We recently had the pleasure of hanging out with Tommy and his family for a fun little photo session that we gifted them as part of our Lady Bug Project where we offer a free portrait session to a child with a life threatening illness in the hopes of helping them have a little fun and be a little crazy while capturing those beautiful smiles.
A big thanks to the assistance of St. Baldrick's Foundation for hooking us up with this cool kid... his entire family was pretty fun too :) It was great watching Tommy and his older brother Joey hangin' out. You could really see the love between these two.
Tommy's entrance
into the world on Christmas Day 2011 was the first of many miracles we, his
parents, would soon witness in Tommy's life. At just 4 days old Tommy
was diagnosed with neuroblastoma. Tommy then spent the next 3 months of
his life at Advocate Hope Children's Hospital where his days were filled with
surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, ventilators, towers of IV
medications, tests, procedures, and MIRACLES. From day one,
Tommy's strength and fighting spirit shone through every challenge that
confronted him.
As a result of his treatments and lengthy hospital
stay, Tommy has been diagnosed with moderate bi-lateral hearing loss
and has had to overcome many developmental delays. Today, Tommy continues
to work enthusiastically with his many therapists
(speech-language, occupational, and physical) to overcome these obstacles.
He currently attends Child's Voice School for children with hearing loss.
Tommy is a brave, loving, energetic, determined
little boy with a huge smile that will melt your heart. He loves singing,
dancing, running, swimming, and playing with his big brother Joey. Fittingly,
his newest passion is playing SuperHero - but some day he will learn
that he has been a SuperHero all along.
Do you know of a family or child who would benefit from a Lady Bug session? Let us know! And please feel free to share this awesome project and spread the word!
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