Saylor
Davina
35 Comments
This is her life.
Saylor is an amazing little girl. Her mom is Supermom...I'm pretty sure if I would have asked her to reveal her alter ego she would have shown me the giant 'S' and the cape hidden under her regular mom look.
I first learned about Saylor when she sent in her essay for the Father's Day contest. Over the months I've thought about her on a number of occassions and knew that I wanted to meet her. I finally contacted her mom, Audrey, and we started talking about documenting a day in Saylor's life...which will actually be over the next year. After working out the details we decided to meet at Primary Children's Hospital in Salt Lake. Saylor was born with spina bifida and has been in and out of hospitals since her life began. We went to her orthopedic surgeon who removed the casts (her eleventh set) she had on from her fifth surgery in her short 4 year old life; then drove to Shriners' to have her fitted for new braces for her legs.
Through out the entire process Saylor was so brave. Even when she was afraid she faced what was before her. In so many ways she seems so much older than a sweet little four year old. I was reminded of her still tender innocence and awareness when they went to the gift shop to get the balloon that she looks forward to during every trip to the hospital.
As much as I loved seeing the power and understanding of such a little girl, it was the sweet giving, sacrifice, and effort that Audrey goes to for her children that also touched my heart. As a mom she took my breath away as I Iistened to the health issues that each of her children have had, the endless trips to the hospital, the late nights, the early mornings, the heart stopping realities, and the happiness at little and big successes.
I realized that I wasn't documenting one person's story. I am documenting two.
real. LIFE.
Reader Comments (35)
Thank you for touching my heart today.......
I can't stop wipping my tears... oh thank you for such a wonderful documentation. You are simply amazing! AUDREY, YOU ARE SIMPLY AMAZING! Give sweet kisses to your beautiful little girl.
I'm so humbled by those pictures. Audrey and Saylor you are so brave to face such trials. Thanks for allowing Davina to share your story. It helps so many of us to keep life in perspective. Take Care!
I am so glad that you are doing this little documentary. I have a twin cousin that was born with spina bifida, and many people are often not aware of the difficulties that patients with this defect face. Her name is Wiley and she too has had miltiple foot surgeries as well as at least 7-8 operations on her shunt because it has not been working properly. I admire her for her strength as well as her determination to succeed, as well as my aunt and her twin sister for all the support and help that they give to Wiley. I also have a friend who's daugther is now 3, and she was born with spina bifida and the doctor's didn't even know the whole time. Jaylee was born with club feet as well and she has had operations to correct them, and she is doing very well with her condition. They both have faced great battles, but it amazes me to see how much people grow through the challenges they face. They are both amazing girls, as I am sure Saylor is too.
Great job with the photos, I really love your work.
Beautiful.
wow! I'm speechless. And in tears. Amazing, Davina.
Oh Davina-
I am so touched by your words and photographs. I really can't express what I felt when I saw these pictures. Just know that I was touched in a profound way. Thank you for being brave enough to photograph such a sensitive thing, and do it in such a caring way. And thank you to Saylor and Audrey for being such brave and beautiful people.
What a wonderful family! Thanks for sharing with us and giving us a glimpse into someone else's life. Thanks for the reminder that sometimes our "big" things are really quite insignificant really. I will pray for Saylor and Audrey and look forward to more of their story!
What a brave, sweet, precious little girl! You did an incredible job documenting the day.
daviiiiiiiinaaaaaaaaaaaa!!! :) what a touching story. OMG. love it when she smiles. God bless them!
Hope you are well and hope to see you soon!
Davina, these pictures are so incredible. A friend of mine just had a sweet baby girl and she was born with spina bifida, too, so this collection of images really touched me. What a brave little girl Saylor is and sucha cutie pie. And lucky, too, to have such a brave mom to help her through it all. :) Thanks for sharing this.
Hi Davina, I am one of your many blog stalkers and first time commentor...This is the single most inspiring post/story I have ever read! I have this particular post saved so that when I get discouraged or need inspiration I quickly get my spirits up with this! Thanks for all of your inspiring pictures and helpful tips for photographers just starting out. Go Bless!
Davina, thanks for posting this. Saylor is a brave little girl and should be a reminder to all of us when we have a bad day that there are others that we should be thinking of. Blessings...
I am sitting here at my computer, basically pouting about my day and wanting to tune out for a little while and then I saw this. Wow! Talk about a reality check. That makes my mountains look like a grain of sand. I am impacted. Thanks for sharing such a powerful story..a real story. I will be praying for them both!
Thanks Davina for using your incredible talents to touch all of our lives. Thanks Aubrey for being so sweet and strong. It was great seeing you yesterday. Like I said, it's HOW you handle the situation that makes you a superstar.
What some of you might not know is that Aubrey is an extremely talented floral designer (www.storybookaudrey.blogspot.com). Be sure and check out her work. It comes from her heart and from this blog we can all see what a great place that is.
Lot's of love