Join us to celebrate the beautiful life and memory of our friend, Sameer Bhatia. All proceeds will be donated to the Asian American Donor Program (AADP.org), a non-profit geared towards saving the lives of those affected by leukemia or other diseases treatable with marrow or stem cell transplants.
Today would have been Sameer’s 33rd (is 33 right?) birthday. Sadly, he never beat his battle with leukemia, but he lives on in our memories, conversations, and laughter. It’s accurate to say that birthdays, whether for him or his friends, were some of his favorite times. Namely because he loved to pull practical jokes. Usually a birthday party involved posting an outrageous listings on craigslist, dressing up unsuspecting birthday boys in crazy costumes, and simply getting to see his friends. To celebrate this day, some friends have written some of our favorite memories regarding Sameer’s past birthdays and surprises.
Shital
Ok my most memorable samba story is when we threw a surprise birthday in his own apartment. I remember that he showed up in his basketball clothes all sweaty in front of all of us who were dressed up in cocktail attire. It was so fun and I remember how much fun samba had and happy he was that day. He always loved celebrating birthdays with all of his favorite friends. I miss him.
Brady
Your story made me think about when Samba had a house party for an “apartment” he was house-sitting. When I arrived on Chestnut, everyone there was happy and lounging in the living area. I couldn’t get over what a great space Samba had scored. He was giddy to the point of goofy and was bringing me around the apartment asking what I thought? Then he kept on pointing to a picture of San Francisco and saying what do you think of this? What do you think of that? The point of course was that everything there was his belongings and that this wasn’t a friend’s place but his new home. I was totally clueless. Now I was in on the joke. I couldn’t believe that this crazy guy would go to such lengths for a surprise! He bought a house and didn’t tell anyone until they came over!! Baba and I went down the street and bought doughnuts marveling over Sameer’s ingenuity and how happy we were for him owning a house.
Nick
The birthday I remember is one in which I couldn’t make it but we planned this elaborate hoax to make Sameer think his surprise birthday party would be a day later than the actual event. I accidentally revealed the fake surprise birthday via email and he wouldn’t let me hear the end of it for revealing the secret. I guess he thought I was an amateur. Sadly, I didn’t get to see the look on his face when he was duped! The pranks just got bigger and more elaborate. The other party I remember is the Robert’s American Idol party where Sameer was Judge Randy. I remember how much fun we all had together.
Bhavna
October of 2003, just about a month after I arrived in England…missing friends and family. “Samba’s birthday” was written on my datebook for Oct 22nd. I waited to call “at the right time.” I was 8 hours ahead of the crew in San Francisco. It was late evening for them, finally…where I could get in on the fun for Samba’s birthday. They were playing the newlywed game!! Why wasn’t I surprised?!?! Of course, it was a fun and creative way to celebrate :) I can remember samba’s voice, and him saying the crew had taken over and made him ask and answer questions with 3 girls he doesn’t know. It wouldn’t have been such a birthday without the energy samba poured everywhere he went. I felt like I was there! All great memories of Samba, happy birthday to you!
Meeta
Tough guys wear pink! he wore that hot pink shirt what about the scary birthday where we had brunch and sohan and diya were petrified because sambakaka was looking like a woman! Diya couldn’t stop staring at him. I think he was wearing a Britney school girl outfit - um that one was scary.
Robert
Most memorable birthday? Oh my…where do I start?! Let me pick one that is a vivid memory in my mind, largely because of how he was dressed. Or rather, “how we forced him to dress”! We were all gathered for brunch one morning in San Francisco. Little did Samba know that it was for his birthday (though I’m certain he suspected). Oh, this wasn’t going to be just any standard brunch…not when we’re celebrating Sameer’s special day! Shortly after we sat down and ordered, a few of us ‘commanded’ Sameer into the restaurant restroom. We brought along our little bag of tricks which included the attire he was required to dress up in. It was complete with everything needed for a full-on embarrassment: a plaid skirt, blouse, eyelashes, and some gloss lipstick. Oh wait, and a blonde wig! That’s right - within minutes, he was transformed into a beautiful cheerleader. OK…scratch the beautiful. Aside from scaring the children at the table, along with the waitress and the other customers, it was the perfect Samba birthday celebration
From Samba to his friends after his elimidate birthday
i don’t know what i’m doing thanking all of you for what happened to me last night, but i do want to state (as i’m still drunk) that i have found some words in my vocabulareee to describe how i feel about you all…
cr-aaaa-zy!
