Sarahs' 18th Birthday Makeover Shoot!

Well here is where I get to feel old. My niece - Sarah - was 18 this week and I remember the day she was born as clearly as if it was yesterday. It was snowing and my mum and I jumped on the first train from York to Edinburgh to go and see her, along with my sister Viv in the maternity hospital. It was a life changing moment for me when I first held the sweet smelling little bundle in my arms only a few hours old for it was then that I realised that I really did want children of my own and not the career I had been so busily building for myself - which was not in photography.

Life has dealt Sarah a few cruel blows along the way but she has dealt with them all with her happy to lucky personality and gritty determination to not let things get her down. I really admire her inner strength. One of the hards "crosses" she has had to bear became apparant when she was around 4 years old...

She developed what looked like a bruise on her chin. It didn't go and following the nattering of a worried grandma Viv took her to the Doctors. After much testing and examinations Sarah was diagnosed with a very rare condition which meant that the muscles and bones in the affected area were wasting away/hardening up. In Sarah's case it was all down the right hand side of her face. There followed years of weekly trips to the hospital for blood tests and chemotherapy as the specialists tried different things to help her condition. Not once did I hear her complaining. Sarah went on into her teens to be an excellent dancer and only then did I pick up that she was at all conscious of her looks - when her dance school put on dance shows Sarah had to fasten back her beautiful long hair and this exposed the side of her face, usually kept hidden, which was disfigured.

The best the specialist could offer for Sarah was when she stops growing (i.e. around 17 - 18 years old) that they would do reconstructive surgery and fit implants. That happened a couple of months ago. Even that has not being a straightforward procedure for Sarah however as one of the implants, fitted into her chin has repeatedly become infected requiring antibiotics and now the specialists have reluctantly decided that she has to undergo surgery to have it removed again. So any readers of this blog who are religious please pray for her!

My birthday present to Sarah was a makeover shoot - designed to show just how beautiful she is. Andy took the photographs and I think from here I'll let you all judge for yourself what an amazing niece I have.