Radhika Lal Snyder Family Fund

Our hearts go out to the Lal and Snyder families with the loss of their beloved Radhika in Minneapolis on July 4th, 2021. Radhika was a loving mom, wife, daughter, sister, friend, and medical doctor. Radhika was swept away by severe postpartum mental illness, and overcome by psychosis that ended her life when her son was 10 weeks old.

Radhika was warm and welcoming and brought a smile to everyone’s face - from her patients to her neighbors to her friends and family. She consistently put others’ needs above her own. She tightened the bonds between her many friends and served as the glue in all of her networks: from family and classmates in India, to St. Benedict’s and St. John’s to Stanford University to the University of Minnesota, and then to her clinics in the Twin Cities area.

Radhika was born in New Delhi in 1982 and grew up in India. She came to the United States for undergraduate studies at the College of Saint Benedict in 1999. Smart as a whip and focused on her family, she graduated college with a double major in Economics and Computer Science with the intent of supporting her sisters’ education. She would have thrived in any field, but at 28 she decided that her job in technology was not fulfilling and decided to become a doctor.

To pursue medicine, she had to start from scratch in a post-bachelor’s pre-med program, taking lab science courses to prepare for medical school. Radhika eventually returned home to Minnesota for medical school at the University of Minnesota. She chose medicine because she wanted to help individual people and improve the equity of health in resource-denied communities and with immigrant and refugee families who struggle to access our health care systems. Her determination and perseverance saw her through the intense next decade to become a doctor, always being her best self to her family and friends. As a doctor in Plymouth, she specialized in maternal and family health.

Her passing was sudden and was a shock to her friends and family whose grief remains profound. Radhika leaves behind a loving and devoted husband and 2 beautiful children: a daughter who is 9 and a son who is now 8 months old (as of December 2021). With her passing, the family will face financial hardship. There have been expenses for memorial services, counseling support, and other costs related to her death, and also an abrupt transition to a single-income household. Any funds not used for immediate family needs will be directed to the children’s college savings. Let us lend a hand to Radhika's family so they can focus on what matters: mourning her loss, remembering all of the wonderful times they shared, and starting the difficult journey forward.

This fundraiser has been approved by Radhika’s family. We are deeply grateful for any contribution you can make. 

Radhika and her family have also been very deeply involved in the following organizations which shaped and influenced their life here in Minnesota. If you are so inclined you can consider a donation in her honor instead of a contribution to this GoFundMe collection, to support one of these causes and organizations that mean so much to the Snyder family and others.

A) Camp Masala <Camp Masala web site >  - This South Asian culture and history camp for families has been an annual summer tradition for the Snyder family, and we would love to see the camp flourish well into the future. 

B) Student Scholarship at Saint Benedict  <CSB Alumnae and Giving web site > - Radhika was passionate about her education at CSB/SJU and was discussing future sponsorship of student scholarships at St. Ben's.

From the link above click "Give Online Today" > Select the second circle for "other designation" > Scroll to the bottom of the pop-up and select "other - please specify designation" > click "continue" button > in the "Please specify what fund" box type "In Memory of Radhika Lal Snyder"

C) Radhika Lal Snyder Postpartum Doula Sponsorship Program  <Dr Lal Snyder Postpartum Doula Scholarhip > - The Pregnancy and Post Partum Support Minnesota group has set up a sponsorship program in Radhika's honor to support the emotional health needs of Minnesota families during the perinatal period. Their program provides up to 64 hours of in-home doula support for free to prevent future families from having to face the pain of loss that can result from untreated PMADs (Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders).

D) Dr. Mom Foundation - This new foundation has been created to support the improvement of mental and physical health for mothers and other parents who work in the health care and healing professions. This foundation was created by the families of Dr. Radhika Lal Snyder and Dr. Gretchen Wenner Butler, who both died by suicide in 2021, leaving behind young families and promising careers as healers. The Dr. Mom Foundation will soon have a web site with more details about its partnerships and ways donors can support its mission and programs. Please email Seth Snyder at "sethcsnydermn" at gmail dot com to receive a future update on the launch of an official website for the Dr. Mom Foundation.