Atlanta Family Photography | House of Hopes Volunteer
I'm used to being in hospitals, but for the happy reason of welcoming a new baby into the world. So I was a bit nervous when contacted by House of Hopes to photograph Evan and his family. We had a beautiful session. He had just had a reaction to his medicine, so had been given Benadryl and was sleepy, but I loved being able to spend a few minutes with this amazingly strong family, and document a piece of their story.
A little about Evan's story:
"Evan Vickers was born on March 17, 2015 with multiple heart defects and a lifelong diagnosis of congenital heart disease. He had 2 open heart surgeries at just 6 days old to repair the defects. The heart surgery that saved his life also left him with brain damage, global developmental delays and severe feeding difficulties. After a year of various complications and hospital admissions, Evan's heart was well enough to receive clearance from cardiology. He would still be monitored, just less frequently. Evan could finally be a "normal" little boy.
However, 6 months after his 1st birthday, Evan underwent a routine abdominal ultrasound to follow up on the hydronephrois that he was born with. During this scan, doctors noticed a mass pushing against his left kidney. This was later identified as neuroblastoma, a rare pediatric cancer. Fortunately, doctors were able to remove the tumor quickly before it was able to spread. Just 7 weeks after being diagnosed, Evan was in remission.
Just 3 short months later, Evan's cancer relapsed. This time as stage 4 high risk neuroblastoma. He started chemotherapy immediately and is currently receiving treatment at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. Evan's future is unknown but we are confident that Evan is strong enough to beat this. He has a long road ahead with battles that no child should have to fight but he's tough. We should all pray that we are strong enough to FIGHT LIKE EVAN!"
For more on Evan's story you can read their feature at http://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/240729296-story and follow their journey at Fight Like Evan
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