they’ll do whatever it takes to get her back.
She was only 10. If the cancer that repeatedly ravaged her body
had let her live one more month, she would’ve been 11.
Aria was diagnosed with leukemia when she was 3. Doctors, at the
time, believed that she had the curable kind of cancer. But nothing
went as planned. She would undergo chemotherapy and be fine for
months or even a year and then she’d go into remission.
In May 2000, she had a bone marrow transplant. Her brother,
Jordan, turned out to be the perfect match. The transplant was
successful. But the hope was all dried up in six months. The cancer
came back. In March 2001, Aria went through a risky second bone
marrow transplant. And again, it was successful.
The 2 1/2 years that followed were the best of her life. Her
long, curly, lustrous, brown hair, which Aria absolutely loved, grew
out. She went to school in Tarrytown, N.Y., where her family then
lived, and then in Kaiser Elementary School in Costa Mesa.
She danced. She played with her cousins, twin girls, which was her
favorite thing in the world. The girls dressed up, sand, danced,
drew, played with dolls and went shopping for clothes.
But in August 2003, cancer dealt her another blow. And this time
it struck harder than ever. She went into remission several times. In
January, she almost died of fungal pneumonia.
For all her suffering, Aria continued to live her life. She
laughed and she cried. She expressed anger when she felt it.
But Aria wanted to live more than anything else.
She always talked about her future. She would talk about it as if
she was going to be there.
It was her dream to be the host of a cooking show for kids. Emeril
and Iron Chef on the Food Network were some of her favorite programs
on television.
Aria was also shaping up into quite a chef. She made bruschetta.
She made up Aria Roll, her version of the California sushi roll with
artichoke hearts, Spike seasoning, sprouts and cucumber. Another one
of her original recipes was Boom Chicken, a baked chicken dish with
spicy curry sauce and honey.
Aria loved animals. She adopted a cat that she named Squeakers.
The cat kind of squeaked when she meowed. Aria was even taking
horse-riding lessons, but had to stop because of her health.
She liked to watch her brother, Jordan, as he played video games.
She could sit on the bed and watch him for hours.
Jordan always turned around to catch her reaction when they were
watching a funny movie or cartoon together. She had such a cute belly
laugh. Jordan didn’t take his eyes off her until she stopped
laughing.
They had a special relationship. Aria’s suffering deepened their
bond. Jordan liked to kiss her on the cheek. He liked to do that
because no matter how the rest of her body looked after the
treatments, her face was always full. Her cheeks were big, soft and
cold and when he kissed them, she pushed him away, kicking up an
affectionate fuss.
Aria also liked to watch Jordan fly his remote-controlled
airplanes. The last plane Jordan made, he dedicated to Aria. He wrote
a letter on the plane’s wings telling her how much he loves her and
wants her back. Life wasn’t normal to see his sister in pain. But
Jordan would rather have that hellish existence than one where he
doesn’t have a little sister.
Aria’s other love was school. She teleconferenced with her class
when she was stuck in the hospital. And when she went back to school
in spring, she plugged right in. She had no problems adapting or
getting used to anything. Science was her favorite subject.
But during her last week of school, the disease she had been
fighting almost all her life came back stronger than ever. Even then,
Aria was resilient. She was stronger than those around her. She was
willing to try any treatment, however painful or unpleasant it was
going to be. But there was nothing this time that could give her
days, weeks or years.
During the last few weeks, Aria read a book with her dad. It was
called “Hinds’ Feet on High Places.” It’s an allegory about a girl
called Much-Afraid, a girl with disabilities and deformities, who
tries to get to the top of a mountain. She faces her own demons and
those outside. Much-Afraid then goes through a transformation and
realizes that it doesn’t matter whether she gets to the top or not.
She is at peace knowing that God loves her.
Aria saw herself in the pages as they read the book. She asked her
dad: “Is this book about me?”
And he told her: “It’s about all of us.”
During her last few days, she had made peace.
She said: “Whatever happens, happens. If I live, I live. I’m not
going to worry about it.”
Aria had her fears. She learned too early that life is full of
disappointments and rude shocks.
But she talked about it, cried and moved on, as only a child can
do.
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