Aahana - the meaning
Most indian names have a meaning. We took almost 4 weeks to pick a name for our newborn baby girl. In hindsight, it's almost serendipitous that we chose the name Aahana. Aahana truly lived upto her name in the short life that she had.
Aahana means Morning Glory "First rays of the sun". Her morning smiles touched my heart with a tickle and brightened up my day. Aahana had the sweetest smile I have ever seen.
It is also suggested that the name means "Angel".
It also means light within oneself - the "inner light" "inner happiness". Also called popularly as "Aatma Jyothi" of "Antar Jyothi". I always tell everyone that Aahana was a happy soul. In her short lifetime, she actually never had very fussy days, she was mostly content. Her demeanor still gives me strength each day to look for and to do things that make me happy.
Aahana also has a Sanskrit meaning "Strong willed like steel" and "The Immortal one; someone who will live in all hearts forever". In her short lifetime, Aahana touched so many lives. And each one who had the chance to meet Aahana, remembers baby Aahana with so much love. She will no doubt live in our hearts forever.
Aahana's legacy is the love and the light she leaves in our hearts forever.
Living with AT/RT
Only the wearer knows where the shoe pinches. It can be hard to gauge the suffering and/or pain, if any, in a child who cannot express explicitly what she is going through.
As parents of Aahana, we have seen Aahana manage her symptoms herself with grace and patience. Thankfully, she did not need any pain medication. There were so many days that Aahana steered through with just milk and love. She did fight nausea, progressive drowsiness, breathing changes, short-lived (5-7 seconds) seizures, limited mobility, and had difficulty swallowing in the 3 months that she lived after the diagnosis.
We will continue to share our story, Aahana's journey, in our blog. The blog is closed to friends and family who want to know more about Aahana's journey. However, if you have stumbled upon this page doing some web searches, chances are that you want to know more about Aahana's journey as well. We pray for your and your family's well-being. Please drop us an email at and we will connect with you at the earliest.