Earlier this past spring – this mama reached out to me wanting me to photograph her little girl. Her last baby – her baby girl – was diagnosed with hearing loss soon after birth. As soon as I read her e-mail – I was quick to call her. We chatted for an hour and she told me her story and how she wanted the shoot to focus on the joy she has for her sweet girl. As someone who knows first hand what it feels like to have your world turned upside down when your child is given a frightening diagnosis. When you quickly realize you have been inducted into a club you never wanted to be part of. You desperately want to rewind to a time – a time before the diagnosis – a time when you were blissfully ignorant. Your emotions start to run in all different directions – from protective mama bear, to grief, to fear but all of these emotions eventually lead to the emotion that allows the sun to shine again – HOPE. Hope is where you start to put one foot in front of the other. It is where you see how strong you really are. It is where you realize that this new club isn’t as bad as you originally thought… in fact you realize you were made to be this baby’s mama and this baby was made to be yours. Hope is where you learn to kick despair in the face and say… “WE CAN DO THIS”. My lessons from the past 10 years could fill a book – but more importantly these lessons have made me a more compassionate and grateful mother. Being a mother is a privilege – and being a mother to a child with special needs is a gift. CHOOSE HOPE.
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