Meet 10-year-old Heart Patient, Yancey Duncan

Meet Yancey Duncan.....

Ten-year-old Yancey came to us through an organization called TheLittlest Heroes Project. The Littles Heroes Project is a non-profit organization made up of professional photographers nationwide that provide complimentary photo sessions to children who are terminally ill or who suffer life altering disabilities.

These children are our nations "Littlest Heroes". Through the power of photography, we are giving back and taking a stand for these children who sometimes feel forgotten because of their illnesses. We are here to let them know that they are heroes to many, and to share their inspirational stories and photos with the world.

The day that Yancey Duncan, Jr was born, his parents, Susan and Yancey were delighted. Their second child seemed to be a normal, healthy baby boy. Their family was complete....They already had an adorable blonde haired, little girl whom they had named Kayla, and the addition of a little boy delighted their hearts. At one week of age Susan and Yancey took little Yancey to their pediatrician's office for his one week check-up. During the check-up, their doctor detected a heart murmur and referred them to a pediatric cardiologist.

One week later, Yancey was seen by a pediatric cardiologist who delivered the worst news this family could ever imagine.....Although their baby seemed quite healthy, the cardiologist examined him and said that their precious baby was actually in full blown heart failure and needed hospitalization immediately. As you can imagine, this news was not only shocking, but was completely devastating. Sick with worry, they were transported directly to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta at Egleston Hospital.

Susan and Yancey spent 10 days at Egleston Hospital in Atlanta with little Yancey. Many tests were run to determine the extent of his heart condition. They stood by and watched in disbelief at all that was happening. It seemed so impossible that their sweet little boy, who appeared so healthy and happy, could actually be so ill. Doctors at Egleston hospital diagnosed Yancey with Pulmonary Atresia (born without a main pulmonary artery), VSD (hole in the heart) and congestive heart failure. They inserted a nasogastric tube and sent him home for a year in order to help him gain weight in order to undergo open heart surgery.

At 1 year of age, doctors determined that Yancey's oxygen levels were not adequate and they inserted a BT shunt to improve his oxygenation. Again, they were sent home to "wait".

At 1-1/2 years, Yancey had his first open heart surgery to repair his pulmonary atresia and close his VSD. This surgery was successful, but as the years passed and as Yancey grew taller, they determined that the heart tissues were not growing as they should, and so another surgery was scheduled.

Yancey's next surgery was at 9 years of age. Doctors performed yet another open heart surgery to replace Yancey's pulmonary valve with a porcine (pig) valve.

Yancey is now 10 years old and is loving life! He is a junior green belt in Taekwondo and loves his Xbox!!! Yancey is always smiling. He is fighting a good fight and he will always his parent's hero.

Yancey continues to monitored regularly by cardiologists at Children's Heathcare of Atlanta. Susan and Yancey are grateful to God for every minute they have had with Yancey. They are thankful for the doctors and nurses at Egleston who have taken care of Yancey and are blessed to have friends, family and others who have been there to support them through this journey.

Visit Yancey's Caring Bridge website HERE

Chuck and Beverly Williams

Chuck Williams Photography

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Praying For A Miracle....The Story Of Josh and Rebecca Chandler

Meet Josh and Rebecca Chandler…..

Josh and Rebecca are a young, sweet and amazing couple. They have been married almost seven years and have two children, Caleb 4 and Havanna who is 2. They are expecting their third child, a little boy, in mid July.

Josh is an officer with the Georgia State Patrol. He also works a second job at Hartsfield International airport to help make ends meet. After their second child was born, Rebecca gave up her career in the dental field in order to stay at home with their children.

Josh and Rebecca are having to face something that no young couple should have to deal with….This past February, during an OBGYN visit at Rebecca’s 18^th week, doctors discovered that the baby’s kidneys’ were enlarged and that the amniotic fluid surrounding him was dangerously low. Rebecca was put into the hospital for Valentine’s Day where she stayed for four days. Doctors performed tests and procedures to try and find out what was wrong. The diagnosis was that their baby has Autosomal Recessive Polycystic Kidney Disease (ARPKD)….a parent’s worst nightmare.

Autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease, ARPKD, is a rare genetic disorder, occurring in approximately 1 in 20,000 individuals. It affects boys and girls equally and often causes significant mortality in the first month of life.
 
If the child survives the newborn period, the chances of survival are good. For these children, approximately one-third will need dialysis or transplantation by the age of 10. However, doctors have told Josh and Rebecca that their baby has only a 1% chance of survival at birth.

Hearing this news was devastating to this young couple. They sought out second opinions from many doctors and specialists throughout Atlanta. Most doctors offered them little to no hope and recommended that they terminate the pregnancy. However, this was not an option for Josh and Rebecca. They made the decision to look at this from a hopeful, positive perspective. They found a wonderful group of doctors out of Northside who have been very upfront with them about PKD, but who are also very supportive at the same time.