n-u-t-s!!
in-sane!!!!!!!!
i seriously walked into dinner expecting a normal happy dinner. you know, like other people do on their birthdays. and i left feeling like a drunk hooker. (that has definitely happened before, but last night was different…) that was by far the craziest buuurrddday i’ve ever had. yes, it beats walking around sno-drift as dodo’s daddy carrying dodo onto the dance floor. yes, it also beats being surprised by 40 of my favorite intruders in my own apartment. and, oh yeah, it even tops salsa dancing with the hairy-chested Senor Samba last year. my god, i don’t think i’ll ever forget this one…let alone remember all of it.
….i also don’t know if i’ll be functioning properly again until tomorrow. still can’t get this damn studded collar off.
samba “the stud”.
Please feel free to share more of your birthday stories in the comments section.
We were very saddened to learn that Vinay passed away on June 25th. As many of you know, Vinay was the inspiration for Sameer’s bone marrow campaign. While Vinay and Sameer were physically seperated by thousands of miles during their treatment, their transplant journey and emotional experience was one and the same. The same holds true for Vinay and Sameer’s surviving spouses, Rashmi & Reena, respectively.
Vinay and Sameer, we will remember you for your strength and courage. You are role models for all patients and families suffering from cancer. You remain in our hearts forever.
We understand that quite a few people were unable to view the previously posted video of Sameer’s Memorial Service. Please try this one. Note, that using fast-forward may cause the audio and video to be out of sync.
We will have a live webcast of the Memorial Service for those of you who are unable to attend. The webcast will start at 3:00pm PST Saturday March 29th, which is 3:30am on Sunday March 30th in India.
Sameer’s memorial service will be held tomorrow, Saturday March 29th at Mercer Island High School, Sameer’s alma mater. Please see below for details.
The ceremony will begin promptly at 3:00pm. Please leave at least 15 extra minutes for parking and for settling in to the auditorium where the service will be held.
Program Swamiji’s Service
Family & Friend’s Eulogy
Memories
Swamiji’s Closing
Refreshments
For the Memories portion of the program, we welcome you to share your favorite stories and memories of Sameer.
If you need directions or cannot find the high school on Saturday, please call Samit Patel at (856) 979-3448.
Location:
Mercer Island High School
Main Auditorium
9100 Se 42nd St
Mercer Island, WA 98040
As most of you know by now, Sameer left us this morning a little before 5 AM for a higher abode. He left after a valiant and positive struggle with leukemia and the subsequent accumulation of issues from multiple chemotherapies. We felt the love of many hospital staff members who had looked after him in their efforts to nurture him to health.
His last rites were performed starting at 3:30 PM by Swami Bhaskaranandaji and Swami Avikaranandaji of the Vedanta Society of Western Washington according to the Hindu tradition, and the cremation followed. The sound of Vedic chants filled the chapel of the funeral home. We know he went in peace and he also looked at peace. We all prayed and continue to pray for God to grant him everlasting bliss.
The last rites ceremony was attended by the family and a few close friends who were able to fly from the San Francisco area just in time. We plan to hold a memorial service for Sameer on Saturday at 3 PM in the Seattle area. We will decide on the venue tomorrow and let you know further details.
Some of you have enquired if you could do something in Sameer’s memory. We request that you do not send flowers or other gifts. If you would like to make a donation in Sameer’s memory, we would suggest that you donate to any one or more of the following organizations:
All four organizations have played a meaningful role in Sameer’s life and growth as a person.If you wish to make a gift in the memory of Sameer, please include his full name as well as the following so our family can be informed of your gift:
The Bhatia Family
8241 SE 67th Street
Mercer Island, WA 98040
This will be a very short update since I need to go to the hospital in a few minutes.
We found out yesterday that Sameer had a stroke while in the unconscious state. The CT Scan shows that the right side of his brain is affected. This area controls motion on the left side of the body, etc. There is also swelling in the brain which can put pressure on the brain stem. We discussed yesterday a surgical option to relieve pressure in the brain and decided that it was too risky because of potential for bleeding due to inadequate blood counts, etc. I think and hope that the swelling was at its maximum when it was discovered yesterday and should therefore go down. He has been stable last night and the situation has not worsened.
