Chaitanya Gompa was born on April 22, 1993, in Visakhapatnam, State of Andhra Pradesh(AP), India. The eldest son of a Government Civil Engineer and a very supportive & understanding homemaker. Chaitu was born with giant pigmented nevus (birth mole) covering most of his body. He also had Congenital Talipus (clubbed foot) by birth. This is not very commonly seen in children and people & families are not used to seeing a child with such abnormalities. Though it was painful to see their child born with such abnormalities, his parents and whole of Chaitanya's family members, relatives and friends always treated him like a normal child. He was very cute and liked by everyone in the family. Chaitu had his first surgery to his clubbed foot at the age of 3 months. since the birth of Chaitanya, parents have been fighting against the odds of science and were exploring every possible options to give their son a better life and possibly have him  treated for abnormalities for complete cure.  His Annaprasana (First Feeding) was performed when he was 9 months at Lord Venkateswara Temple, Tirumala. Since then Lord Venkateswara has become Chaitu's favorite god.

Chaitu completed his Kindergarten at Glory's Foundation school, Hyderabad. He was very smart in both mathematics and science. While Chaitu was growing, his parents continued their relentless efforts to give him cure and visited many leading doctors in India for obtaining a treatment for possible cure. Their efforts didn't yield the desired results but this didn't stop the parents thinking about other options and having a hope that their child would get treated for cure one day. They got to know that in US medical science was very advanced and there is certainly a hope that they may find right institute and doctor(s) who could provide treatment for their son's rare diseases. 12 years ago, it was very uncommon for a government civil engineer to think about quitting job for learning computers to obtain a job in US with only hope of finding a possible treatment for his son. It was equally uncommon for a homemaker who comes for a very big joint family with several supportive families around her to consider leaving all of them to play her part in the fight to save her child and to come in total support of her husband.

Chitanya's parents continued their journey and in the process slowly started educating their son about his condition and at the same time giving him all the needed mental support. This not only made their son mentally very strong but also their efforts resulted in almost a miracle and the child's life during the course of their journey almost got extended by 15 years. Their efforts not only resulted in extending life of Chaitanya but also have resulted in their child seeing at least some wonderful things in the world. This is contrary to common opinion leading doctors have expressed during parents visits for treatment.

Soon after coming to US, when Chaitanya was 5 1/2 years and  a cancer tumor developed on his left ankle (Rhabdomyo Sarcoma). He got an excellent treatment at UCSF, San Francisco. Both the parents were new to US and father was to shuttle between work and hospital for most part during this period. At the same time, mother not only rose to occasion by being with the child all the time but took care about everything necessary to support her husband so that their family could be successfully run. He was treated with chemotherapy and radiation for about 9 months and got complete cure for the cancer.

Chaitu had enjoyed playing with video games and he had all the consoles like Play station, PSP, WII, XBOX etc., He had mastered playing these games and his friends used to get surprised with his skills. Chaitu also developed excellent knowledge in computers and he helped his friends and neighbors resolving the issues.

Chaitu always talks about doing the Robotics (Artificial Intelligence) in the college. He also had a passion in music (Electric Guitar) and his favorite band was Metallica. He had been visiting UCSF for the Follow-up checkup at least once a year and never had any traces of recurrence of tumor for about 10 yrs and finally he was diagnosed with Melanoma. During his stay at UCSF for his melanoma treatment, Chaitu has taught us how to live, how to laugh, and most importantly and how to love. Chaitu's innocence, grace, humor, and compassion for others have changed all who knew him. In the midst of his own pain and suffering, he had his finest hour, rising up to make this world a better place. Finally, he lost the battle against the incurable melanoma cancer on November, 04, 2008. He is a true star and his parents, family and friends lost a loving kid. 

But the journey still continues even though Chitanya is physically no more present, his parents are continuing what his son would have ideally loved and have started Chaitanya Gompa Charity, Inc to help children like Chaitanya.