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October 05. 2012 9:08PM
LYRA EVANS (Courtesy)
Photographer rallies support for Lyra's family
LYRA EVANS (Courtesy)
Large groups are not out of the ordinary at a local branch of a chain of portrait studios, but photographer Jose Gonzalez says he won't forget the family that came in last week.
It was the extended family of Chuck and Erica Evans of Milford; their children, and lots of cousins, aunts and uncles. About 20 people arrived for the appointment to have an extended family portrait taken.
Chuck Evans rested his 17-month-old daughter, Lyra, in front of Gonzalez.
“When they put her on the counter, her dad told me it could have been her last photo,” Gonzalez said.
“The little girl looked at me and smiled and put her hand out; I touched her hand and I literally burst into tears.”
Lyra is terminally ill. She was born with a congenital heart defect and has undergone three major surgeries.
None of them fixed the little girl's cardiac issues. But the girl has touched many hearts.
“The mom and dad were crying,” Gonzalez said. “Her dad said, 'Thank you for making the shoot memorable because it is Lyra's last portrait.'”
Under the little girl pink Patriots jersey Lyra wore for the picture are the feeding tubes that help sustain her.
Her father told Gonzalez the doctors say she has less than a month to live.
“I went home and spoke to my wife and kids,” said Gonzalez, a father of five. “I was bothered by it for three or four days.”
It was his daughter, Tiana Calascibetta, 12, who suggested that he do something about it.
Gonzalez got busy, with the goal of rallying community support for the family and showing that support when the family comes back for an intimate family photograph, with their daughters and their son.
“They're coming back on Sunday,” Gonzalez said. “They just know that it will be the final photo shoot.”
Gonzalez and co-workers at Picture People have been recruiting other businesses at the Mall of New Hampshire to make the day special for the Evans family, seeking out gifts for the family from individuals and businesses.
“My whole point is trying to make this a memorable experience for the family, I want them to know that there are people out there who care,” Gonzalez said. “They are now part of my life because I have so much love for the little girl,” he said.
His goal, Gonzalez said, is to leave the family with memories of the time with their daughter and sister that remain as vivid as her image in the color portraits that will live forever.
“The photo will be memories for mommy and daddy that Lyra will leave behind for her family knowing she touched a lot of hearts,” he said.
It was the extended family of Chuck and Erica Evans of Milford; their children, and lots of cousins, aunts and uncles. About 20 people arrived for the appointment to have an extended family portrait taken.
Chuck Evans rested his 17-month-old daughter, Lyra, in front of Gonzalez.
“When they put her on the counter, her dad told me it could have been her last photo,” Gonzalez said.
“The little girl looked at me and smiled and put her hand out; I touched her hand and I literally burst into tears.”
Lyra is terminally ill. She was born with a congenital heart defect and has undergone three major surgeries.
None of them fixed the little girl's cardiac issues. But the girl has touched many hearts.
“The mom and dad were crying,” Gonzalez said. “Her dad said, 'Thank you for making the shoot memorable because it is Lyra's last portrait.'”
Under the little girl pink Patriots jersey Lyra wore for the picture are the feeding tubes that help sustain her.
Her father told Gonzalez the doctors say she has less than a month to live.
“I went home and spoke to my wife and kids,” said Gonzalez, a father of five. “I was bothered by it for three or four days.”
It was his daughter, Tiana Calascibetta, 12, who suggested that he do something about it.
Gonzalez got busy, with the goal of rallying community support for the family and showing that support when the family comes back for an intimate family photograph, with their daughters and their son.
“They're coming back on Sunday,” Gonzalez said. “They just know that it will be the final photo shoot.”
Gonzalez and co-workers at Picture People have been recruiting other businesses at the Mall of New Hampshire to make the day special for the Evans family, seeking out gifts for the family from individuals and businesses.
“My whole point is trying to make this a memorable experience for the family, I want them to know that there are people out there who care,” Gonzalez said. “They are now part of my life because I have so much love for the little girl,” he said.
His goal, Gonzalez said, is to leave the family with memories of the time with their daughter and sister that remain as vivid as her image in the color portraits that will live forever.
“The photo will be memories for mommy and daddy that Lyra will leave behind for her family knowing she touched a lot of hearts,” he said.
