THE BRIDGE
DIANE
I met Diane in the summer of 2022. A long time friend had reached to me to book a Legacy portrait session for her aunt Diane, a cherished and influential figure in her life. She excitedly told me how much I would love Diane. “She’s like us” she said, noting that Diane is also a free-spirited and resilient woman with stories from a life well lived. We were all to meet on the Roebling bridge and then move to my studio for portraits. Diane had always wanted a photo of herself on the bridge and we would now make that photo on the day she finished her last round of post surgery chemotherapy.
Diane is a cancer survivor in more ways than one. Diane was actively caring for her husband as he battled cancer when she was diagnosed with a type of cancer in the eye. The progression of which would lead her to a surgical removal of her eye called enucleation. It is a form of treatment to remove the tumor from your body and is often followed by chemotherapy.
Diane had her surgery on March 22, 2020. This happened to be the day Ohio Governor Mike DeWine issued mandatory shutdown orders for the state of Ohio in the wake of the Covid pandemic. Diane was unaware of the escalating situation while she was prepped and sent into surgery. In an unnerving turn of events, Diane was to awake from her surgery only to find herself alone. Her family including her daughter, her fiercest advocate, was nowhere to be found.
Seeing the empty corridor, Diane noted that she thought for a moment that she had not survived the surgery and this was all a fever dream of a ghost. The pain became too much and Diane returned to her bed. It was at some point in the next few hours that medical staff arrived to tend to her and informed her of the shutdown situation. Her daughter and family members had been made to leave.
Diane's granddaughter did her makeup for her portrait. She was excited to show off her summer outfit.
She kept her glasses on for most portraits other than this one - they helped keep her eye bandaging in place.
Diane with daughter and granddaughter