My dad’s journey through illness was a series of ups and downs that reshaped how I see time, family, and the quiet power of photographs. These photos were harder to take. It felt almost wrong at first - to document something so fragile, so raw. Something inside me said, "just take the photos, just in case, just for something to look back on and show him what he went though, what we went through and what he recovered from." But in the back of my mind I knew these may be our last and photos of a journey no one wanted to go on. Now these are some of the most important images we have. Not because they are easy to look at, but because they tell the truth. They show love in its most steadfast form: family standing close, hands resting on shoulders, silent promises that he wasn’t alone.


This gallery only shows a small part of the journey. The ups and downs were unending.

Initial ER visit - admitted to the hospital

Several day stay with slow improvement - appearing to be on the mend

Worse call of my life - taken to the ICU put on a ventilator

Days of slow improvement with much uncertainty

Ventilator out!! Praise God!

Stable, slow improvement

Shock - they cut off his beard - CUT OFF HIS BEARD! No good reason, no approval. They took from him, from us, his identity. No words can even express those feelings.

Improvements stop - put on hospice

Vast improvement - like his old self again - taken off hospice

Just kidding - decline, no hope for recovery

Back on hospice - sent home.

Nothing has been the same ever since.


I post this for my own grieving, coping, healing process. But also to show that photos truly do mean something and something great.

They become proof.

Proof that he was here.


So here is your sign: book your photo session, don't wait for the right time - it may never come.

Black and white photograph of hospital beds with medical equipment and monitors in an intensive care unit.
A series of black and white medical photos showing patient care and treatment in a hospital setting.
Black and white image of prescription medicine bottles and medical supplies arranged on a glass shelf.
Vintage black and white photos show hands playing a tabletop game with numbered tiles and markers.
Black and white panoramic photo showing laboratory research equipment and workspace in a scientific setting.
Hands move game pieces on a board in a series of black and white photographs showing gameplay.
A series of black and white photos showing a medical team performing emergency care on a patient in a hospital setting.
Black and white photo of visitors at a hospital bedside with medical equipment visible in the background.
Black and white panoramic view of a medical examination room with hospital equipment and beds.
A series of black and white medical photographs showing patients receiving treatment in hospital beds.
A close-up black and white image shows hands writing on paper with a pen.
A black and white image shows a row of motivational text signs mounted on a wall with inspirational messages.
Medical patient lying in hospital bed with various medical equipment and monitors visible in the background.
Black and white photo of patients receiving medical care in a hospital ward with medical equipment visible.
Medical equipment and monitors in a hospital intensive care unit showing vital signs and patient data.