The white blood counts are still zero and the rest of the situation remains the same. His vital signs are good due to his good physical conditioning before this illness. In summary, he remains in a serious but stable condition.
Many of you continue to visit to interact with him. We appreciate that all of you have followed the instructions for visitors to the transplant floor: no cold or respiratory symptoms for a week, no contact with anyone with a cold or respiratory symptoms for a week. We also think that it is not a good idea to bring children with you even if they are healthy. We have to be careful not only about Sameer but also about the other patients with compromised immune systems.
We continue to pray and hope for his recovery. I still believe that with the grace of God, he will recover. Thanks for your prayers and good wishes. Take care.
Sameer’s condition continues to remain serious but is stable. His status as of this morning is as follows:
He has not yet woken up. He is responding to us from time to time. When I was massaging his legs this morning, he opened his eyes for a very few seconds but closed them again. Later when Reena was holding his hand and talking to him sweetly, he opened his eyes again but very briefly. He is not able to squeeze our hands when asked. While we get very happy to see even a small response from him, we are not sure how much of it is conscious. We hope that he can hear us and the small flashes are consciously driven.
His temperature, blood pressure and heart rate are fine. This is encouraging since it (particularly the lack of any fever) implies that the antibiotics are working in keeping the infection in check. All his blood cultures have been negative (no bacteria growth) except for March 3, 7 and 9. They culture a blood sample for five days and generally see the bacteria growth, if any, by day 3 or 4. This means that there are no detectable bacteria in his blood at least since the 12th.
His white blood counts and neutrophils are a below the measurement thresh hold (they are practically zero). We need his immune system to start recovering but it might take some time (1-2 weeks) in spite of getting daily injections of GCSF (growth factor).
His medical team continues to weigh the risk-benefit of another lumbar puncture which will tell us if the bacteria are eliminated from the central nervous system (CNS). So far they have decided not to do a lumbar puncture due to a finite risk of bleeding and spinal injury.
The source of his infection was identified on March. 4 as a common bacterium called coagulase negative staph which all of us have on our skins. It does not cause problems for people with normal immune systems. Because he has no white blood cells right now, the antibiotics need to do all of the work to get him well. He was getting two antibiotics: linezolid and rifampin which have good penetration through the blood-brain barrier. They recently have replaced rifampin with a newer antibiotic called daptomycin since rifampin is known to affect the liver adversely.
We are concerned about his liver. His bilirubin level has increased to 17 or so. We understand that there is nothing that can be done to help the liver. We hope that as his organs recover, the liver will improve as well. In the meantime, we are feeding him some fresh coconut water through a stomach tube when possible.
He had been on a daily dialysis regimen of 8 hours but they have reduced it to 4 hours since 2 days ago, They are removing 2-3 KG of fluid with dialysis and his swelling (due to fluid retention) is much less. In particular, his face looks much more like him again. The kidney doctors are satisfied with his dialysis and will consider dialysis on alternate days to allow his kidneys a chance to recover.
They having been taking a chest x-ray every morning and his lungs are fine.
Sameer has a tube inserted to keep his airways clear (intubation) since the normal gag response is absent. He has some ventilator support at night (so that his lungs do not get tired) even though he is able to breathe on his own and maintain a good blood oxygen level. The doctors are pretty sure that they can remove the tube once he wakes up.
We have requested the doctors to review again all possible options even though they have tried already many unconventional therapies to treat Sameer. They have assured us that they will review his case again next week and see if there is anything more they can do. I have appreciated their putting up with my questions and patiently explaining the treatment options in detail. The whole medical staff has been very kind and compassionate.
We are essentially in a hold mode waiting for Sameer to wake up. As I wrote in my last update (March 9), his situation is risky due the danger of developing a lung infection which quickly proves to be fatal for most people.
We all enjoyed the Bombay family video Bimal sent to us. We played it for Sameer hoping he could hear it. It gives the impression that everyone likes to party with Sameer! We also shared the video with some of Sameer’s visiting friends as well as some of the nurses. Thank you for sending your love to Sameer and thanks to Bimal for putting it all together.
Reena and I have spent most of our time in the ICU and the hospital. Sunita has come to visit a few times to spend time with Sameer in spite of her own condition not being good. Reena’s mother has been visiting every day and helping Reena. Prashant is still recovering from a cold or flu. He has been talking to Reena and me on the phone to keep abreast, and also to Sameer once in a while. As a precaution, he is not meeting with any of us who are visiting Sameer for the fear of making us sick or carriers. He only meets people who are about to leave town after visiting Sameer. I think it is a wise precaution. He has to wait seven days after his last symptoms before he can visit Sameer.
