Shiva’s Story

Shiva’s first year was the hardest of our lives.

Nobody expects the day that is supposed to bring them their greatest gift to turn into something completely different. Nobody expects to sit in a NICU hearing all of the “we don’t knows” and “wait and sees.” And nobody expects to realize how unsupported families can be when it comes not just to keeping their babies alive, but to giving them the best possible quality of life.

Like so many NICU parents, we were thrown into fear, uncertainty, and a future we did not know how to understand yet. We were told to wait. To watch. To see what happened.

But when it is your baby, “wait and see” is simply not enough.

My husband, Shailin, and I were uniquely positioned in a way that many families are not. We had financial support, scientific knowledge, and the ability to move quickly. Because of that, Shiva was able to access treatments that many babies with HIE at birth never get the chance to receive — things like stem cells, HBOT, photobiomodulation, and more.

That experience changed the way we see everything.

It made us realize how much access matters. Not every family has the resources, knowledge, network, or time to pursue care outside the standard path. Not every family can research unfamiliar treatments, evaluate providers, travel for care, or absorb costs that insurance may never cover.

And yet no baby is any less worthy.

Since then, I have spoken with hundreds of parents who were thrown into the same situation, but without the access or support needed to pursue treatments that could meaningfully impact their child’s comfort, function, and future.

That is why we created Shiva in Motion.

We believe inequality should not transfer to innocent babies. No parent should have to spend years trying to save up for a treatment that could make a real difference in their child’s life. And no parent should feel alone on this journey.

Around 3 out of every 1,000 babies born in the U.S. suffer from HIE at birth, and every one of those babies deserves a real chance.

Shiva in Motion is our way of turning pain into purpose. Our goal is to create a place where families can access information, community, peer support, and charitable grants for medically supervised restorative and neurorehabilitative care.

Shiva’s story is where this began, but this is not only about Shiva.

This is for every parent who has sat beside a hospital bed wondering what comes next. For every family trying to make impossible decisions while exhausted and overwhelmed. For every baby with HIE at birth who deserves care, support, and a real chance.