My Visit to Shad

Cancer is so limited...
It cannot cripple love.
It cannot shatter hope.
It cannot corrode faith.
It cannot eat away peace.
It cannot destroy confidence.
It cannot kill friendship.
It cannot shut out memories.
It cannot silence courage.
It cannot reduce eternal life.
It cannot quench the Spirit.


Some survive it, some don't, for me they are all heroes and angels. A fight against cancer is nothing like any other battle. My own mother is a cancer survivor, i have friends and family members who have lost a loved one because of it. We all say cancer sucks!

Let's move on to my client Shad who I recently visited. I met his family back in November 2012 for a Holiday Family Portrait. I recall his mom Jessica telling me about Shad being sick and not doing well with trips recently. They got to the venue to do our shoot a little early to give Shad a little elbow room for recovery from the trip. They drove about 1 hour or so to get to our beautiful beach session.


All went well and we had a great time. I once again captured a very loving family behind my camera (the most fulfilling part of my job).

                   One of the favorite shots from their session and what was used for their Holiday Card

                 Two weeks had gone and I received a letter from a lady named Dianne. So here it goes:

Kristine,

My name is Dianne Johnson and I met you recently when you took family photos of my daughter Jessica, her husband, Trevor and their son, Shad. Perhaps you recall that Jessica told you that Shad had not been feeling well for the few days prior to the photo shoot. Well, after the shoot he rapidly got worse and on this past Thursday Jessica took him to the emergency room. There they discovered that he had several tumors, one in his pelvic area and one on his spine. He had to undergo emergency surgery to remove the tumor on his spine because it was seriously affecting his mobility. He came through the surgery well, for which we are grateful, but for the time being is bed ridden. He has a very long road of chemotherapy and radiation ahead of him along with several other problems and more surgeries. We have a lot of faith and support from family and friends and we are optimistically hopeful, but no one really knows what the future holds for their little family.

Jessica has mentioned to me how grateful she is that she had their family pictures taken when she did. I just wanted to let you know how thankful we all are that you were willing to use your talent to capture the love that this family has for each other so beautifully. The photos are truly wonderful and mean so much more to us now than they did a week ago. Never again will this family be as innocent and carefree as you captured them being on the beach such a short time ago. Thank you for helping us preserve a moment that has quickly fled. We hope that you will continue to use your gift to bless the lives of other families as you have blessed ours.

Thanks again,

Dianne

This letter moved me, i cried the whole night thinking about that boy, he is too young, it is not fair! I reached out to his family but gave it sometime for it is a difficult time and a hard pill to swallow.

I moved on with my life, with my business, but not a single day Shad never crossed my mind. How is he? What is he doing now? I hope they let me know.

I e-mailed twice, i never got a response, but I know, i am just a photographer, I should not push it that hard. Then again, the 1 hour you spend with them, editing, and them letting me know should mean something right?

Make it short and sweet, Ms. Jessica finally reached out again and giving me a link to her personal blog with all updates and details about Shad. It felt like a reunion happening to me.

I have been wanting to see Shad, Jessica, and Trevor. To see how they are, to tell them how much I care. I told Jessica I'd love to be a part of Shad's journey and I'd be here for them.

The doctor originally said that shad will have to undergo atleast 12 chemotherapy, he's undergone 4 and doing very well... We might not have to get up there! I'll let you go to mom's blog for update here(link)

Here's all the images of the visit. Such a joy to see such high spirit from a child battling cancer. I meet people who worry about little things and not appreciate what they have. This boy surely radiates optimism, courage, and strength.

                                      Shad is showing me a stick he picked up from the ground.

                                                                  Playing in his slide.

                                                Playing with mom, such a beautiful sight.

                               Pretending he lost an arm after playing light saber fight with mom.

                                                                       Say Cheese!
Shad loves to run, play with legos, star wars legos, eat cupcakes, pretend like he is a dinosaur and have sword fights, even light saber fights.  FYI, I lost my arms and legs fighting him LOL

                                                                                :)

                                                        Throwing the stick, so carefree!

                                                                Look at the stickers mom!

                                       So much LOVE, and true LOVE does conquer ALL!

Please continue to pray that he wins this battle.  He is a hero to me, and he will always be!  Jessica, thank you for welcoming me, my husband and my mother into your home.  You have a very strong, wonderful child.  With your family, friends, and the Lord, we are here with you!

 

 

Here is a video I made for Shad's family.  Please grab a box of kleenex, just in case;)

 

 

 

 

                                                                                   Kristine

                                                       www.kristinewahnerphotography.com

                                                   www.facebook.com/kristinewahnerphotography