In the Fall of 2014, The University of Georgia's Photojournalism Department was one of several schools to partner with the Alexia Foundation for their "Family Project". The idea behind the project was to showcase families of all kinds and what it looks like to be a family in today's world.
For my class, my professor elected to have each of us choose a family with something unique about them. Because of my passion for pediatric healthcare, I selected a family who has a child who has overcome serious medical problems and how that affects their daily life. As a person whose own sibling was once a patient at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta (just like Parker), I especially wanted to showcase how this affects the sibling relationship.
Parker was born with hydrocephalus, which means there is fluid around the brain. He was born with 5% brain matter. He is now a thriving six year old who loves to take center stage at any event (especially Dance Marathon events at Auburn and UGA), loves collecting Auburn football tickets and being a ninja. Skittles are his jam and when he grabs your hand, your heart instantly melts. He still goes to multiple types of therapy each week and struggles a little bit some physical activities because of his muscle definition.
This is by far my favorite project that I have ever had the honor of doing. A HUGE thank you to the Grelecki family for letting me into their lives and for giving me the opportunity to tell just a little chunk of an incredible story on a very special family.