Anima Upadhayay clearly remembers the day her toddler was diagnosed with cancer. For her and her husband, Robinder Sidhu, it was their “worst nightmare.”
On Dec. 8, 2017, three-year-old Sophie Nirankari was diagnosed with stage four neuroblastoma. The young child’s body was riddled with 21 tumours; the biggest was about the size of a baseball, rooted right above her right kidney.
“Our life completely changed since 2017,” Upadhayay told the Star. “Things that we couldn’t even imagine, we’ve been going through.”
Nirankari would spend her childhood undergoing dozens of radiation sessions, numerous major operations and rounds of chemotherapy. Twice, her condition appeared to improve. But months later, tumours would sprout elsewhere in her body.
Through it all, and during Nirankari’s darkest moments, volunteers from Campfire Circle helped bring a smile to her face, her family said. The privately funded charity helps support children with cancer and other serious illnesses through free activities, from overnight camps to in-hospital events.
Nirankari especially loves swimming at camp with the other kids and making slime at the hospital, she said. “She is the slime queen,” Sidhu laughed.
This year, Nirankari and her family are giving back to the organization that helped bring joy to her turbulent childhood. The now-11-year-old will be rolling through Toronto’s annual Sporting Life 10K race in her wheelchair, alongside her family and a team of nearly 70 supporters.
The race, for which the Star is a sponsor this year, has helped raise funds for Campfire Circle for almost 25 years. At the time of writing, Nirankari’s team has raised more than $50,000 for the charity.
Upadhayay, who will be pushing her daughter during the race, has been training by taking Nirankari and her push-rim wheelchair on long walks and jogs. For her part, Nirankari is feeling confident and “excited” for race day.
“I don’t think we can pay back Campfire Circle for all they’ve done to us,” Sidhu said. “It’s just maybe our way of saying thank you.”
More than 23,000 people are expected to run, walk or roll 10 kilometres through the heart of Toronto on May 11, said Caley Bornbaum, the chief development officer of Campfire Circle. The event has already raised more than a million dollars for the charity.
“We provide our camp programs free of charge for families … We aren’t able to deliver our programs without the generosity of folks who have helped to be a part of this event,” Bornbaum said. “It’s a game changer for the organization.”
The charity supports more than 5,000 children annually — including 10-year-old Nori Cheong, who, like Nirankari, was also diagnosed with stage four neuroblastoma in early 2021.
“Since then, I’ve gone through many chemos, immunotherapies, surgeries, bone marrow transplants, and I have conquered it three times now,” she said. “But it came back again this year, January, so I’m still fighting for a permanent cure.”
Nori’s father, Jeff, said his daughter’s diagnosis was “devastating” for their family. “There was a lot of fear and moments of anger at the world, but now we manage it well,” he said. “We take things day by day.”
After the initial confusion and difficulties adjusting to life in the hospital, Nori was able to find a community of other children through Campfire Circle and become a kid again, Jeff said.
“Nori really clicked with these people and it was just this really great moment for her,” he said. “Mom and Dad could step away and we can take time for ourselves to recoup, and Nori could just be in full-on kid mode to do crafts and play.”
This year, Nori, her family and her team of about 15 supporters are also intent on running the 10-kilometre race. They’ve raised more than $11,000 so far.
Outside of the activities, Nori is still undergoing chemotherapy as her medical team works on a long-term solution: “We have our weekly visit to the hospital, Nori maintains her treatment and keeps on squeezing as much fun as possible out of Campfire Circle,” Jeff said. “And we just keep on pushing forward.”
Meanwhile, Sidhu had promised to take his daughter to every Disneyland in the world in early 2025 — but before they could go, a tumour about the size of a tennis ball was found wrapped around her spine, cancelling their trip and plunging Nirankari into another three rounds of chemo.
Her situation has since stabilized, and the family still dreams of making the trip a reality — they already have their sights set on Disneyland in Tokyo, although they might “have to wait a few years” before visiting the ones in the U.S., Sidhu said.
“We’re just living from one scan to another,” he continued. “But looking in the future, I’m just glad that things are getting better.”
