their miracle

could a greater miracle take place than for us to look through each other's eyes for an instant?- henry david thoreau

i met marcina through max's family last year. and from the moment i met her, i knew there was something special. there was just this beauty and essence about her. you could see it. you could feel it. an then i learned her story...

two years ago (in november), neil was taking their daughter, kendra, to a screening in LA. kendra had been acting for years.  at the end of the day, he began throwing up and thought he had food poisoning. he felt he was okay to drive home to san diego but things got worse and he had to pull over at a gas station, to throw up again.  shortly after that, marcina got a call from kendra,

mommy, daddy's really sick, we're on the side of the freeway and he is now sleeping and has thrown up all inside the car.

they were on the side of the highway, with neil in and out of sleep.  with marcina's mom on the phone with kendra the entire time, to help her feel safe, and marcina's dad on the computer mapquesting and directing marcina to neil's location...marcina was on her way, driving into miles of heavy traffic. luckily, kendra was able to read a few signs out the window, to help determine exactly where they were. when marcina arrived, neil was asleep and kendra scared but safe. they drove back to san diego and marcina put neil into bed.  after continuing to vomit and sleep throughout the following day, marcina decided to take neil to the emergency room that night.

they sat in the waiting room for a bit and then neil was called back to be seen. thirty minutes later, a nurse came out and asked kendra if she would like to come with her to color. a few minutes later, two doctors take marcina in the opposite direction, to tell her that neil is very, very sick and most likely would not live through the night. they encouraged marcina to notify family and that she and kendra should say their final good-byes. this was the beginning of their seven-month journey on an emotional and painful rollercoaster...

over the next seven months, neil most likely had a stroke and suffered a brain bleed. he underwent four brain surgeries, infections, two weeks in a coma, months in the hospital and now has a prosthetic bone flap and front skull. the family was told three different times that neil would not live and that if he did, he would most likely have physical challenges and brain damage.

well today, neil is alive and doing fabulous.  while he still has very vivid dreams from his days in a coma and continues to be closely monitored, if you met him, you would have no idea what he went through.  you see no scars.  he has no lingering ill effects (that are apparent to me).

the C family has the most amazing love for one another and outlook on life. and needless to say, neil being alive today is a miracle.

but there's more to this story. the first time i photographed the C family was last november. originally they were scheduled for 2009, but i happened to have a cancellation. after we were done shooting and marcina was sharing with me how thankful she was to be able to get in on a cancellation, she suddenly realized that the shoot was on the same day as neil's first brain surgery--an anniversary of sorts. and it is for that very reason that the photo below is so much more than just a photo for them. and it's a photo that almost didn't happen...

their entire session was super overcast, until the very moment of this shot. we were walking back to the car and i noticed the sun had come out.  when i looked at kendra and saw the halo of light surrounding her, i said that she looked like an angel and asked if we could take a few more shots.  little did i know at the time how important and magical the photos would end up being.

i also wanted to share a bit more about what kendra is currently working on.  she's 10 years old now and has recently written and is going to be recording a song, voices of the children. the producer is already working with the band and hopefully kendra will be recording in a few weeks, with the release date anticipated to be the end of the year. kendra has decided that she will donate a portion of the proceeds to two children's charities: casa de amparo and childhelp.

one of the goals of last weekend's session was to get a photo for kendra's CD cover. this one is my favorite.

it is always such a joy to see them, as each of them is amazingly beautiful inside and out, with a zest for life that is unmatched. i am truly blessed to know them!!

ETA: neil was officially diagnosed with a cerebral hemorrhage (bleed). to this day, they do not know what caused this to happen. the first night in the hospital, his blood pressure was around 250/150. however, they can't say definitively that that is what caused the hemorrhage.