VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) —This weekend, there is a race for a good cause in Virginia Beach— the third annual Breathe n Run 5K, with the event supporting pulmonary fibrosis and honoring one special woman.
Lyla and Sanya Chandiramani have special memories of their grandmother, Kavita Chandiramani. Sadly, they lost her in 2014 to pulmonary fibrosis. They organized this run in her memory.
“Our grandmother was the most determined, and she was absolutely amazing,” said Breathe n Run co-founder Lyla Chandiramani.Kavita Chandiramani would travel from India to visit her granddaughters, spending six months of the year with them in Virginia Beach.“I think one of my favorite memories is just like, her coming home to Virginia and us showing her around, the culture is obviously very different than India,” said Sanya Chandiramani, Lyla Chandiramani’s sister and event co-founder. “And for her to cook us a home-cooked meal and bring a little bit of India to us.”2013 was the last of those visits.“The last trip was one of the hardest because every doctor recommended her not to travel, but she still fought through it,” Lyla Chandiramani said.Kavita Chandiramani suffered from pulmonary fibrosis, a progressive and irreversible lung disease. It causes scarring of the lung tissue, making it increasingly difficult to breathe. The sisters knew the difficulty of losing someone they loved and felt called to shine a light on the disease.“Losing someone so close to you is definitely hard, especially me,” Sanya Chandiramani said. “I was at a very young age, so it’s my first big loss. It was definitely very impactful. And with that in mind, we wanted to make a difference in the community and help others.”The name Breathe n Run is a reminder to others not to take breathing for granted. The 5K starts at 14th Street at the fishing pier. They’ll run to 26th Street and back to complete the 5K. Then, there will be an afterparty at Fishtails Restaurant and Bar, a sponsor of the run. Having an event like this keeps their grandmother close at heart.“It’s a way to have her memory live on and also give back to the community because pulmonary fibrosis doesn’t have a cure and it’s hard losing a loved one,” Lyla Chandiramani said…