After five and a half months of waiting, we received the call. They found a perfect match, a whole, four ventricle heart, her lifesaving gift, a new chance at life. After nearly six months of waiting and praying, we were able to bring Nadia home again.
This is why I became a Photographer.
It saddens me that friends of mine have had to fish for photos of their babies that have passed, just to find distorted, blurry cell phone photos of them. Some CHD babies never leave the hospital after they are born, and taking photos, let alone professional photos of them, is the last thing on a family's mind. I know this, because I have been there.
One night in March of 2013, we had been home from the transplant for less than a month. I was on Facebook looking at these blurry photos of these beautiful children, wishing these families had the same experience as we had with Chip. I wanted so badly for them to have portraits they could hold on to and cherish forever. The truth is, having professional portraits taken is a luxury not many can invest in, especially not when medical bills are piling up.
I blurted my thoughts out loud "I wish there was an organization for families like ours that provided free photography".
I pretty much had a conversation with myself. My poor husband, Tommy, was confused and completely clueless as to what I was talking about. Tommy and Nadia were lying in bed watching Mickey Mouse. I smiled and joked, "Maybe I should do it myself.”
I expected no answer, Nadia had no idea what I was talking about either, but she turned to me and said with a smile "you can do it Mommy".
I laughed, kissed her and left it at that, but her words lingered in my head for days.
I had no prior experience whatsoever in the photography world. I owned a Canon Rebel T3i and a standard 50mm 1.8 lens. I had no idea what I was doing. All I knew was that I wanted to do this; at least I had to try.
I have since upgraded to better equipment, but it didn't take me long to realize that in order to give back to families with my free photography, I would also have to earn a living by being a photographer.
I also learned quickly that becoming a good photographer doesn't mean just being the owner of a nice camera body and lens. There is a lot of hard work and dedication behind it.
I fell in love with it. I fell in love with pushing the shutter button. I fell in love with the smiles I was able to put on someone's face when they saw their images. I fell in love with the ability to freeze memories in time. I think my whole family would agree that I eat, breathe and sleep anything photography-related.
It has been almost three years since I started this journey, and I am loving every single second of it.
Many of my fellow amazing "heart families” have their own ways of giving back – forming non-profit organizations, like Haley's Hearts Foundation, which supports the financial needs of families; raising money for the various organizations supporting CHD research, such as The Brett Boyer Foundation; hosting bake sales, organizing blood drives, selling t-shirts . . . the list goes on and on.
Like many of those families, I chose an option which has meaning to me. Providing pro-bono photography for CHD families is my way of giving back. I have firsthand knowledge of the impact of receiving these portraits. I want others to have that same experience, because sometimes these portraits are all a family will have left of its loved ones. But, I soon realized I am able to do so much more with my photography than to just give back to others through photographs.
With the help of families willing to share their stories and perspectives, I am also working to raise CHD and organ donation awareness. Through powerful portraits of those families’ realities and everyday lives, and by providing a way for their voices to be heard, I have been able to reach even bigger platforms, like People magazine and Good Morning America.
I officially started World Of Broken Hearts in June 2015, and with the support and help of my friends and family who pushed me to turn it into something bigger, World Of Broken Hearts became an officially-recognized 501(c)(3) organization in December 2018.
My dream is to inspire others to learn more about how organ donation is changing lives and to say "yes" to being an organ donor. I want to inspire others to learn about the disease that affects 1 in 100 babies in the United States alone, to hopefully lead them to be more involved in the lives of those precious babies, whether it's to volunteer, donate to CHD research, or just tell the story of one of these sweet babies to another person.
I have big goals and dreams for World of Broken Hearts, and I would have never come this far without your contribution.
I give CHD families the option of keeping their photographs private. The ones posted on my website are all with the consent of those families.