Above All Else, Believe

Sophie Fortier 2013 ©
Day 40

One person who has always believed in me, no matter what was my mother. Ever since I was a child, anything I aspired to be, she was behind me pushing me to do my best. She's supported me though good and bad times and always with a good sense of humor and encouraging words. Every time I finish editing or painting or drawing, she is the first, or one the the first people to see it. Working as a nurse at the NICU at CHEO, she'd inspired me to join, eventually, the volunteer photographers who are part of Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep. The program is for parents to have precious memories of their sick babies who may not make it to see their first birthday. It is a devastating feeling for parents who go through so much with a sick child and have to let them go. I cannot image the pain the parents go through, and so the program was made to capture the last moments of a child. "Providing the gift of remembrance photography for parents suffering the loss of a baby".

I grew up watching my mother help these little babies that could fit in your hand. premature babies that make you melt as soon as you see them. I saw her thrive when they left the unit healthy with their parents and devastated when they didn't. I want to help the families that get torn apart by losing their child. The only way I know how is to take beautiful images for them to remember. For them to cherish. It is on my list of 100 things to do before I die to volunteer and become one of their members. So, to my mother, I want to thank her for supporting me and I know that every baby she's treated in the past 25 years at CHEO and their families would thank her immensely as well. 

Sophie Fortier 2013 ©
Day 42

Sophie Fortier 2013 ©
Day 41