I first met the Silvani family when our older children were in Kindergarten together. Jacqui and I hit it off right away, exchanged email addresses and began to plan a summer of play dates with the kids. The week of Kindergarten graduation came and I had reached out a couple of times with no response from Jacqui. Finally, the day of graduation came and I asked one of the other mother’s where she was and was told about her youngest son Joe Joe.
In mid-June of 2015, Joe was diagnosed with Stage IV Neuroblastoma, a rare pediatric cancer. My heart was broken for this family who I had just met. Little Joe Joe was only 2 years old when he was diagnosed and has been a fighter since day one. He has endured multiple rounds of chemo and radiation. In November, Joe had his first clear scan, which means there was“no evidence of disease”.
In most cases this means that a cancer patient is at the end of a long road of treatment but Neuroblastoma is a crappy cancer that likes to sneak around and hide in places. The chemo treatments are designed to kill all the cells that can be found on a scan– which his did, which is great. But there are still places the cancer could be, or develop, that the doctors can’t see right now. This is why he has a comprehensive treatment plan that will continue, even though his scan is clear.
Joe is currently undergoing antibody treatments at Children’s Hospital and next week will be there once again for the entire week. Before he headed down to Boston, we wanted to sneak in a little 4-year-old photo shoot!!! We met at Vernon Family Farm here in Newfields, NH for an afternoon of jumping on hay bales and checking out the pigs.
I have watched this family go through this awful time in their lives with grace, laughter and love. I am truly honored to be a part of their “village” and would do anything for them. When I learned that only 4% of all research funding goes to pediatric cancer, I knew I had to do something.
For the month of September– Childhood Cancer Awareness Month– I will be donating 10% of ALL SESSION FEES AND SALES to the Jimmy Find Clinic and Dana Farber Cancer Institute, without whom Joe would have little chance of survival.
If you are looking for a Newfields, NH Family Photographer, please contact me today about booking a session and let’s help find a cure for this terrible disease. To donate directly to the Jimmy Find Clinic and Dana Farber Cancer Institute please CLICK HERE.
