Diagnoses fill a lot of pages in this family’s story. But standing behind my camera, that’s not what I saw. I saw siblings teasing each other. I saw parents who’ve built an entire life around showing up for their kids, every single day, in the hardest and most ordinary ways. I saw humor, joy, and a bond that no medical chart could ever capture.
One of the most rewarding parts of my work is getting to meet families whose stories are filled with resilience, love, and strength. This family is a beautiful example. Both parents work in healthcare and after having two kids of their own they opened their home to children with significant medical needs through fostering, then the adoption of their two youngest girls.
Their two oldest children are biological. The oldest daughter is thriving in advanced placement and honors classes, and she plays an important role in the growth and development of her younger siblings. She has a heart of gold and cares deeply for everyone who crosses her path.
Their son was born with a congenital heart condition that required three open-heart surgeries and countless other surgeries and procedures. Along the way, he experienced strokes within his brain that left him with some facial weakness and gross motor delays. He also lives with chronic abdominal and musculoskeletal pain and relies on life-saving equipment, including a feeding pump, oxygen, and a non-invasive ventilator that supports his breathing. Despite these challenges, he approaches each day with remarkable courage.
Their middle daughter was born prematurely at just 27 weeks to a mother who struggled with substance abuse. With the prematurity and substances in her system at birth she developed a brain hemorrhage which led to cerebral palsy, chronic lung disease and a seizure disorder. She has faced many ongoing medical challenges and continues to grow into a joyful, determined young girl.
Their youngest daughter was also adopted. She was exposed to excessive amounts of alcohol during pregnancy and now lives with cerebral palsy, functional blindness, mild hearing loss, severe lung disease, smaller than normal brain size, and a seizure disorder. She depends on her feeding pump and oxygen but never fails to brighten the room with her energy and spunky personality.
All three of the youngest children live with some form of severe lung disease and inability to eat by mouth, which makes them dependent on their life-saving medical equipment such as feeding pumps, oxygen, and respiratory support. They also share other challenges like low endurance, gait difficulties, autism, ADHD, and feeding through G-tubes.
What shines through most is not their diagnoses but the way they support each other with humor, joy, and deep love. Photographing this family was an honor, every image captures their bond, their bravery, and the beauty of their journey together.
Families like this one are exactly why I believe portraits matter. These images aren’t just pictures — they’re proof. Proof of a family that chose each other. Proof of kids who face more before breakfast than most of us face in a year, and still find a way to laugh in a field with their parents. Proof that love really does show up in the details: a hand on a shoulder, a shared smile, a wheelchair rolled right into the middle of the frame because it’s just part of who they are.
Thank you to this family for trusting us with your story, and to Marissa for sharing it with so much heart.
If your family has a story worth telling — however it looks, however it’s been built — I’d love to help you tell it.