My Story

My Why

When I was 9 years old, I was diagnosed with a brain tumour called a Germinoma, located deep in the Thalamus. At that age, I didn’t fully understand what any of that meant. I just knew that life, very suddenly, felt very scary.

What followed was a year where everything revolved around getting through the next stage and where the normal things about being a child, disappeared. School stopped, routines vanished and even friendships changed, because no one else around me was going through anything like this. Surgery came first, then chemotherapy, then radiotherapy - it even meant we had to move from the UK to the US for 3 months for the final part of my treatment.

Hospital rooms replaced classrooms. Normal routines evaporated. Recovery didn’t end when treatment stopped. It carried on, long after people assumed (understandably) that things were “back to normal.”

I am grateful I survived, but surviving isn’t the same as moving on. When treatment ends, the expectation is that you’re better. In reality, you’re left with scars, fatigue, fear of relapse, side effects and a big question hanging over you: who am I?

That was when Make-A-Wish stepped in. Although they came to see me on the ward during the chaos of treatment. They delivered my wish when the fight was technically over but  when life still felt uncertain and fragile. At that point, my wish was a home gym. Receiving this gift changed so much for me. It gave me something to work towards, a way to rebuild strength, confidence and independence. It gave me back a sense of control at a time when I really needed it.

Nearly 10 years on, I’m in a very different place. I’ve recovered. I now speak for Make-A-Wish and help shape its future as part of STARboard, the youth advisory board. But I’ve never forgotten what it felt like to be that child who just needed hope to feel real and that life was worth living again.

In April 2026, I’ll be running the London Marathon for Make-A-Wish. Every mile is for children still going through treatment and for those who’ve finished but are learning how to live with what comes next. This marathon is my way of saying thank you and my promise to go the distance so Make-A-Wish can keep showing young vulnerable people what’s still possible.

If you believe in second chances, in turning pain into purpose, or in giving children something to hold onto when life feels overwhelming and even an impossibility, I’d be incredibly grateful for your support.

Help me make every mile matter.

Darshan