Many of Sameer’s and Reena’s friends have taken long trips (from the east coast and California) to visit him. Melindah came on March 9 and left on Tuesday. Anamika left on Wednesday. Kruti and Anjali came on Thursday; Anjali leaves this afternoon and Kruti plans to leave tomorrow (Monday). Samir Jathwa came on Friday and is leaving today. Sonia visited for a day yesterday (Saturday). Also, Monica, Sharmila and Shana came yesterday and will leave today. I also met Jay (Bipin’s brother who lives in Seattle) waiting to see Sameer as I left the hospital this morning to go home for a shower. Several of my Seattle friends have visited also. Eli has been coming to visit regularly ever since Sameer has been in the hospital. Doug has been a constant source of support by keeping touch via phone and visits. Other friends who have come are Pran and Santosh, Ram Prasad and MP Singh. Many times we have so many people wanting to see Sameer and talk to him that they have had to take turns waiting outside. Many more friends have been following the web site and praying for Sameer’s recovery. The hospital staff and doctors have been very supportive and empathetic. I thank them all.
Please continue your prayers and keep sending positive thoughts Sameer’s way. I am sure that Sameer will recover. Take care.
I’ve been in Seattle, spending time with Sameer, Reena and their family since Sunday afternoon. Sameer remains in stable condition but continues to be in the ICU under wonderful, consistent care.
We are grateful and appreciative of the continuous, positive energy, thoughts and prayers all of you are providing him. Please keep them flowing! Many of you are experiencing a desire to visit – please do. Kumar Uncle, Reena, her mother, et al enjoy having you here. However, it is critical that you come with no exposure to or inflicted with the following:
common cold
flu
coughing
sneezing
runny nose
post nasal drip, etc.
With any of those symptoms, and bringing them into the room/ICU floor, it’s not only dangerous for Sameer but most of the patients housed there. Please be mindful of such symptoms and be well for atleast 7-10 days before visiting. Also, for those coming in, it’s important to have your own form of transportation (the easiest is renting a car) and place to sleep.
Till next, keep those prayers and positive thoughts coming Samba’s way!
Our friend, Sameer Bhatia, was just diagnosed with Acute Myelogenous Leukemia (AML), which is a cancer of the blood. He is in urgent need of a bone marrow transplant. Sameer is a Silicon Valley entrepreneur, is 31 years old and
just got married in 2006. His diagnosis was confirmed just weeks ago and caught us all by surprise.
Another friend of ours, Vinay, was also diagnosed with AML and also requires a transplant (many of you may already be familiar with Vinay's campaign). We have teamed up with Team Vinay in order to build greater awareness of how you can help.
3 Things You Can Do!
The greatest likelihood for a bone marrow match for both Sameer and Vinay is from someone in the South Asian community - however, very few South Asians are actually in the bone marrow registry. This is where we need your help.
1. Please get registered
Getting registered is very quick and requires a simple cheek swab. Team Vinay has organized a nationwide campaign and we need you to get registered by visiting a local drive. Drives are currently taking place all around the country, including throughout California, Washington, Michigan, Illinois, New York and many other states. Please see the full list of locations here: http://www.helpvinay.org/dp/index.php?q=event.
2. Spread the word
Please share this web page with at least 10 people (particularly South Asians), and ask them to do the exact same. Please point your friends to the local drives and ask them to get registered.
3. Visit Vinay's site
To learn more, please visit www.helpvinay.org. The site includes more details on how to organize your own drive, valuable information about AML, plus FAQs on registering. Please visit http://www.helpvinay.org/dp/index.php?q=node/108 for more information on the cities where more help is needed. Thank you for getting registered to help Sameer and Vinay fight and win against leukemia.
Every day over 6,000 people desperately search the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) Registry for a matching bone marrow donor. You could be the one to save a life.
Attend an upcoming drive
:) I can remember samba’s voice, and him saying the crew had taken over and made him ask and answer questions with 3 girls he doesn’t know. It wouldn’t have been such a birthday without the energy samba poured everywhere he went. I felt like I was there! All great memories of Samba, happy birthday to you!
