A few months back, I received an email from someone named Tharan, saying he was interested in working with me for a campaign to create awareness about ALS. Some of you may know what what ALS is, but most of you wont. And Ill be honest with you, I had no idea what this was either until the project was presented to me.
Here’s a little blurb about it from the ALS.ca website, so you can kind of get an idea.
“Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease) is a fatal neurodegenerative disease. People living with the disease become progressively paralyzed due to degeneration of the upper and lower motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord. Eighty per cent of people with ALS die within two to five years of diagnosis– unable to breathe or swallow. Ten per cent of those affected may live for 10 years or longer.
ALS has no known cure or effective treatment yet. For every person diagnosed with ALS, a person living with ALS dies. Approximately 2,500 – 3,000 Canadians currently live with this fatal disease.”
He then told me his mother was diagnosed with ALS 2 years ago and didnt have much time.
We quickly began drawing up concepts and ideas. The campaign that Tharan came up with is actually quite complex, but my part was simply to capture his mother through portraits and to document an outing with the two of them.
I did what I could and above all else, I really just wanted to create a beautiful memory of her for him.
Anyone who knows me knows my mother is the most important person in my life, and trust me, when he told me his story, you can imagine how I felt.
To Tharan, you are doing a beautiful thing that many people would not be able to push through. But keep pushing. I wish you all the best with this campaign, with finding a cure and with your mother. Thank you for allowing me to help eternalize such a critical moment in your life. It has been an honor and a pleasure to have worked with you and to have met your mother.
*Will tips his hat
For more information about ALS and the foundation, please visit www.als.ca
Thanks for posting this. My mother passed from this disease in 04. It’s tough.. It moves fast, and people need awareness cuz it’s often misdiagnosed. Respect
a close friend of mine has a grandfather who is currently battling this disease…these images you’ve captured are so beautiful…hopefully spreading awareness as you have in this post will ensure that someone is diagnosed properly as Wenzel stated…and kudos to both you and Tharan for helping bring this disease to light for readers who may not have otherwise know much about it
You really captured something beautiful in those pictures. Hope things work out for you and your mom Tharan!
xoxoxo