BPPA Lens Flare - April 2014

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ens L flare APRIL 2014

r tte BP e l s PA Online New

PROGRAM

Gear Up! with Booray Perry pg 6

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT Meet our colleague Gigi O’Dea pg 10


BPPA

Board of Directors

President - Donna Williams Vice President - Heidemarie Burke Secretary - Jennifer Gerardi Treasurer - Arnie Berns Director - Billy Dzwonkowski Director - Maria Lyle Director - Ed Vinson

Committee Chairs Membership - Gigi O’Dea Door Prize / Scholarship - Connie Summers Program Chair / Salon - Billy Dzwonkowski Archivist - Jennifer Gerardi Social Media - Donna Williams FPP State Delegate - Heidemarie Burke House RSVP - Jim Dohms Website / Awards - Ed Vinson Marketing / Photographer - Maria Lyle Social - Pilar Ojeda Ferenus

About Us... The Bay Professional Photographer’s Association provides an opportunity for photographers to come together to exchange ideas and information, and to encourage each other to become better at their craft. The association allows photographers to improve their skills by presenting photographic programs and holding print competitions. The association also provides the benefit of networking with other photographers for business and social interaction. If you are a professional photographer in the Sarasota, Bradenton, Venice, Englewood and vicinity, you are invited to come and visit our group. We would love to have you as part of this organization. If you are interested in joining or attending a meeting as a guest, please contact: Membership Chair, Gigi O’Dea PHONE: (941)941.747.4150 EMAIL: gigiodea@yahoo.com

In order to run a good organization, we rely on volunteers. These positions are greatly appreciated by all. A lot of our members double up on committees. We would love to have your assistance on any of our committees. You will learn more about BPPA and get to know everyone even more! To volunteer, please contact: President, Donna Williams PHONE: (941)941.358.3423 EMAIL: dwilliams@turnerflorida.com

ON THE COVER Image created by Gigi O’Dea, our first member to be featured in our Member Spotlight. Gigi also won the BPPA Photographer of the Year 2013 and runner up 2012, captures this outdoor portrait of 10 day old Clara. Gigi specializes in newborn photography and is inspired by creating images of newborns in nature. She took this image with a Canon EOS 5D Mark II camera with a 24-105 f/4 L IS lens, at f/6.3 for 1/200 second. Lighting: Alien Bee 800 with beauty dish used to fill from the front- left position of the subject.

From the Editor

I am so very excited to display our Brand spanking new version of our online newsletter. It occurred to me once upon a time to create something special for YOU, our members. Recently, I started to do an online Newsletter for Maria Lyle Photography, and Martha Thompson, my assistant, did an amazing job!!! It was natural for me to ask Martha if she would be up for creating something for Bay Professional Photographers Association. It has been an enormous undertaking to transition from what I painfully was doing in Mailchimp, and I am now officially an InDesign life student. So brace

yourselves, and I hope that you enjoy our first issue of our Newsletter. I am so very proud to have something really awesome to showcase our President’s Message, Program, Member Spotlight and even being able to now offer Advertising Space for vendors in the photographic industry. The newsletter will integrate with our website and therefore we will reach a larger photographic community. We hope you enjoy reading this newsletter. Thank you Martha Thompson for an incredible layout of our Newsletter!!! Maria Lyle

Copyright © 2014, Bay Professional Photographers Association, all Rights reserved.This Ntewsletter is produced by Maria Lyle. If you have some information that you want to share with your fellow photographers, please e-mail Maria Lyle. It will be posted on the next Newsletter. Graphic Design: Martha Thompson


Contents APRIL 2014

page 6 page 10 page 14

Program: GEAR UP!

We are excited to welcome back Booray Perry!

