This beautiful young lady is Angel.  Angel is a vibrant eighth grader who is always smiling and is quite the social butterfly.  Those who know her well say she has never met a stranger and loves socializing at school and in the community. 

This cheerful fifteen-year old is the middle child to two other siblings, her older sister    Brianna (19) and her younger brother Eddie (12).  Brianna and Eddie play a very big part in Angel’s life as they help her parents meet her every need.  Angel reciprocated the love, supporting her older sister in cheerleading and her brother through both football and baseball seasons.

Angel was born with Schizencephaly, which is a rare congenital brain malformation in which abnormal clefts form in the cerebral hemisphere.  Schizencephaly is categorized as a developmental birth defect affecting the left hemisphere of the brain leading to impairment of speech, mobility and development.  Angel is partially paralyzed on her left side.  She is wheelchair bound and needs full assistance to participate in activities of daily living such as getting dressed, bathing and transitioning from the chair to the bed.  the demands of caring for her become more and more physically challenging as she grows and taking care of her requires all hands on deck.  Her family considers it a privilege to care for her and enjoy seeing the dazzling smiles she gives them in return.

Photography by Dinah Sutton Photography

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It is the little things that make life so sweet! This sweet little one is Lainey.  She is full of big love and a strong will.  Lainey recently endured spinal surgery so she can lift her head and to create enough room for her lungs to breathe.  Sweet Lainey was born on May 16, 2013.  Before birth her parents were told that she had a slight curve in her spine and one day would require surgery, but that was the only imperfection the perinatal specialists found.

Lainey was born via cesarean several weeks early and everything seemed to be great.  What blissful joy her parents felt as they held her in their arms.  They had an amazing first night of precious baby cuddles.

The next morning doctors rushed her to the NICU for difficulty breathing and to examine her eyes.  When she was born, they thought that her left eye was just swollen, but it actually had never fully developed.   Doctors tested her for genetic disorders and they were all clear.  Her parents were advised to see an eye doctor and a neurologist at her first birthday.

At 3 1/2 months old they noticed the onset of jerking movements.  They continued to get worse each day and they took her to the hospital.  After an MRI, the doctors revealed Lainey had Aicardi Syndrome.  

Aicardi Syndrome is a very rare syndrome that primarily affects girls and is characterized by an absent or partial corpus collosum.  As the corpus collosum is responsible for connecting the signals between the left and right brain, it is accompanied by developmental delays, visual deficits, spinal anomalies and respiratory complications.

Lainey continued to have seizures which were treated with medication.  Although this does not eliminate them, medications can help minimize them. She also began therapy, seeing specialists and taking cannabis oil to reduce her pain and seizures.  She began to thrive and everyone was thrilled with the positive outcomes.  

Treatment was successful until a severe infection at the age of two exacerbated her seizures.  This affected her ability to function, she lost all of her mobility and she began to aspirate on foods and liquids.  As a result, she was provided with tube feedings to give her body strength again.  However, multiple infections followed and she ended up in the PICU clinging to life on an oscillator.  After 19 days, she pulled through and got to go home for Christmas.  This was miraculous and brought great joy to the family.  Lainey is very susceptible to germs and must stay away from large crowds to avoid significant illness.

The journey ahead promises uncertainty, but one thing is certain: treasuring every moment cuddling this sweet girl and seeing her gorgeous smile is all that matters.

Sweet Life Photography by Kim

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Georgia was born on July 26th, 2002 in Ashville, NC at 31 weeks and she weighed just 3lbs 14oz.  It was November before she was ready to leave the hospital.  Shortly after she was born she was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy and the doctor said she would probably never walk. Georgia had great determination and worked hard and started walking at 2 years old.  She had a miniature shopping cart that she used to hold herself up and walk with and she placed her toys in the cart and pushed it all over the house.  As she learned to walk, her family would sing  “Just put one foot in front of the other” to her.

At the age of 4, doctors decided to try tendon lengthening surgery on her legs.  Unfortunately, it was a devastating set back and it was two years before she walked again.  Using her great drive and determination, Georgia eventually walked thru the house using only the walls to support her, but she suffered a fall and twisted her knee.  Now she must have assistance to walk anywhere whether it is using her walker or with the help of her Paw Paw.

Georgia is a very outgoing person that makes friends easily and she has the kind of smile that lights up a room when she enters it.  Growing up her favorite movies included Barbie and all the Olson Twins and she loved playing with dolls.  Now she is into her cat Molly Star who loves to come in her room to play and sleep on her bed.

