This is NOT just an impulsive reaction to the loss of Snehal that will fade away in a few days or weeks. This is an expression of the deep pain inflected by the fact that a really good person will no longer be able to bestow their goodness on those of us who are near or far away.
I first met Snehal in kindergarten and throughout our pre-college schooling, she was around, in and out depending on the school year. The strongest memories are from high school where instead of being my classmate, because of her smarts, all of a sudden she was a year ahead of me. We were not close but everyone in our school knew each other and I still remember her winning the jumping/skipping rope competition. It was always the petite, quiet and smart girl with the two long hair braids walking around with a rope in her hand.
After high school everyone went their separate ways but through the magic of facebook, we got to reconnect again. I found out that she was married to Parag, a classmate of mine from high school, and that they have a daughter together. They lived in New York and we talked about the good old Comboni days and about visiting each other. I also learned about her illness but she never complained. She always had a positive outlook and an embedded strength regardless of the physical aspects of the pain she was enduring. She portrayed those aspects through her involvement in races for causes and her TV appearances. They moved away to Vancouver and despite the chaos, she found lots of positives with regards to the move and was excited about being close to her family again. She dropped a “Hi, how are you?” and “I am sorry I haven’t been in touch” every once in a while regardless of the fact that she might have not had the strength to do that; that is what I am going to miss the most!
The skipping rope champion is physically gone and it’s such a heart breaker to so many, especially her family. Parag and Deeya, I can not be in your shoes right now and I can’t imagine what you are going through. Snehal was very special to all of us who happened to have their paths cross hers. Her words, love for everyone and spirit is here eternally.