Jamie & Tim :: Awaiting Elijah | Lake Nona Maternity Photographer

I have known Tim since high school yet I had not seen him in 17 years!  We’ve been Facebook friends for a while and I became Facebook friends with his wife (whom I had never met until this session) after Tim was in a very serious flag football accident during a game nearly 4 years ago.  Tim was carted off the field.  He was paralyzed from the neck down and was expected to be a functional quadriplegic at best.  He broke his neck in two places, endured two surgeries, was put on a ventilator, had a halo screwed into his skull, and a feeding tube in his nose.  He battled pneumonia and a staff infection.  He spent 2 weeks in the hospital and 4.5 weeks in rehab.  He had to relearn how to do pretty much everything from brushing his teeth to walking.  He did it all against all the odds with fierce determination.  He was healed and has made an amazing recovery.  Looking at him now you would never know all that he has been through.  He had a surgeon once say that he had a .01% chance of regaining his body control.  He gives all the glory to God and has since started a non profit foundation called the Tim Callahan Inspiration Foundation.  The purpose of his foundation is to inspire kids through his story of faith and determination.  They put on free faith based sports camps for kids ages 5-15 in the Jacksonville, Florida area.

Their journey to become parents wasn’t a cake walk either.  Jamie and Tim started trying to have a family one month before the accident.  Over a year after the accident they were ready to try again.  It was apparent they would need some help.  After 3 failed rounds of artificial insemination they conceived with just the help of fertility drugs.  That pregnancy ended early in miscarriage.  Devastated, they waited a few months to try again.  They conceived again and that baby is Elijah.  He is due just three days after the 4 year anniversary of Tim’s accident.  Jamie says, “We both know Gods timing is perfect and stayed faithful throughout our journey, although not easy. We know that Elijah is a miracle as with any life and we don’t take that for granted. He is a blessing to us and hopefully will bless many others!”.

So thankful that the timing of a trip to Jacksonville worked out so that I could take these pictures for them.  I drove through the worst thunderstorm on the way to meet them.  We decided to just go for it since there were no options to reschedule.  A dear friend and her kids met me on literally 10 minutes notice to help carry things, hold a reflector and even umbrellas if needed.  Somehow the rain stopped and we were able to do the shoot.  We even got a hint of a sunset at the end.  Thank you both for allowing me to capture this special time in your lives.  It was a blessing to me.  You two will be amazing parents!