my job is incredibly unique in that i get to enter into a persons life for a moment and capture something profound. sometimes i get to do this a couple of times, maybe once a year while the kids are young. sometimes clients become friends. i like to think i am a personable, nice person, but i think the real reason is because of the vulnerability of being in front of a camera and having someone photograph you. it’s an intimacy that i love and am so grateful for.
recently i had a beautiful family into my studio. aimee and evani and their blue eyed alexa. it was like most portrait sessions, adorable baby, happy parents. they loved the images, we became facebook friends and stayed in touch. a couple of months later i received a message from aimee.
“On Wednesday morning, Evani took me to VGH Emergency because I was having severe abdominal pain. We spent the day there and late in the afternoon, they found a tumour in my colon. I was admitted to hospital and got a biopsy and a full CT scan the next day of my chest, abdomen and pelvis area. We received the results of those tests yesterday morning.
The tumour is malignant and aggressive and the cancer has unfortunately already spread to my liver. Today, I am having surgery to remove the tumour and then once I’ve healed from that, will be put on a plan to treat the rest of the cancer with chemo, etc.”
i read those words over and over. the message went on and my heart ripped when i read her thoughts and fears and love for her family.
i sent aimee a response and asked permission to be a part of her story. to document her fight for alexa, for evani, and for her. i visited them in the hospital post-surgery and will be periodically documenting their journey. what’s really amazed me is the support and community that has formed around them. a good friend of aimee’s, margo, started a milk drive. aimee had been exclusively breastfeeding baby alexa and wasn’t anywhere near ready to stop. margo has been organizing the drive to gather milk for alexa! the response went viral and was (still is) phenomenal!! if you are able to donate breastmilk, email margo: [email protected]. you can read and watch more about aimee’s story here and here.
aimee’s brother has started a page for financial donations that can be found here.
aimee and evani. i am so grateful to have met you both (and alexa!). i am so honoured to be a part of your lives and document this journey and fight. thank you for opening up to me. your love is inspirational.
the images in this gallery are from both the studio portrait session and first hospital visit.
Oh my goodness, that baby! The love in this family is loud and clear. Aimee, Evani and Alexa, if there’s anything I can ever do to help (I’m in Victoria), please ask - Bethany knows how to find me. :)
Hoping for the best for them. In regards to breastmilk, another resource is human milk for human babies, see FB link below.
https://m.facebook.com/HM4HBBritishColumbia?id=206106512736831&_rdr
This is so utterly beautiful. THANK YOU for sharing. The first of the hospital shots is mind blowing - you can see the joy on Amiee’s face as that beautiful baby comes towards her… she is so in the present moment. wow. Sending the most wonderful blessed thoughts to Amiee and her lovely family.
What a beautiful story about how community comes together when we need it!! sending all three lovely ladies the healthy powers they need over the next few months.
Although this probably has been explored, Evani may want to explore re-lactation as a means of possibly providing more BM for their daughter. As an adopted mother, this was an option I investigated (sadly not appropriate in my situation), but i have know of many adopted mom who have been able to establish a supplemental BM supply.
blessing to you all.