Member Spotlight: Gigi O’Dea

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Owner of Memory Portraits by Gigi

At Our Last Meeting

A recap and photos from our last meeting

page 16

Salon News

page 17

FPP Delegate’s News

page 18

Calendar of Events

page 22

Special Events: Blood Drive

By Billy Dzwonkowski By Heidimarie Burke

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May Blood Drive for Maya McKibbin

Let’s get social

14 Visit our Website: www.bayprofessionalphotographers.com And please don’t forget to add BayProfessionalPhotographers@gmail.com to your address book so we will be sure to land in your inbox!

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Monthly Meeting 2nd Monday of Each Month

Hilton Garden Inn 8270 N. Tamiami Trail Sarasota, FL 34243 4:30 PM - 5:30 PM Board Meeting The Board Meeting is only for the Board Members and Committee Chairs. It is imperative that meetings are not to be interrupted when in session. We appreciate your cooperation. 6:00 PM Social 6:30 PM Dinner 7:30 PM - 9:30 PM Program

Click HERE to

RSVP

ting for each mee RSVP DEADLINE TFORIDAY IS NOON MEETING. PRIOR TO THE

Don’t want the hassle of RSVPing for each and every Meeting?

Click Here To Join the Permanent RSVP List As a Permanent RSVP Member, you will be added to the attending list on a monthly basis. If you cannot attend you are responsible to RSVP by Friday at Noon before the meeting to avoid having to make a payment for a no show. NO SHOWS are responsible for paying for the meeting and will receive an invoice. PLEASE DO NOT RSVP THE DAY OF THE MEETING

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Article & Ad Submissions Due Date: First of Every Month PRIOR to the month of publication. Acceptance of advertising does not carry with it endorsement by the publisher. Opinions expressed by Bay Professional Photographers Association magazine or any of it’s authors does not necessarily reflect the positions of the Bay Professional Photographers Association or any of the Board members.


The President’s Message Hello Everyone! As artists, we visualize what we see and create. As photographers, we bring this form to life. As photographic artists, we create memories. Portraits evoke emotion. They portray love, laughter and memories of one’s life. They are treasures that are nestled in frames in homes throughout the world. These images of babies, children, pets and families become more priceless throughout time. The organization, When I Lay Me Down to Sleep, is a group of photographers who sadly photograph babies that are not going to make it. Those precious images are all the parents will soon have left of a child taken too soon. Photojournalist images depict history. The images of Life, Time and National Geographic magazines took our minds to all parts of the world. The images that we see in our newspapers report to us what is happening here and everywhere. It is our past and our present. And with the Internet, it is instant. We see what is going on almost as it is happening today. Our images help others. Beautiful images sell, display and advertise homes and businesses. National and local companies depend on photographers to capture their products to further their business. Those in business depend on us for their profile picture. This image is quite often the first impression a prospective client sees of them. The art and entertainment industry is dependent on captivating images of performers. Cinematography and Photography go hand in hand to promote movies, TV, plays and performances.

Through landscape and nature photography, we share the beauty of the world we live in with others. We deliver beautiful and stunning landscapes of mountains, rivers, streams, trees and flowers. We capture magnificent scenes of sunsets, sunrises and weather images that are sunny, rainy, cloudy, windy, snowy and foggy. We take stunning shots of wildlife in their natural habitat. Wedding Photography is the story of a couple’s wedding day. The couple relives the memories of their wedding each time they look at their photographs and album. We document every aspect of birthdays, anniversaries and reunions. Through our photographs we create beauty, document history, help others, share stunning images and tell a story. We are very lucky to have been given this wonderful gift. I look forward to seeing you all at the Hilton Garden Inn at our next meeting on April 14, 2014!

Thank you, Donna Williams

“taking Pictures is savoring life intensely, every hundredth of a second.” - Marc Riboud www.marcriboud.com

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All Images Š Booray Perry

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PROGRAM

Gear Up!

We are excited to welcome Booray Perry back for the April program.

