The Palmer Family

A few weeks ago I had the joy of photographing the Palmer family. Chris and Katie have six children. All of them are super adorable and each have their own unique little personalities for sure.

Katie and I first met during the holidays last year and we started talking about our children. I found out she also has children with special needs and I mentioned I am a photographer focusing on photographing children with differing needs like ours. She agreed photography sessions can be difficult with children with varying needs. I know it's a comfort for my families to have a photographer who "gets it". The rewards of doing what I do go far beyond taking a picture. Providing a service to parents who might not otherwise think that having a photo session is even an option, is  my joy in life. 

After our initial meeting, Katie reached out to me in the spring and we just wrapped up our session and photos a bit ago.

My goal as a photographer with my special needs clients is not only to make them feel comfortable during sessions, but to also raise awareness of their varying disorders, diseases, syndromes and special needs.

I want to share a bit about Madelyn, Katie and Chris's four year old daughter. She was born at just 23 weeks and weighed only 16 oz.  She immediately went into the NICU. She was born with enlarged ventricles in her brain, a brain bleed, central apnea and Cerebral Palsy. She had to have heart surgery at just seven days old and continues to have lingering heart abnormalities. She has chronic lung disease, asthma, seizures, Autism, and global developmental delay. 

The Doctors told Katie and Chris that they didn't believe Madelyn was going to survive at birth. I can only imagine the pain that Katie and Chris went through during this time. Madelyn is a survivor though. She spent 93 days in the NICU and went home at 37, weeks which is unheard of for preemie babies. They typically stay until they would have been full term. When she went home she was 5 lbs, 15oz! She came home on oxygen and remained on it for a year and a half. She was a fighter from the start and to this day still is. She is also the most adorable, sweetest little girl you could ever have the joy to meet. She just started attending a Preschool for children with Autism and rode the bus to and from her school for the first time! She absolutely loves her new school and riding the bus which helps makes this new transition a slight bit less nerve-wracking for Katie.

Click on the following key words if you would like to know more about Cerebral Palsy, Autism, Premature birth or Seizures.

Here is Miss Madelyn in all her beautiful glory.

Ani and Evi

I was honored once again to photograph the two Ng girls a few weeks ago. The girls normally love all over each other, but of course on the day the photographer shows up, not so much. Mom and Dad, -Sophia and Benny- as well as myself and my little assistant (Maddie), all worked hard to get a few poses with the two girls together.

Tangerines from the back yard tree seemed to be an unexpected gathering place where they both enjoyed counting and checking out all the lovely ripened fruit. Sophia said, "well it is a California Christmas", and that is the truth. Pretty girls in Christmas dresses with all their oranges says California for sure.

Ani was born with a rare condition called Tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC, see http://www.tsalliance.org), that causes many complex, difficult physical symptoms. From day one of her diagnosis as a baby, Sophia and Benny have been exploring every possible option to help diminish the impact of this condition for Ani, particularly medication resistant seizures caused by tumors (or tubers) in her brain. Despite Ani’s positive strides in development, over the past two years, her daily seizure frequency and duration have increased significantly, leaving Sophia and Benny to consider surgery to remove brain tissue from which the strongest seizures are generated. In October, Ani underwent  surgical brain procedures and treatment at Boston Children's Hospital by some of the world's experts. These invasive procedures were not meant to cure her condition, but were to help diminish her seizures. In that sense the surgeries were a success. Although Ani is still having daily seizures, they are less than what they were prior to surgery.

As a mom of a child who has undergone brain surgery for his seizure disorder, I know all too well the difficulties associated with having to see your child go through such a severe and complex surgery. One of my main goals as a photographer who specializes in photographing children and families with special needs is to bring awareness to the many disorders and conditions that our children are affected with. 

To read more about TSC and how you can make a difference in the life of a child with TSC, go to
http://www.tsalliance.org.

Before you do though, check out these two beautiful dolls I had the privilege of photographing.