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Diwali celebration with Team Miracle Maya

Family hosting fundraiser on Nov. 7 towards goal of raising $100,000 for B.C. Children’s Hospital
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Team Miracle Maya is hosting a Diwali party at Surrey's Bombay Banquet Hall on Nov. 7. The Abbotsford family is trying to raise $100

Imagine holding your child’s hand when all of a sudden, their eyes go blank.

The machines they are connected to begins to beep incessantly and doctors and nurses quickly jump into action.

That is what Karm and Gary Ahuja faced on Oct. 18, 2010.

Their daughter Maya — just four months of age — had undergone open-heart surgery to repair a hole in her heart and was in the recovery room at B.C. Children’s Hospital.

Surgery had gone well the doctors said, so the parents were beside their daughter when she suddenly flat-lined.

The doctors and nurses were able to revive Maya and she spent the next week in a drug-induced coma, hooked up to a heart and lung machine.

Thankfully, Maya was saved.

She did face some health challenges the past few years, and still needs another heart surgery to correct a second hole they discovered during the initial operation.

But her family has not forgotten just how much B.C. Children’s Hospital helped save their little girl and thousands of others from across the province.

They formed Team Miracle Maya in 2013 with a goal of raising $100,000 for the B.C. Children’s Hospital, as a way of saying thanks.

In two years, Team Miracle Maya has managed to raise close to $33,000.

“We are lucky we live somewhere where we have access to this life-saving care,” Gary Ahuja said.

“Without this care, who knows what may have happened to Maya.

“This is our way of saying ‘thank you’ for all the work the doctors and nurses do at B.C. Children’s Hospital.”

The majority of the money comes from the team’s annual gala fundraiser and this year’s event will be held Saturday, Nov. 7 at Surrey’s Bombay Banquet Hall.

The event, which is presented by CabinetBed Inc. and Black Press, is a Diwali theme this year.

Diwali is a festival of lights held each autumn and celebrates new beginnings and the triumph of good over evil and light over darkness.

The family-friendly evening begins at 6 p.m. and will feature a photo booth, silent auction, 50/50 draw and raffle prizes, as well as a toonie toss.

The menu is a gourmet Indian buffet dinner.

Tickets are $50 or $360 for a table of eight, with a portion of that eligible for a tax receipt.

Kids 10 and under are free, and ages 11 to 17 are $25.

For tickets, please call 604-613-5242 or email garyahuja@hotmail.com.

Tickets will not be available at the door.

For more on Team Miracle Maya’s efforts, click here or visit the Facebook page,