When photographers get together, what do we talk about the most? Gear. Learning how to shoot incredible images is only part of the game. You also have to pick the right gear. Not just camera’s but cases, tri-pods, modifiers, accessories, software, office machines, etc... If you’re like me you’ve already got a box of old stuff that you thought would be just what you needed and ended up being a waste of money. Hopefully, I can ave you some money (and some searching) by showing you what I use to shoot 100 events a year and why it works for me. From first contact with the client to final touches before delivery, I’ll show you the tricks and tools I’ve discovered that save me time and help me achieve fantastic results for my clients. 7


Booray Perry is owner/operator of Booray Perry Photography in Tampa Florida. He photographs over 80 events a year, is TAPPA’s (Tampa Area Professional Photographers Association) Wedding and Event Photographer 2013 and was a Bronze Medalist 2013 in International Print Competition. He’s not nearly as cool as he thinks he is. www.boorayperry.com www.facebook.com/booray.photo

© Booray Perry

MEMBERSHIP & dues Not a member yet? Fill out an application, make a copy of your Sales Tax Certificate and make a check to Bay Professional Photographers Association. Bring your payment and paperwork to our next meeting OR mail payment and paperwork to: Gigi O’Dea 14762 1st. Ave. East Bradenton, FL 34212 If you would like to become a member, renew your membership or attend one of our meetings as a guest, please email our Membership Chair, Gigi O’Dea gigiodea@yahoo.com CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD YOUR: MEMBERSHIP FORM

“The art of photography is all about directing the attention of the viewer.”

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- Steven Pinker


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MEMBER SPOTLIGHT

Gigi O’Dea

T

he Member Spotlight for April is Gigi O’Dea of Memory Portraits by Gigi.

IF: Can you tell our audience how you started your business? I started being interested in photography twelve years ago after my son was born. We had portraits done by a fantastic Master Photographer and it sparked something inside of me. I started taking photography classes to gain all the knowledge I could and invested in my first digital SLR camera. I started Memory Portraits by Gigi two years later. 10

All Images

LF: How long have you been in business, and where do you see your business in five years?

It has taken me many years of “tweaking” my business to be what I wanted it to be. Life can be a juggle being a mom, nurse and photographer, so finding balance was challenging at times. Two years ago I made the decision to only accept clients who had babies under the age of 1 yr. old unless they were already existing clients. Once a client is in, however, I’m committed to photographing them for as long as they want me. It was the best decision I have ever made for myself, business


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“Pondering Pair”. This image won best in show for one of the BPPA salons. I wanted to create a mirror image of these identical twins, so I first photographed one twin, then “built” on my image by adding the second twin. I do this frequently with multiples in case one does not cooperate. I can then make a composite from my two images if I have to. I was lucky enough, in this shot, to have both babies cooperate.

All Images © Gigi O’Dea

All Images © Gigi O’Dea

and family. As far as the future of my business… 2010, PBS featured a story about me and I hope to see many more newborns in my future. highlighted my work as a nurse/photographer who photographs babies in the NICU as well LF: What is your specialty? as some babies who did not make it. I am also blessed to have many images on display at Babies of course! I have been a Registered Sarasota Memorial Hospital. Nurse in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit for 20 years. I chose my vocation because of my love LF: Can you tell us how long it takes you to plan for babies. About 7 years ago, I went part-time in and execute a photo shoot? nursing and I now spend the rest of my time with my photography business. I am lucky enough to Depending on the type of shoot it is, be able to incorporate both of my jobs together. determines how long it takes me to prepare. I have worked with the American Academy of The majority of my sessions are newborn studio Pediatrics as well as various neonatal magazines sessions. I work directly with the parents to providing images for their publications. In personalize their session when I’m doing their 11


phone consultation. I take information that they tell me about their occupations, hobbies, sports interests and theme or colors of their nursery to develop my plan. I spend on average 1-2 hours planning a session. However, if I have to make something as a prop, as I do at times, it adds on much more time. My outdoor newborn shoots seem to take me much more time to plan as I spend a lot of time studying the light at various locations during different times of the day, following tides and just tracking the availability of a location. LF: What inspires you? It sounds so cliché to say that I’m inspired by babies, but that is evident in my work. This past year, I have been working on a project for the new wing at Sarasota Memorial Hospital creating images that incorporates our community with the babies that have been born there. I have been so reenergized by the images that I have created with these babies in nature. I find myself enjoying the beauty of nature so much more, and I’m always looking for ways to incorporate them into my work. This was the case with my cover image. I had discovered this location one day while I was scouting out the next great place for me to shoot and I drove right past it. Usually after I introduce myself and give people my business card, they will go out of their way to help me out. Who doesn’t have a soft spot for babies? I find that staying fresh and standing out is my most difficult challenge in a world with so many new photographers.

