InFocus Magazine

“It’s very powerful.  Kindness is not to be under-rated.”

The experience of being photographed is often therapeutic, adds McKinnon.  “To be photographed as a family is an act of love.  In the sessions, we laugh and play.  It’s a time to be together doing something meaningful and positive.

“The families say the photos bring them great joy; they connect them to their pride that their child is doing so well.  For the kids, seeing the photographs reminds them how much they are loved.”

Humans have always created meaning by documenting their stories, and photography is a powerful way to celebrate, validate and understand human experience.   “Photographs always evoke emotion.  They are tangible, you can hold them, connect them to your life,” says McKinnon.  “We tend to photograph celebrations, Christmases, birthday parties… but life is made up of a lot more than that.  Sometimes it’s the other times—the hard times—that define us in important ways.  And yet we often don’t document these.”

At the same time, she says, sometimes the best choice for families is not to photograph the sickness and the medical activity.  “Sometimes it’s important to step away from their worries and celebrate their togetherness.  Just getting away and having a great family photo session is the most valuable thing to do.”

Abbotsford-based photographers Darcie and Jason Brown, who volunteer for A Fighting Spirit, can attest to the power of these photographs for all involved.   Last year, McKinnon connected them with Daryl, a young teen with HME (Hereditary Multiple Exostosis), a rare bone disease requiring repeated surgery.  Ten months after her HME diagnosis, Daryl was hit by a truck while walking home from school and suffered a frontal lobe brain injury.  She and her mother, Anita, asked the Browns to take Daryl’s photo in the middle of the intersection where she’d been hit, exactly two years after the accident.

“It was an emotional experience to see Daryl full of life and beauty where she could have easily died,” says Darcie Brown.  “It was a total honor to photograph her because of all she’s been through.”

The emails from Anita Simon, Daryl’s mother, are eloquent.  In August, 2008, Simon first approached A Fighting Spirit with a request for a photo session:

“I have a 14 year old daughter who is the light of my life… There is much life in photography and that is why I would love to have my daughter Daryl photographed.  I want to celebrate her.  She is a walking miracle.

“Fourteen is a difficult age at any time; the scarring and deformities my daughter has are starting to cause her lack of self esteem.  Couple that with the brain injury… I want my daughter to know that beauty is from within and it shines through, no matter what obstacles she’s facing.  I want her to celebrate life.  I also believe that much closure will come from a photo of her full of life on the sidewalk where she was hit by the truck.

After the shoot, Simon emailed with a heartfelt thank you:

“Words cannot express near enough my thanks… The photo shoot was so amazing, and the photos are simply breathtaking.  The photo of Daryl on the crosswalk was a very emotional moment; I started to cry at first, LOL and Daryl told me to STOP IT LOL.  The photo is incredible.

“We are so blessed.  I am so happy to have photos of my girl so celebrated and so full of life.  The whole idea of building confidence is already working.  She loves her pictures and now wants to model……yikes.  Daryl will have surgery again on December 18th.  She can’t wait to take her photos to show her nurses at Children’s’ Hospital.” (You can see some of these photos on the A Fighting Spirit website, or check out the Simons’ blog at mygirldrs.blogspot.com)

McKinnon has read these emails repeatedly, and each time is moved to tears.  At those moments she’s even more sure of what she has always known—that those who give freely get back everything and more; that out of adversity can come inspiration; and that kindness should never, ever be underrated.

www.afightingspirit.com