Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep

The birth of a child is supposed to be the most fun and exciting time of your life. Unfortunately, for some families it can be a devistating time if a child is born with a life threatening illness.

I have recently become part of a new non-profit agency called "Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep." Photographers around the country are joining this wonderful organization to provide free professional portraits of these special children for their families. (Please take a minute to view their website to find out more http://www.nowilaymedowntosleep.com/)

I've only been a member of this organization for about a week and haven't received my first assignment, but I new it was something I was meant to do.

Have you ever wondered how you got to the place where you are in your life right now? How everything you've done up til now has prepared you for today?

The last "real job" I had before working at my studio full-time was with a non-profit agency located in Louisville, KY, called Home of the Innocents. I worked there for 13 years in various administrative capacities. The Home provides shelter to children who have been victims of abuse, abandonment or neglect. It also provides a nursing home to children who are too medically fragile to be cared for in their own homes.

During my 13 years at the Home, I made it a point to visit with the children as often as I could. Over the years, I became the adopted "aunt" to three very special little boys.

My first sweetheart was a little boy who was born with severe issues and wasn't expected to live beyond a few days. But those days turned into weeks and eventually into years. At just a few months of age, this sweety was placed at the Home by his parents. They were from a rural area of the state that didn't have any place that could provide the special care he needed. His parents loved him so much! But the care he required just couldn't be accomplished by untrained professionals. I'm sure it was heartbreaking for his parents to not have him at home. They came to see him every weekend, though.

Therapists started working with him several times a week, but he needed someone who could visit with him every day to "play" and reinforce what the therapists were teaching him. Somehow, I got nominated.

When I first met this child, I was a bit frightened. He didn't have any eyes so he was blind. He had such a severe cleft pallet, it disfigured his face. He was also born without a brain, only a brain stem. The doctors didn't hold out much hope for his prognosis or viability, but did this little guy ever prove them wrong!

He was my friend for a period of about eight years! In that time he started to learn sign language - he had limited mobility in his right hand and arm, so he signed left handed. So I learned to sign left handed, too! He learned many simple signs like "drink," "hungry," "music," and of course he learned a sign for "Lori," too!

One night I got a call at home from one of his nurses. My little friend was in a bad mood and kept putting his hands on his ears and was getting frustrated and crying. They wanted to know if I had any clue about what might be wrong with him. They didn't know that he had recently made up his own sign - putting his hands on his ears meant that he wanted to listen to his headphones. He loved to listen to music and stories. His favorite music was anything with string type instruments - guitars, mandolins, etc. So they put some tunes in his tape player and put on his headphones and before they knew it, he was sound asleep!

Just after his 8th birthday, his parents moved to another state and of course he moved, too. It was so exciting for him, but heartbreaking for all of us who watched him grow and develop. Before he left us, he could say two words - "mamamamama" and "LoiLoiLoi." Before he left, I recorded a tape reading all of his favorite books. I hope it made his transition a little easier.

This sweetheart is now a "pre-teen" and last I heard, was learning and growing and doing more things that doctors never thought possible. I'm sure he has forgotten about me, but my life was forever changed and I will never forget him. He taught me so much.

He definitely started preparing me for my new mission with "Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep." You just never know where life's path will lead you!

If you would like to find out more about:
Home of the Innocents, their website is www.HomeoftheInnocents.org.
The NILMDTS website is http://www.nowilaymedowntosleep.com/
To find out more about my studio, the website is www.MomentsPhoto.com

Thanks for stopping by!

Lori