by them. I always make sure the babies are all fed, keeping diapers on works best and creates less drama and mess, and I always get my “safe shot” first, then I work to perfect that. I realize that attention to detail is key and I would ratherAll Images get one perfect shot, then ten mediocre shots. I’m also not opposed to composites if I have to. LF: Why do you belong to BPPA and why would you recommend it to other professionals?

I became a member of BPPA several years ago for all the learning opportunities it offered. I have learned so much from the amazing speakers they have had. The one that stands out the most to me is Lisa Hatcher. Her work was so inspiring! Even though my style is nothing like hers, I gained so much inspiration from what she does and have incorporated many things that I learned from her into my work. The thing I learned most is tapping into your own creativity and pushing your creative boundaries. I also really enjoy the camaraderie of being around other professional photographers. I love being able to bounce ideas off of them, and gettingAll Imagcritiques on my images. I also enjoy seeinges All © Gigi what they are creating as well. O’Dea

LF: What is your biggest challenge when doing a newborn shoot? Multiples! I photograph A LOT of twins and triplets. It is so much work, but the payoff is incredible. I’ve learned a few tricks along the way and swear 12

I love creating dramatic images with mom’s and babies. This was this mom’s fourth baby (all with dark hair), so I knew way in advance that I wanted to do this panoramic image with this mom and baby to showcase the difference in their hair with a high key image. This image, “Mother’s Cradle” won 1st place in the portrait category at one of the BPPA salon’s.


This image is the perfect example of one perfect image is better than 10 mediocre image. After six attempts to find a beach that wasn’t full of drudging equipment, I barely had enough time to set up to get this shot. (Lesson learned…. Check out your location the day before the shoot!) I knew the exact image that I wanted and I worked this idea till I got what I wanted. The smile on the baby boy’s face was just icing on the cake, however, the baby on the right is a composite as I liked her facial expression better in another image. We had such a crowd watching us, which added to the pressure of my fading sun. People just can’t resist stopping and looking when you have darling babies around.

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My inspiration in this image came from a project I was working on incorporating newborns into our community. I wanted to portray some of the most popular attractions in our area. I made the umbrella for this image to give it a beach feel and made a composite from the guard towers on Siesta Key so they would fit into this one image. You would never know that there was a storm only a few miles down the beach. Lucky for us, we were able to do an en LF: You tire shoot without getting caught in the rain.

All Images © Gigi O’Dea

LF: You were Photographer of the Year this year, I feel that the quality of your work has to speak and runner up Photographer of the Year in 2012, even louder to justify your prices. So when I can you tell us how this helps your business? have a potential client inquiring as to why their portraits are such an investment, I can tell them It was a goal of mine to put everything it’s because I’m the best at what I do! Having I had into being Photographer of the Year this earned the Photographer of the Year title from past year, so I was over the moon when I did all my professional colleagues validates the it! I worked so hard with my competition prints quality of my work, and I am proud of this title. this year and I’m thrilled that it paid off. So I’m working hard to keep it this year! to that, I feel that the quality of my work has greatly improved in the past two years, which in turn, affects my business. With so many new LF: Thank you Gigi. And to our readers looking photographers out there practically giving their for a great baby photographer be sure to check work away, it can be hard to compete with that. out www.memoryportraitsbygigi.com 13


