I was lying in bed when an email popped up on my phone, notifying me that someone had reached out through my website for photography.  Excitedly I unlocked my phone, clicked the email, and read the message from Marissa.  

She was reaching out to see if I would be available for a session that weekend (we were anticipating a significant snowstorm), and she wanted some magical pictures of her and her sweet daughter playing in the snow.

The next morning, I gave Marissa a call.  We talked, and I asked her why this session was important to her.

She expressed that she is usually behind the camera as the photographer, rarely in front of it (a common reason from many of the mamas I connect with).  She wanted to have a session dedicated to her and her daughter, so they both would have these portraits to cherish.

“Why is the timing right, now?” I asked.

“Well,” She said, “Over the summer, I suffered a cardiac event and nearly died. Well, technically I DID die. Thankfully my husband and quick paramedics were able to revive me.”

It was a warm summer evening, and Marissa was getting ready for bed with her one year old daughter asleep in the other room.  Marissa crawled into bed, her husband sitting next to her, and fell asleep. Next, she’d wake up to the first responders reviving her, a trip to the ICU, and finding out she has a genetic heart disorder.  Her husband, who thankfully was still awake and lying next to her during the event, had witnessed Marissa’s cardiac arrest and frantically called 911.  Police arrived in minutes equipped with a defibrillator, and they were able to get Marissa back to earth side in a matter of minutes.

Marissa would spend a week in cardiac ICU followed by numerous doctors appointments and the installation of a pacemaker, to prevent future cardiac events.

This harrowing event changed Marissa’s view on life.  If life could be taken away so quickly, what are we doing by putting energy into things that don’t really matter? And what does ultimately matter? 

One of the things on Marissa’s new priority list was having portraits of her with her daughter, and I was going to be the person who guided her to receiving that.

We had our session, just after the snowstorm, on a quiet Sunday afternoon. We started in their home, with Marissa and her daughter playing together in the dream playroom they built.  Marissa had mentioned that her and her husband were proud of the space and way they are raising their daughter, and she wanted that to be witnessed within the pictures. So, they played. I watched. I documented.

Play-doh bracelets. Book reading. Dancing. Playing. Laughing. 

So much love and adoration flowed throughout our session. It was truly a wonderful experience.

Then, we bundled up and went outside, where the snow beautifully gripped the trees, creating a magical backdrop Hallmark would be jealous of. I watched as they played, laughed, snuggled, and loved on one another.

“I think you had someone watching over you”, I would say to Marissa the next time we met, as she shared more of her story of that night in depth, during her session reveal. She shared how if it weren’t for her husband's quick call, how quickly the police responded, if the police didn’t have a defibrillator in their vehicle, how her story may have been much different.

She also shared that even after her cardiac arrest, she was thankfully not affected with the after effects of essentially, well, dying. She returned to normal life, thankfully unscathed.

Someone was watching over her.

And the universe/God/Spirit/etc had decided that her life wouldn’t end that warm summer night.

She is here to snuggle her sweet babe, laugh with her husband, love, hold, and cherish the people she cares about. To truly put first the things that matter, letting go of the rest of it.

Thank you, Marissa, for allowing me to share your story. For letting me hold space for you and witness you as the amazing mama you are. I will always be grateful the universe connected us <3