We photographers have the incredibly amazing privilege of being personal historians for the families we photograph. I have been made more and more aware of how deeply meaningful and important photographs are (more to come on this front soon). Because we are historians of a very personal nature, the fabric of our existence often becomes wrapped up with those who we shoot. It is something like a quilt where each session/person/family offers a new piece of fabric. Some people leave a huge piece of fabric to be added to the quilt and some people leave a small piece of fabric. No matter the size, though, each piece is unique and special– adding its own brilliance to the quilt as a whole. So when I say that I am deeply and unreasonably luck to be able to do what I do I am not exaggerating.
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The photos and story that I am about to share with you are incredibly personal. This story is not my story, I am just the story teller. This is Sarah’s story, and there is no doubt that Sarah has left a huge, vibrant piece of life’s fabric with me– she has touched my heart in more ways than she probably even realizes. When I shot Sarah’s maternity session I knew very little about her– basically I knew that she was pregnant and adorable, so I was excited about the shoot. Since then our acquaintanceship has grown into a friendship, and recently Sarah shared a very personal story with me. It touched me so deeply that I asked her if I could share it here, to which she agreed. The following story is only a small portion of the story she shared with me, but nevertheless, a personal, touching, and amazing story. I hope that it touches you as much as it touched me.
This story starts in Dallas where Sarah and her husband, Nathan, and their son, Eli, were living at the time. Sarah has suffered from a plethora of health problems through out her life and ended up miscarrying a baby– Rylie. No doubt, this was an incredibly painful experience, but she had to find the strength to be resilient. After the miscarriage her doctor explained to her that if she wanted more children she needed to try and have them soon, as she would probably not be able to have more children later on.
Considering all that she had already been through, I can’t even imagine the astonishment and joy she must have felt when she found out that she was not only pregnant with one child, but with two! I also do not even have the ability to comprehend or imagine what she was going through when she found herself in an ambulance having another miscarriage. There was no doubt about it, Sarah already knew she was going to lose her babies. I’m sure there are no words to express the turmoil that must have been going on insider her knowing this was happening again!
Amazingly, she did not lose both babies, one of them survived! The doctors determined that the cause of the miscarriage was a blood clot that had moved in a position that it separated one baby’s placenta from the uterine wall. They also discovered there were two blood clots near the surviving baby threatening to do the same thing to him. As if this weren’t enough there was an enlarged vein positioned in such a way that it was highly possible that it would burst. If it did burst both Sarah and the baby would die. They would lose so much blood immediately that there would be no chance of saving either of them.
Because Sarah was put on bed rest and was not allowed to pick Eli up, it was necessary for him to stay with relatives until her delivery. So there she was facing an uncertain future for both her and her unborn baby, and all she could do was lay in bed. That has to be the worst feeling– wanting to do something, and the only thing you can do is nothing.
The doctors told Sarah that there were two possibilities. One was that as the baby grew the uterine wall would stretch and the blood clots would move away from the baby and the enlarged vein would move higher up and would no longer pose a threat. The second possibility was that as the baby grew it would cause the vein and/or the blood clots to move exactly where they would do the most harm.
Miraculously, Sarah went in for on of her regular check ups and not only had the vein moved into a better position, but the blood clots were gone! The result is an absolutely precious blue eyed baby boy who looks like his big brother, Eli, who looks like his daddy– except their eyes those are definitely their mother’s.
I don’t think Sarah has even the slightest idea how much I admire her. She is quite possibly the strongest person I have ever met. She inspires me on a daily basis by just being herself. She had had to go through more in her life than anyone I have ever met and yet she is still the most positive person I know. It is beyond amazing that she has handled her hardships so gracefully and without becoming calloused. Her baby’s are lucky to have such an amazing person to call “mom”, and though I don’t know Nathan that well it is my suspicion that he is pretty amazing too!
I hope that you enjoy the following photos of a wonderful woman and a miracle pregnancy. If you feel inspired to do so– please leave a little love for Sarah. I will make sure she gets the message!
I think we might have caught a contraction here… She had her miracle baby less than 48 hours after this!
Much Love,
Megan Rieff
www.adotintimephotography.com
This Photo was taken right before our tire was stabbed to death by a curb and due to a long chain of events were stuck on the side of the road for hours!!! Oh the memories! I’ll say one thing though, when this girl sets her mind to something, it gets done. She’s pretty inspiring.
Also, most wedding photographer offer packages with engagement photos included!
