again and again :)

do you ever watch a little kid in front of a full length mirror?
              it's quite funny.
                        especially if they think they are alone.
     they dance.
         they check out their teeth.
                they make funny faces.
I'm pretty sure that almost every kid loves to look at themselves. adults too. :)
   if you take a picture of them...they eagerly want to stare at it.
      they put it in a spot they can come back to again and again just to look at it.

but what if that kid doesn't get to just be that goofy, wiggly kid?
             what if they're stuck in a hospital bed?
                        are they somehow less of a kid?
     I think not.

this nagging though kept growing in my mind these last couple months.
who takes the picture that the sick kids get to come back to again and again?
they should have a happy picture to look at, too.
that. I could help with. :)

enter inspiration through art (formerly known as the littlest hero's project).
this organization puts photographers and "little hero's" who have signed up for the program.
(kids who are sick or who have been sick or are more challenged physically than other kids)
basically it allows me to show up
   spend some time with their family and snap a bunch of photos
   that they get to come back to, again and again.
             pretty sure I get the best end of the deal. :)

after about a month, I got an email from the little girl I would be photographing!
meet sugar. :)
that's not her real name...but it's what her mom calls her on her blog and I like it :)
sugar has type 1 diabetes and found out that she had it when she was just 24 months.

here's a break down her mom sent me of the type of life sugar leads:
In order to most accurately determine how much insulin she needs, we must count every carbohydrate she eats or drinks. We also must balance her insulin needs with activity level, illness, growth spurts, and stress.

She must have her fingers poked 8 - 10 times a day, including at least twice overnight. That amounts to roughly 20,000 drops of blood in the past 5 years. It also means her parents do not - ever - get a full night's sleep. Diabetes never sleeps, therefore her blood sugars must be monitored throughout the night.
,
By the time she was 3 years old, she had recieved over 1800 shots of insulin.

She began wearing her insulin pump at age 3 1/2 -- it must be worn 24/7/365. We insert a new pump site every 3 days. If something happens to her pump, she must go back to getting shots while we wait for a pump replacement. She can't ever go for a full 24 hour period without the insulin her body needs to survive.

She is at constant risk for both low and high blood sugars. Both of these situations can cause seizures, coma, and death. Because of these risks, sugar must have an adult with her at all times who is able to recognize and respond to signs of trouble. As a result, her parents haven't been on more than a handful of dates since her diagnosis, and she has never enjoyed simple pleasures such as going to a movie with a friend or attending a slumber party.

In developing countries, the life expectancy of a child with diabetes is less than 5 years.

Diabetes kills more people every year than breast cancer and AIDS combined.

pretty heavy, no?
Wendy (her mom) is one of the biggest advocates in promoting awareness in finding a cure for this disease.
her blog states it's existence is simply for:

REACH the heart of anyone who has ever been affected by Type 1 Diabetes.

SHARE the journey through highs and lows.

LOVE unconditionally, just as we have all been commanded to do.

she is beautiful, fierce and passionate and it was simply a pleasure learning more on this disease and getting to photograph her and sugar and their beautiful family!
p.s. the blue tutu's are in honor of the international diabetes federation's symbol...a simple blue circle...LOVE the symbolism Wendy! :)

this would be the lovely, Sugar... :)