A few weeks ago, I photographed our first client of I See Love. His name is Gabriel. I have to say that he was just the sweetest little boy! And what a precious family! Here are a few photos from our fun filled afternoon as well as a little bit about Gabriel.

Gabriel’s mom, Erika, tells us his story:

Gabriel was born February 26, 2010. He weighed 6 lbs and 15 oz. He was 3 weeks early, but completely healthy. Gabriel has never had a cold, cough, sniffle, or thrown up. He was always perfectly healthy and is always extremely happy.

It all began at Gabriel’s 6 month check up. Our wonderful doctor, Dr. Woodhams, told us his growth from his 4 month check up.He was 98% in weight and height, but his head size was off the charts. Dr. Woodhams told us she wasn’t concerned because he was a very large baby to begin with, but she thought it would put all our minds at ease if Gabriel got an ultrasound on his head, just to make sure.

I had called Scottish Rite to set up an appointment, but never received a call back from the radiology department. Me and my husband Macho decided Gabriel’s head was of no concern and that he was just a big boy, and that we wouldn’t worry about trying to schedule an ultrasound. A couple of days later, I called Scottish Rite again to try to schedule the appointment and they apologized for not calling back and then set up an appointment for the following Monday.

September 20th, 2010 we went for Gabriel’s ultrasound appointment. They took some pictures, told us they would discuss them with the doctor, and then they came back. “The doctor would like more pictures,” the ultrasound tech told us. They took more pictures and went to show the doctor again. When she came back she said “I’m sorry, the doctor needs more pictures.” We began to get anxious and nervous. Finally after the 3rd round of pictures, they came back into the room and advised us that Gabriel’s ventricles in his brain were much larger than normal, and that it is possible he will need a shunt. They sent us immediately to the emergency room. Several hours later we met the neurologist Dr. Riesner who explained he wanted to do an MRI of Gabriel’s brain to get a better look at the ventricles. After Gabriel’s MRI, Dr. Riesner said he had pictures he would like us to see. We all went to a computer with Dr. Riesner and looked at the scan of Gabriel’s brain. The pictures showed two masses on his brain. They weren’t big masses, but something to be worried about. Dr. Riesner said he didn’t know what it was, but he wanted to biopsy it in the morning. He said he had moved all his appointments back so he could work on Gabriel first thing in the morning. And that is when everything started….

Gabriel was diagnosed with ATRT. His plan is to undergo 52 weeks of chemotherapy with 6 weeks of proton therapy radiation. His treatment began in October of 2010. We are praying for a safe year and that Gabriel will be cured of his disease.