This is Kairi. 💜🦄✨ Kairi Fae Kapualani was so much more than a diagnosis. She was our beautiful, bright, deeply loved little girl—the fourth-born of six children, a daughter, a sister, and an unforgettable light in the lives of everyone who knew her. Kairi was born unassisted in Nanawale Estates on Hawaiʻi Island, surrounded from the very beginning by family, land, and a way of life deeply connected to the earth. Hawaiʻi was her first home, and it was where she grew up with her hands in the soil. From the time she was little, Kairi helped our family plant food forests and grow tropical foods. She learned to forage for plants and herbal remedies that her mother, a traditional birth keeper, would use in caring for birthing families and community elders. Kairi often accompanied her mother while supporting families through pregnancy, birth, and postpartum. Caring for people, growing food, gathering plants, and being part of community life weren’t things separated from her childhood—they were simply part of how she grew up. Kairi was an enrolled citizen of the Cherokee Nation, and after her diagnosis, she had the opportunity to live within the Cherokee Nation Reservation and spend precious time immersed in her culture and community. That connection to her people, her ancestors, the land, and the traditions being carried forward for the next generation became an especially meaningful part of the final chapter of her life. And Kairi had so many things that were simply Kairi. Her favorite color was purple. 💜 She absolutely loved Highland cows. She loved singing country music, eating tropical foods grown from the land, laughing, being silly, and being surrounded by her brothers and sisters. She had a smile that could completely change a room. We loved the sound of her laugh, the sound of her voice, the way she would walk toward us, and the way her entire face would light up when she smiled. The things that once felt like ordinary pieces of everyday life are now among our family’s most treasured memories. On January 22, 2026, at six years old, Kairi was diagnosed with DIPG—Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma, an aggressive childhood brain tumor. In an instant, our family’s world changed. Kairi underwent 30 rounds of radiation, receiving a total of 54 Gy, and completed radiation on March 17, 2026. She continued pursuing treatment options, including participation in a clinical trial. Through appointments, hospitals, treatments, travel, uncertainty, and changes no child should ever have to experience, Kairi showed us a kind of strength that is difficult to put into words. But we never want the hardest months of her life to become the definition of her life. Before DIPG, during DIPG, and in every memory we carry forward, she was Kairi. She was the little girl with her hands in the earth. She was the little girl gathering plants alongside her mother. She was the little girl singing country songs and dreaming about Highland cows. She was a Cherokee girl who had the opportunity to spend part of her final year living within her Nation and surrounded by her culture. She was a daughter and the fourth of six siblings. She was our purple-loving, tropical-fruit-eating, beautiful unicorn girl. On July 9, 2026, at 3:52 p.m., Kairi passed away at seven years old, less than six months after her diagnosis. There are no words big enough for what it means to lose her. We miss everything about her—her expressions, her movements, her laughter, her voice, her presence, and simply having her here with us. Our love for Kairi did not end when her life did, and neither will her story. Our family is carrying her name forward through Kairi’s Star Foundation and through our commitment to childhood cancer and DIPG advocacy. We want the seeds Kairi planted during her life—both literally and figuratively—to continue growing. We want her life to help create a future where another family hears the words “your child has DIPG” and is met with more options, more research, more time, and ultimately, a cure. We are honored for Kairi to be remembered as a DIPG Warrior through The Cure Starts Now. Kairi Fae Kapualani will always be our daughter, our sister, our beautiful unicorn girl, and our star. 💜🦄✨ This is Kairi. And we will keep saying her name.

Thank you for choosing to donate to The Cure Starts Now Foundation. 100% of this donation, after credit card processing fees, goes directly towards research to find the homerun cure for cancer starting with pediatric brain cancer research.

If you would like to make a donation by mail please send a check to:  The Cure Starts Now Foundation; 10280 Chester Road; Cincinnati, OH 45215 and put the child's name in the memo.

The family receives notification of all donations made to this tribute fund automatically. Thank you again for giving.  The cure starts with you…The Cure Starts NOW!