They have found help and support through the PKD foundation (www.pkdcure.org) and have met an amazing woman named Julia Roberts, who is the Atlanta liaison for the PKD foundation. Julia has been a tremendous help and support to Josh and Rebecca, providing them with informational and emotional support and with friendship.

Josh and Rebecca continue to choose to look at this situation from the perspective that the “glass is half full” instead of half empty. Although this journey has taken an emotional and financial toll on them, they can already see good things that have come from this:

They have made a life-long friend in Julia from the PKD foundation…and have met countless, wonderful and supportive people along the way.

Caleb’s preschool teacher at Temple Methodist Church has also been tremendously helpful and supportive. Josh and Rebecca, who both come from very different religious upbringings, have begun attending Temple Methodist and are amazed at how people have reached out to them to offer prayer and support to their family.

Good friends have been their pillar of strength.

And of course, Josh and Rebecca have each other to lean on. They say that their two children, Caleb and Havanna, coupled with their love for each other, are what keep them going.

Josh and Rebecca have chosen to name their baby “Nolan”, which means “fighter”. Every day Rebecca counts the number of movements she feels with Nolan….and with every kick and movement she feels, she is hopeful for a miracle.

Josh and Rebecca were referred to us through a friend who told them about our affiliation with the Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep Foundation and with the Littlest Heroes Project. Through the Littlest Heroes Project, we give back to the community by providing complimentary photography sessions and prints to families who have children with terminal illness and/or life altering disabilities. Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep (NILMDTS) is another non-profit organization we are proud and honored to be a part of. Through this organization, we provide complimentary photography to families of infants who will never leave the hospital.

Josh and Rebecca are thankful for the photography services that will be provided to them through the Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep Foundation. We are honored that they have selected us to accompany them to Northside Hospital and to be there to photograph the 1-2 hours that they hope to have with Nolan after he is born.

Beverly recently traveled to Temple to meet Josh, Rebecca, Caleb and Havanna. They wanted us to do a family photo session with them, capturing images of the four of them together while Rebecca is still pregnant. We started out by doing come candid photos of the kids getting ready. Havanna showed me a little silver monogrammed bracelet that she was wearing…I photographed Josh and Rebecca helping the children put on their shoes and did some other candid shots before we headed out.

We started our photo session by traveling just down the road in Temple, to the house where Josh grew up. Coming back to the house brought back many memories for Josh. The house is empty now….but his childhood memories still linger. Caleb and Havanna were drawn to an old tree house where their Daddy used to play. It was fun photographing this loving family together.

We have put together a photography music video of the time I spent getting to know this amazing family. As each day passes, we are all Praying for A Miracle…..

Click Here To View the Video

To learn more about PKD and the PKD Foundation, Click HERE

To learn more about Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep, Click HERE

A Tribute To Some Very Important People

Over the weekend and today we had the honor of photographing several very important people. On Sunday, we had the pleasure of meeting (for the very first time),

Weston C,

a Sophomore at

McEachern

High School. Weston was diagnosed almost one year ago (April 1, 2009) with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL)

Lindsey Greenoe, a senior at Hillgrove High School is mentoring with us this semester as she works on a photography project highlighting Cancer and Cancer Survivors.

Lindsey introduced us to Weston and his mom, Jennifer. Lindsey photographed Weston in her very first professional photo shoot as a photographer. She did a great job!

Today, Lindsey and I traveled to DeKalb County, to the AFLAC Children's Cancer Center at Egleston (Children's Healthcare of ATL).

My friend from high school, Lisa Kerley, arranged for us to meet and photograph 2 year old, Daniel S and his mom, Carrie. Daniel was diagnosed with Leukemia during a routine visit in August for his 2-year old check up.

Check out Daniel's Music Video Here.

At the end of the day we had one more very important photo shoot with Shelby T and her little brother, Joshua. Shelby and Joshua's mom, Linda just recently left Atlanta to travel to Houston to be with her sister, Anna. Anna was diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma and Shelby and Joshua's mom is providing the bone marrow that Anna needs to survive.

Shelby and Joshua asked us to photograph them as a surprise for their Mom and their Aunt.

Check out their photos HERE and the SURPRISE Music Video that we put together.

Tomorrow is Joshua's birthday. Tough day for him to be without his mom and for his mom to be without him. We are so proud of you Linda for what you are doing for your sister!

Go Anna and Linda! HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOSHUA!!! xoxoxo

As many of you know, Chuck has dedicated many years as a volunteer for Team in Training (TNT), a part of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Team In Training teaches and trains people to run, walk and cycle Full Marathons (26.2 miles) and 1/2 marathons. To date, with an artificial hip that he received in 2000, Chuck has run in 9 Marathon and 1/2 marathon events to help raise money for Leukemia and Lymphoma research. Chuck has also helped mentor and coach others through Team in Training. Chuck lost his only sister to Leukemia several years ago.

Chuck ran his final 1/2 marathon this past November, when he ran the Atlanta Half Marathon in memory of my father, Jake Trainer, who passed away of Lung Cancer in September.

Visit Team In Training's website HERE and visit their Facebook Page HERE.