Georgia started high school this year but it was rough because her classes where on opposite sides of the school.  Due to a more recent fall, she is on the Homebound program and the teacher comes to her three times a week.  It is unclear when Georgia will be able to return to school.

Georgia’s family has been blessed by her coming into their lives and thank God for her everyday.  One of her future goals is to learn to drive.  She likes watching and posting videos on You Tube and other streaming shows.  Each day is a challenge for her to stand and walk, but with her drive and determination, her family is sure she will be back up and walking soon.

Photography by Nicole Bryant

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Like all sweet little girls, Juana spent her early childhood dreaming of what she be when she grew up.  Her dream was to be a teacher.  She aspired to make a difference, share her knowledge and help others shine.  She loved playing with pencils, books, notebooks, chalkboards and crayons.  She had all the essential tools, enthusiasm, compassion and intelligence needed for the job.  She even had experience.  She loved taking care of all of the children in the family and babysitting was something she excelled at.

When Juana was fourteen, she was excitedly planning  her Quinceanera Party in Mexico.  This celebration was something she looked forward to every day with excitement and sweet anticipation.  Unfortunately, Juana became very ill and never got to enjoy her Quinceanera.  Juana had been sick for two weeks with what doctors had said was the flu.  It seemed to get worse and worse.  She was spending time with her sister Cecilia when she became critically ill.  She had fever, chills and nausea.  Then she developed a significant headache and became incoherent.  Cecilia took her to the ER.  It was a wild ride of examinations without answers before they finally identified the problem.  Her brain was significantly swollen due to encephalitis caused by an autoimmune disorder.  Her brain was so swollen that doctors had to induce a coma.

After five days in a coma, doctors said they did not expect Juana to pull through.  She was on life support and they asked the family if they wanted to disconnect her.  Her family chose to continue to fight for a miracle and three weeks later she finally opened her eyes and began to breathe on her own.  Juana never fully recovered.

Juana has endured brain surgery, experiences seizures, is in constant pain and has never regained her functional mobility.  She cannot walk or talk and has difficulty breathing.  Losing her abilities has been challenging for her and her family.  The encephalitis changed her life in a devastating way and has affected her both physically and emotionally.  Our goal is to bring Juana a whole lot of sunshine!  Lifting her spirits, making her smile and bring back some of her joy is our mission!

Photography by Niki Murphy Photography

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This sweet and sassy four year old is Kessley.  She is a delightful beauty both inside and out.  Everyone around her is blessed and energized by her presence.  She is not only cute, but also feisty.  This little fighter has proven that she is happy to be here and she will stop at nothing to live a fulfilled life.  She has been a fighter since day one. 

Following a healthy pregnancy, Kessley stopped moving in the womb at 38 weeks gestation.  Upon delivery, they found that this was due to the umbilical cord being wrapped tightly around her body which deprived her from oxygen.  Kessley was immediately intubated following birth.  She had a collapsed lung, needed a blood transfusion and was fighting for her life.  The doctors discovered that she had one very small underdeveloped lung, but the other one was working extra hard to sustain her life.  She had difficulty responding and as a last resort, the pediatrician gave her an epi-pen injection and by the grace of God, it worked.  Her lung inflated enough to get a chest tube in and she was stabilized well enough to be transported to the NICU via helicopter.  In the NICU, she was assisted in her fight for life by a ventilator, chest tube and feeding tube.  Although it was heartbreaking to see her like this, the specialized care helped her to recover and within a few days, she was able to breathe on her own.  Through an MRI, the neonatologist found that there was significant damage to the brain due to lack of oxygen.  He did not expect her to come off of the feeding tube or breathe on her own.  She proved him to be terribly wrong, though! She began therapy in the hospital and was discharged on day 13, breathing and eating on her own.  The tubes were removed and she got to go home.  She was quite the tiny miracle and began to flourish; overcoming obstacle after obstacle.

Kessley has Spastic Quadriplegia Cerebral Palsy with Dystonia, moderate bilateral hearing loss, Epilepsy, amblyopia and global developmental delay.  She wears glasses, hearing aids and uses a power wheelchair to get around and a communication device to make her needs known. She attends regular speech, occupational, physical and hippo therapy where she works diligently to continue to make progress.  She is an incredibly hard worker and it is paying off.

Kessley has a team of loved ones cheering her on and supporting her every step of the way.  One of her biggest fans is her eleven-year-old brother, Tate.  Tate has been by her side since day one and she has proclaimed that he is the best brother in the whole world.  Together, these siblings have hung the moon and will continue to reach beyond the stars.  With such great support, dedication and a strong will to succeed, the sky is certainly the limit!

Photography by Dinah Sutton Photography

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