Children's Mercy Hematology/Oncology Staff
About a month into our son's battle with leukemia, it occurred to me that we were surrounded by some of the most talented, caring and professional medical team that I'd ever seen. At the time, there were roughly 120 doctor's, nurse, care assistants and social worker's actively involved in saving Jack's life and somehow managing to take care of the rest of our family while they did it.
I decided that it would be a crime to not recognize these amazing people so I set out to make their portraits. Using an empty office space at the end of the hall, a single camera body and lens, and one small strobe I started making portraits of the staff while we were getting in patient care. Some of these photographs are were taken in the middle of the night when I couldn't sleep, some were taken during the days during some downtime. With all the subjects, I asked them to tell us a little bit about themselves: What made you decide to become a doctor or nurse? What gives you the strength to help these families during the worst times of their lives? Not surprisingly, most of these amazing people turned the spotlight away from themselves and instead wrote message to Jack.
Each portrait is paired with the subjects handwritten notes.