May the wings of the butterfly kiss the sun
And find your shoulder to light on,
To bring you luck, happiness and riches
Today, tomorrow and beyond.
~Irish Blessing
I heard about the Butterfly Wishes Network through a fellow photographer. I was touched by the work that the foundation carried out and the community of likeminded photographers it had built {their stories and photos are truly amazing!}.
Butterfly Wishes Network is a non-profit organisation that offers families with children with life shortening illnesses photos that they can treasure forever. Professional photographers give their time for free to families to help them capture beautiful, happy memories of their family.
I thought long and hard before I submitted my application to Butterfly Wishes. I knew that if successful I would be working with some very poorly young children and emotionally that would be a challenging experience. Seeing the joy in parent’s faces when I show them photos from their session, the proud look in their eyes when they see themselves as a happy, loving family is priceless; I knew that this was something I wanted to share with these families too.
Although being a parent to any child is challenging and hard work, butterfly families have additional everyday challenges; each day an emotional roller-coaster which often consists of spending hours on end in hospitals, with a number of different consultants and providing 24 hour, round the clock care for their child. Helping them create something special that reflects their bond and love was something I knew I wanted to do.
A couple of weeks ago I met my first butterfly family. I was totally blown away by not only the commitment and dedication to the full time care of their little boy Santi, but also the love they all shared for each other. Mum and dad had created a beautiful, calm and relaxed environment, surrounded with all of Santi’s favourite things that would help stimulate his development and would make him feel swaddled in love, encouragement and support; it was clear to see that Santi was one very content little boy.
To read Santi’s story and see some of the images from our photography session click ‘here’
