The power of photography amazes me. Not only am I given the opportunity to capture someone’s story, but I become captured by their story. And in some mysterious way, healing flows.

Meet Baby Lila from NYC. She is a miracle angel. (I love her sweet, little hands.)

I was given the honor of doing a photo shoot with baby Lila and her mom, Caroline. But this wasn’t any portrait shoot. This was an incredibly moving experience that captured my spirit.

When Lila was a four week old infant, she and her mom were in a horrific car accident. A truck diver fell asleep behind the wheel, and the collision caused Lila and Caroline’s car to flip seven times. Seven times. Lila was tucked in her newborn car seat and came away from the accident with hardly a scratch. Caroline was a different story. She was torn from her baby and helicoptered to the nearest trauma center. She had broken her neck in several places and was taken right into surgery.

After the surgery, Caroline had to undergo an intense recovery process. Part of the process has been wearing a constricting neck brace 24 hrs a day.

So much happened all at once. Her long beautiful, black hair was shaved in surgery. Her vision of being able to rock Lila in her arms would be put off for months. I cannot imagine the pain her heart has endured. And yet, she is still full of love. And her love washes over Lila.

When we did the photo shoot, Caroline had just been told by her doctor that she could take off her neck brace for small increments of time–maybe 7-10 minutes. A couple weeks before the shoot, she was given permission to hold her Lila for small amounts of time. And as you can imagine, with all the trauma, they had not had photos taken of Lila.

Having heard their story before I arrived in NY, my heart was filled with a desire to capture the beautiful connection between Caroline and her baby girl. I wanted to capture the story of their intimacy. Even though the first four months of Lila’s life had been very different than what Caroline had expected, I wanted the images to prove that their love and connection was deeper than either could fathom. That Caroline’s neck brace wasn’t a distraction but a part of the miracle. That the scar on Caroline’s neck didn’t distract because Caroline’s inner strength glowed–filling the home.

As photographers, these are the amazing stories we get to be a part of. We get to meet miracles. We get to be reminded that all hope is not lost, even when everything is not what we expected. We get to be inspired by the depth of love, despite the circumstances that threatened to break it apart.

Dear Caroline, thank you for allowing me into your home to capture you and Lila. It was a honor to hear your story and capture the beautiful connection you have with Lila. She is an angel Caroline. She is a miracle in the purest form. And so are you. My experience and time with you has forever changed me. My spirit shall never forget it. Much love, Me Ra

To watch Baby Lila’s Slideshow, CLICK HERE!

One last favorite: the classic, precious mullet.

The slideshow music was another great piece I found at Triple Scoop Music. We were able to pay for a license of the music. The title alone, Angel Eyes, seemed to be the perfect fit for Baby Lila.

Enjoy! And get your Kleenex out. The words of the song combined with the images had me tearing up as I created the slideshow. You will see how wide and deep the beauty reaches between this mother and daughter.

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