I love photographing women. Six months ago I met Laura, fun loving, full of life and super outgoing – and then I heard her story. I knew immediately I wanted to do heirloom portraits for her and her family. You wouldn’t know by looking at her, but Laura is fighting for her life. Five years ago she was diagnosed with Stage 4 Cervical Cancer and given 3 to 5 years to live. She’s a fighter and so inspirational, I hoped she would want to do pictures as much as I wanted to photograph her. Heirloom portraits are classic, beautiful and timeless…. Laura fits this description perfectly.
With your life on the line, three beautiful daughters and a husband, the will and drive to live gives strength to go up against most anything. Laura has had chemo (multiple times), 25 radiation treatments, and even been to Germany for stem cells, vitamins and ozone therapy. She’s tried immunotherapy which works with your immune system, but it didn’t help. Laura also tries to eat low sugar and low carbs, but that’s hard when you’re taking chemo and all you want is mashed potatoes, baked potatoes, and basically anything potato related, but for the most part she’s stuck to a lower carb diet. With all of this the cancer keep growing, and with each new therapy she tries, the end result always sends her back to chemo. It’s the only thing that stops it.
After her last round with chemo, Laura swore she would never go on it again. It’s hard. I can’t even imagine, what she has been through. However the cancer is growing and in November she made the decision to try yet another round of chemotherapy. This one is super powerful, which sounds great, but that really means it super toxic. With one treatment she lost her hair again, she’s incredibly nauseous, and weak, but the day we met she was all smiles, excited about pictures and told me all about her beautiful family.
I’ve only known Laura for six months, and I love her. I can’t image hearing that I had 3 to 5 years to live, and she said that was hard at first, but now she’s at peace. She said she’s not in control, God is. Her faith, family and friends are incredible and that’s where she gets her hope. We laughed, talked very candidly, and connected on a soulful level.
She’s beautiful, inside and out, and I’m in love with her portraits…. heirloom portraits. I told her she looks like a queen, of course she laughed. Please pray for healing. Laura needs a miricle.
Karen Holubek Photography is located in Greenwood SC, located conveniently close to Greenville, Spartanburg, Columbia SC, and Augusta GA. For additional information Contact Us Here.