My friend Joy and I have been dreaming of this day since the beginning of the year. We both are former marine mammal trainers and have an intense desire to give back…..so Mermaids of Hope was created. Mermaids of Hope is an annual event for kids battling disease from children’s hospital in the San Diego area. Participants get their mermaid photos taken by me, at no cost. I have seen how much joy my photographs have brought to families and know how children have a special affinity for mermaids, like I do. So I teamed up with cancer survivor, Joy Clausen Soto, who has been treated at a children’s hospital for cancer and is now an eighteen-year survivor. Joy saw first hand how families used all of their finances to save their child’s life, leaving little to no money left for extras like photography. Together we created this annual event to bring a little happiness back into the lives of children who have been touched by a terrible disease. Zainab was our very first recipient and the event went off without a hitch. Here is a little bio on this sweet little soul. “You’ll never forget an encounter with Zainab — the five-year-old diva touches everyone with her spunk, her dazzling smile, and her charming questions. So when she seemed out of character with low energy during a birthday party in April, her mom took her to the doctor. On April 17, 2017, Zainab was diagnosed with pre B-cell Leukemia and began chemotherapy treatments immediately and remained in the hospital for 31 days straight. Zainab is now counting down her final days of treatment! The tiny cancer-slaying superhero has wowed everyone with tenacity with which she’s approached this mission — she’s remained her sweet, energetic self through her treatment, and takes all her medicines with an enthusiastic “Yup I can!” Zainab loves to dress up, go to the beach and playing with bubbles. She’s back in school and ready to start kindergarten!”

A HUGE thank you goes out to Crystal St Aureole for so generously donating her mermaid tails to the cause, Siobhan Lundt for the make-up application (I think that was Zainab’s favorite part!), Joy Clausen Soto (the other half of this idea), Lori Da Silva who helped coordinate the event, and especially Danielle Cruse Leonard who helped us find sweet Zainab. Our dream couldn’t have been possible without all of the love and support.

I can’t wait to do it again next year!

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