Threads of Hope

As a teen, Vivek would often buy white t-shirts and draw smiley faces on them with markers. He enjoyed expressing his thoughts and feelings through his shirts. As he approached his high school graduation, most of his thoughts revolved around college and his bright future ahead.

He’d been accepted at the University of California, Los Angeles, and planned to study science, his favorite subject.   

"I had my whole life set up," says Vivek. "Friends, relationships, school. I remember thinking, 'Man, I am on a good track.'” 

Two days after graduation, he was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia. “Everything was put on hold,” he says. “All I wanted to do my entire life was go to college, and now there was a good chance that wouldn't happen." 

Instead of heading to UCLA, Vivek underwent 186 days straight of treatment, with three cycles of chemotherapy and a stem cell transplant. He spent the entirety of his treatment in the hospital, including his 18th birthday. Aside from the occasional visits from his parents and care from the medical staff, Vivek spent the six months mostly alone and in isolation, in part due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

To get through the long days and nights alone, Vivek tried art therapy. Sketching and turning his drawings into shirts became his outlet as a way to express his feelings about his experience in the hospital.

When referred to Make-A-Wish Greater Bay Area, Vivek initially thought about using his wish to help pay for college, but that didn't feel quite right to him. Then he saw a Macy's campaign where a wish kid named Elizabeth had designed a dress, and he realized he could do more with his wish. 

“This is a wish of a lifetime,” says Vivek. “I wanted to use it as an experience or as a connection that I couldn’t get anywhere else. It’s always been a dream of mine that I could help other kids going through the same thing by creating these designs. After all, my designs helped me get through my treatments, and maybe they can help others get through theirs.”

Vivek wished to be a fashion designer in order to make his dream a reality.

Make-A-Wish Greater Bay Area reached out to Macy's to partner on Vivek’s wish. Vivek worked directly with Macy’s product and design teams to create a capsule collection with three designs for their Sun + Stone clothing line—two sweatshirts and a jersey. In honor of his wish, Macy’s donated 50 percent of the December 2022 sales of Vivek’s collection back to Make-A-Wish, raising $20,000 to grant more wishes. 

"Macy's had a huge team of people working on this," says Susie Falk, Vivek's wish planner and VP of Program at Make-A-Wish Greater Bay Area. "They were really excited about his project. Vivek would present his hand-sketched designs from his hospital experience, and they were huge hits. Everyone on the team was all for executing his vision." 

To bring the designs to life, Macy's design team sent Vivek fabric samples of different colors and materials from which to choose. From the color choice to fabric selection, type of stitching, and design placement, Vivek designed each piece down to the last detail.   

"Throughout this entire experience I felt like a new hire," says Vivek. “That's something I respect. Macy’s treated me like a real individual, and they honored my intentions.” 

After finalizing the capsule collection, Vivek flew from California to New York to tour a factory and learn how garments are made, from start to finish. Then came the photo shoot. Vivek worked with Macy's team of professional photographers to model his three pieces for Macy's in-store and online launch. 

“Our entire team learned so much from Vivek,” says Gina McGuinness, Macy’s Director of Strategic Sourcing, “he taught us what resilience truly is. He is such an inspiration to all of us. The highlight for me was seeing the joy and pride on his face when he was modeling his designs at the photoshoot.” 

“I started this wish process not knowing where I belonged,” says Vivek, “I didn't know” where I fit or if I would fit anywhere… I felt a little lost. I was so isolated after coming out of the hospital. Transitioning back to society was hard, but this whole process helped with that, and it also was a source of confidence and validation that I needed, especially when modeling in New York.”

On the day of the wish celebration, Vivek's family, friends, supporters, Macy's and Make-A-Wish Greater Bay Area team members, and volunteers lined up alongside aisles of Macy's in San Jose, cheering Vivek on as he walked in the doors. Vivek's doctors and medical staff were also there with their families to celebrate Vivek's accomplishments.   

"People always ask why I am in the field that I'm in," Dr. Ram Rao, Vivek's primary doctor and a Pediatric Hematology Oncology Fellow at Stanford University, said at the event. “It's days like this. This was the first wish that I got to be a part of. To see him put so much effort and creativity behind it and not do it for himself but to help others; really gives you a real perspective on life. This is why I do what I do." 

During the celebration, Vivek got to see his capsule collection for sale on the Macy’s floor for the first time. Then, three wish alums walked the catwalk in Vivek’s designs. 

Max, one of the wish alum models, said of the experience: "Each piece resonates with me, and I completely relate to his story and experience because mine was so similar. These clothes would've meant so much to me in the hospital, and I know it will give other kids hope too." 

“This is what I wanted to accomplish,” says Vivek says, “This was the entire goal; to help other patients feel understood.” 

Vivek is now in remission and in his second year at UCLA as an undergrad in pre-med, looking toward a future of helping others.   

"I'm out of the hospital, but I still face challenges every day," he says. "It's hard to adjust back to normalcy; back to society and to college. Make-A-Wish really helped me transition from this patient in the hospital who had completely lost control of my life to finding a way to express those feelings and become mentally healthy again." 

Thank you, Macy's, for helping make wishes like Vivek's come true.