Last Meeting

We always enjoy seeing our friends. If you have not been back I highly recommend to come back and join us. From left to right, top to bottom: Connie Summers was busy selling raffle tickets. Jennifer Gerardi & Billy Dzwonkowski, accepting entries for Salon. Rick Pezzenti & Kim Warmolts giving the camera a smile before Salon. Carmen Schettino and Charles Neubauer, long time friends catching up. Arnie Berns, displaying his prize from Johnson Photo Imaging. Billy Dzwonkowski introducing the judges and explaining the rules of Salon. Jennifer Gerardi and Pilar Ojeda. Mallory and her husband Johannes Gross Marina Proskuina, one of our newest members sharing her prize from Reedy Photo. Jim Dohms and our President Donna Williams. Betty Lupacchino and Chuck Neubauer having a photographic discussion. We always appreciate our vendors who provide us with door prizes. Please support our vendors: Johnson Photo Imaging Pro Camera Cases Pro Photo Imaging Reedy Photo

PHOTOS BY MARIA LYLE PHOTOGRaPHY 14



Salon News by Billy Dzwonkowski Thank you to each and everyone of you that participated our Salon. And a huge thank you to our Judges, Robin Phillips, Kim Warmolts & Rick Pezzenti for coming over and be part of this competition. Ou very own Master Photographer, Chuck Neubauer came to be the Moderator. Here are the winners for the March Salon: Best Of Show Marina Prosklirina

Portrait Category First Place - Gigi O’Dea Second Place - Billy Dzwonkowski Third Place - Gigi O’Dea

Unclassified Category First Place, Jim Dohms Second Place, Billy Dzwonkowski Third Place, Betty Lupacchino Album Category First Place, Gigi O’Dea

PRINT OF THE MONTH: Each member may enter one 8x10 print each month. The winner is determined by ballot with each BPPA member getting one vote. Entering 1 point First Place 2 points Don’t forget CREATIVE QUARTERLY coming up soon: There is a ‘Theme’ announced for each quarter. Each member may enter up to two 8 x 10 prints per quarter. The winner is picked by the Master Photographer members of BPPA that are in attendance. Prints for Creative Quarterly will be judged in March, July, September and November. Points are awarded as follows: Entering = 1 point First Place = 2 points Second Place = 1 point Here are the themes for the remainder of the year: July: Relaxation September: Work November: Play

CLICK HERE TO DOWLOAD RULES AND ENTRY FORM FOR OUR NEXT SALON IN JUNE: Salon Print Competition Rules Salon Entry Form 16


Florida Professional Photographers Delegate’s News by Heidemarie Burke There are still some spots available for photographers to enroll for Florida School Of Photography, which is held in Daytona Beach at the campus of Daytona State College. You would spend a week with one instructor concentrating on a particular branch of photography like “Get Your Hybrid On”, “Fundamentals of Portrait Photography”, “Setting Yourself Apart from the Competition and Finally Earning the Income you Deserve”, “Boudoir – Bold and Beautiful”, “Click, Time to Look Good!”, “Branding and Marketing and Sales, oh my! and the Boutique School” and “The Ultimate Composite Using Photoshop”. Cost for FPP and PPA members is $599 for non-members $775. For more information call 813-760-1933 or register online, www.fpponline.org Florida School Of Photography In Daytona Monday, June 1-5, 2014 Florida 2014 Convention In Orlando Saturday, August 9, 2014 - Monday, August 11, 2014

“Photography can only represent the present. Once photographed,the subject becomes part of the past.” - Berenice Abbott


