Dhillon, who owns Prabh Indian Kitchen restaurant in downtown Mill Valley with her husband Raghbir Dhindsa, was at home with her two-year-old son Rajveer, helping him put his Halloween costume on before they went to a party. As they got set to leave the house, Rajveer collapsed. The family dashed over to the emergency room at Marin General. He was diagnosed with Type I Diabetes soon thereafter.
“I was just so devastated,” Dhillon says.
But for Dhillon, within the trauma of that moment came the resolve to help others who’ve gone through a similar experience. She immediately went into action, researching the wide range of supporting organizations and identifying ways to help.
“I now feel that god has a message for me,” she says of Rajveer’s diagnosis. “I now have more compassion. It has opened many doors in my heart and it has opened me up to the community.”
Dhillon, who grew up in northern India, moved to the United States in 1986 with her first husband, with whom she has a now-23-year-old son. She’s lived most of the past two decades in Marin.
“Once you move here, you don’t want to live anywhere else,” she says with a laugh.
While Dhillon was living in San Anselmo, she met Dhindsa through mutual friends and they married soon after. In late 2013, they bought Prabh from their friends Harjeet and Joti Singh, and moved to Mill Valley.
“For the parents of children living with any serious medical condition, it is extremely hard,” she adds. “We are a working family struggling to run our business. But now I see that we can help others go through it like we are.”
The 411: Prabh Indian Kitchen’s “Bollywood Night” fundraiser for Type I Diabetes is November 14 at 6:30pm at 24 Sunnyside Avenue. Call 415.384.8421 for more info. GO HERE to buy tickets.