Jul 27

Jul 27 Nathan [giving is awesome contest]

[love those eye lashes and that sweet.sweet smile] Photographers nationwide kindly participated and contributed a session to a family in need through a thoughtful gesture born by Kristen of Essential Imagery in Philly. The movement:: Giving is Awesome:: As the news of the contest spread and participating photographers volunteered the service, letters poured in from all over nominating those who the public felt deserved the session. ::see blog announcement here:: It was hard to choose but the submission below won my heart over and to simply put it, I have learned from these amazing folks that family goes much, much further than love+ support, it's about sacrifice and giving more of yourself to others than what you can ever imagine getting back. Not only to witness just how much selfless love and dedication Jamie shares with her cousin, Nathan, but to witness the enthusiasm he has for Duke Blue Devils as a fan and just how much he loves his new scooter!

I have shared the letter below which was submitted by Jamie, as well as some images from Nathan's session so you too can know Nathan's story! For such a small guy, he has ::ENORMOUS:: personality and spunk!

[nominating letter by Jamie]

The person I would like to nominate isn’t very old or experienced, but someone who experiences a tragedy everyday; he struggles to stay afloat, and more importantly struggles to be “normal.” His name is Nathan Tucker, and in January he will be 9 years old; A miracle in itself.

What’s so special about Nathan? He was born with 31 broken bones. No one knew what was wrong with him. After some tests and studies we found out he had osteogenesis imperfecta, more commonly known as the “brittle bone disease.”

The easiest way to explain it is that his bones are hollow. They are very weak and at any point they can just break. He can make one wrong move and they fracture. His life expectancy was two weeks.

The first year of his life was excruciating. I remember we held him on a pillow in fear of breaking any bones. I remember thinking how awful it must be that his own parents couldn’t cuddle with him or feel the sweet embrace of their child.

He began treatments at John Hopkins and then at Duke to strengthen his bones. The treatments worked for a while. They would put an IV in through a vein in his brain – the only logical place to decrease any chances of breaking any bones. Eventually his head got too big and he could no longer receive treatments.

He has one brother, who is absolutely normal. In many conversations with Nate, he’s expressed his desire to be “normal.” He would love the ability to walk, run, play, and “win trophies,” – just like his brother.

I’ll never forget one Christmas we got the children in our family scooters. We got Nathan something more practical and as the kids rode their scooters in the yard, I looked over at Nathan who had big tears in his eyes. “I want to ride,” was all he could manage out. I picked him up and sat him on my lap and the men in the family pushed us around. To this day, I’ve never forgotten that smile on his face that spread from ear to ear.

While Nathan may be physically handicapped, I can assure you that he makes up for it in personality. He’s the biggest Duke fan you’ll ever meet and one of the most mature eight year olds I’ve ever known. He doesn’t appreciate people who feel sympathetic for him and wants everyone to treat him like you would treat an ordinary person.

Just this year, our community took up money for Nathan to help his family purchase a power chair, (I’ve enclosed a picture). I can’t express enough the importance of this power chair to Nate. He finally feels “normal!” He can move like everyone else and while it’s not with his legs, he has his own wheels and can control them with the touch of a button. Boy is he proud!

He’s still hanging in there and I can’t imagine my life without this child. He is my cousin and although we are 14 years apart, I’ve never learned so much from anyone.

I would love for Nathan to win this photo shoot. We don’t know what tomorrow holds or how long we will have this precious person in our lives, but I cherish every picture I have of him and I know his parents do the same.

Nathan has had many pictures taken throughout his life, but none with his new power chair. I would love to have some pictures that capture the freedom he now has. I hope you please consider Nathan in your search to give.

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