CALENDAR OF EVENTS

In order to avoid missing out on this year’s exciting Salon Print Competition is the program for March, Ju The other meetings are designated for Print of the M Monday, April
14 (RSVP by Friday, 4/11 by Noon) - Scheduled Program: Gear Up! by Booray Perry - Print Of The Month Monday, May 12 (RSVP by Friday, 5/9 by Noon) - Scheduled Program: TBA - Print Of The Month Monday, June 9 (RSVP by Friday, 6/6 by Noon) - President assigns Nomination Committee consisting of three Past Presidents of BPPA to fill Board of Directors positions. - Scheduled Program: Salon Print Competition Monday, June 1-5, 2014 Florida School Of Photography www.fpponline.org Monday, July 14 (RSVP by Friday, 7/10 by Noon) - General Meeting
Nominees for board positions are announced at the general membership meeting and published 30 days before the Annual Meeting. - Scheduled Program: TBA - Print Of The Month - Creative Quarterly: Theme: “Relaxation” Monday, August 11 (RSVP by Friday, 8/1 by Noon) - Annual Meeting of the Corporation And Election of New Board Members - Scheduled Program: TBA - Print Of The Month Saturday, August 9, 2014 - Monday, August 11, 2014 Florida 2014 Convention www.pponline.org/convention_general_info.php Monday, September 8 (RSVP by Friday, 9/5 by Noon) - Scheduled Program: TBA - Print Of The Month - Creative Quarterly: Theme: “Work” Monday, October 13 (RSVP by Friday, 10/10 by Noon) - BOARD: Review Dues and Fees structure for the upcoming year. - BOARD: Set date and plan for Annual Banquet General Meeting - Scheduled Program: Salon Print Competition 18


programs, please add these dates to your calendar. une and October meetings. Month and Creative Quarterly. Please note the following for details Monday, November 10 (RSVP by Friday, 11/7 by Noon) - BOARD: IRS Reporting of 990-N Non Profit Status - BOARD: Review Awards and Certificates for Annual Banquet (get plaques and certificates on order) - Scheduled Program: TBA - Print Of The Month - Creative Quarterly: Theme: “Play” December
 (TBA) Annual Banquet, First Sunday of the month Board Meeting: None General Meeting: None - Turn Over and Planning Meeting:
Scheduled by the upcoming president between Christmas and New Years. All Board Members, New and Old Committee Chairs should attend.

FINANCIAL REPORT BPPA members, please note that all financial documents are available for inspection. Please contact our Treasurer, Arnold Berns, to view these reports. Thank you for your membership in our professional organization.

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ADVERTISING OPPORTUNITIES We are a community of professional photographers and we would love to see your ad in our Newsletter. If you are interested, please reach Maria Lyle at 941.362.1957 | maria@marialylephotography.com

SIZE

1 MONTH

6 MONTHS

1 YEAR

Business Card

$15.00

$75.00

$135.00

Quarter Page

$30.00

$150.00

$270.00

Half Page

$45.00

$225.00

$405.00

Full Page

$60.00

$300.00

$540.00

3.675” W x 2.375” H 4.25” W x 5.5” H 8.5” W x 5.5” H 8.5” W x 11” H

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Bay Professional Photographers Association and Suncoast Blood Bank are pleased to invite you to attend a special event for a special girl!

“SAVE THE DATE” Honorary Blood Drive for Maya McKibbin May 10, 2014 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM Saba Plaza

located on the corner of 41 and Bahia Vista

This is Maya. She was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer called Ewings Sarcoma on in 2013. She is considered to be stage three with a very good chance of survival. Maya has received over 30 units of blood and platelets since the beginning of this journey . She gets a new lease on life with every transfusion.

If you are not able to attend this event, you can always stop by and donate blood on her behalf. www.scbb.org SUNCOAST BLOOD BANK 1760 MOUND STREET | SARASOTA, FL 34236-8501

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Follow Maya’s story and visit her blog: www.mayaspuffercheeks.wordpress.com To learn more about childhood cancer please visit www.thetruth365.org


Sweet, smart, bubbly and a bookworm; those are some of the words that you can use to describe my middle daughter Maya. She is the princess of the family centered between the tomboy (little sister Cali) and the protective mother hen (older sister Lakota). Maya loves her panda bears, everything Paris and anything girly. Being the straight A student since kindergarten she has high expectations of herself academically. Maya also loved her long brown hair... the long brown hair that she no longer has thanks to her diagnosis of stage 3 Ewings Sarcoma in July of 2013. Maya use to be my sensitive child, the one that cried at the drop of a hat because something, anything didn’t go as she expected. My husband Adam and I spend quite a bit of time trying to toughen her up so that she accepts the short end of the stick life hands her at times without tears. When she started complaining initially of pain in her right thigh, we thought it was growing pains that many preteens experience and told her to toughen up, As the pain grew stronger, we took her to the podiatrist, and her pediatrician realizing that there might be more to her pain. We did x-rays of her thigh, when that didn’t show anything we did a blood test. Nothing was wrong, everything was normal. The pain grew stronger, Maya was up late at night not being able to sleep due to pain. Her pediatrician suggested a sonogram to check for endometriosis. That’s when I saw the tumor on her right hip pop out of her side when she laid down. “My hip” was Maya’s answer to what it was. Looking back I regret giving my children privacy and not checking their body for possible abnormalities, perhaps I would have caught the tumor before it became a stage three malignant monster. Trust me, you could only see the tumor when she laid down with her hip exposed. Regrets, there are many. That was July 19, 2013. We were sent to All Childrens Hospital in St. Pete for a CT scan to find out what was causing her pain. At 9pm that night after blood tests, CT scans, x-rays, PET scan and another ultrasound, Adam and I were told that Maya has a malignant tumor. Maya was immediately admitted to the seven south pediatric oncology & hematology unit. Even Though the shock of the diagnosis almost paralyzed us, we grew stronger. After more testing, MRI, biopsy, port installation and bone marrow aspiration, the official diagnosis of Ewing's Sarcoma stage 3 was given to us on July 23rd and she started her 6 cycles (12 weeks) of chemo on July 25; six days after we came in for a CT scan expecting results on the following Monday. Our home away from home became ACH seven south, the oncology nurses and doctors became our family. We thank God for blessing

us with such an amazing hospital and staff. Maya truly has the best care she could possibly ask for. When she was diagnosed we were told she was not a surgical candidate due to the location of the tumor on her right hip and how it was wrapped around the bone (the pain in her right leg was referred pain from the tumor) and our only option was radiation. This meant that our daughter will never be able to have children of her own, will always have brittle bone. What choice did we have? We were going to fight for her at any cost. The fight cost Maya the most. She lost her beautiful hair, eyebrows and eyelashes that were a mile long. She lost her seventh grade year at school with her friends and at the end of the 12 weeks of chemo, she also lost her tumor, which was 100% dead along with her right hip bone. She did not need any radiation because the tumor was dead! What an answer to prayer!! God really blessed Maya and provided her with the best surgeons, doctors, nurses and hospital. She is now in what is known as the consolidation cycle of chemo which consists of another 11 cycles (22 weeks) of treatment. By then of of all her treatments she would have received 17 cycles of chemo (34 weeks of treatment). One of the main effects of chemo is killing all rapidly dividing cells; cancer cells, blood cells, hair cells, etc., because of this Maya has needed a whole lot of blood transfusions. to date, she has received over 60 units of platelets and around 30 units of hemoglobin. She could not fight this battle without blood donors. Other children fighting this battle could not fight without blood donors. Maya gets a new leash in life with every donation. I can see the deflated balloon within her get as full as her spirit is. Through out this battle Maya has lost many things, but she has not lost her spirit. I encourage everyone to please donate blood if you are able. Its been indescribably hard to watch my 13 year old travel this road, but she does it with such strength, determination and courage. Cancer may have taken some things away from Maya, but she has found her true self through all this. As a mother, my heart burst with joy when I see her struggling to walk, but not giving up. When I see that mischievous smile that tells me she is ok, my heart melts. When she makes deals with me to eat all the ingredients that I can juice because she rather eat it than drink it, I just laugh and let her eat them instead. I have seen my daughter gain more independence in a wheelchair than she ever had when she could walk . I struggle to stay positive at times, but she rarely breaks down. She is my hero.

Sashika McKibbin

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