09/08/2026
There are some people who enter your life for a season, and then there are the people who become part of your story. Kailee is one of those people for me. Before she was my friend, she was my doula.
She was there for two of my three pregnancies, including my very first birth. As a brand-new mama, I leaned on her guidance and advocacy more than I could ever put into words. She stayed beside Chris and I through more than 20 hours of labor, helping me feel supported and confident during a moment when I felt anything but.
And along the way, my doula became a dear friend. Over the years, I've watched her pour that same love, compassion, and advocacy into countless other women and families during some of the most vulnerable moments of their lives.
So watching her become so incredibly sick over the last couple of years has been heartbreaking.
What began as a seemingly ordinary illness spiraled into an incredibly, devastatingly serious battle with lupus and lupus nephritis. Her health deteriorated to the point that she could no longer walk, speak normally, care for her children in the ways she once had, and eventually she entered hospice and began preparing for a future where she would not be here to raise her babies.
And then… somehow, there was a glimmer of hope.
A new treatment gave her body a chance to respond, and slowly, she began getting pieces of her life back. She started walking, eating, laughing, and getting stronger.
And now, she is here. Recovering. Getting more time with her babies. More mornings. More bedtime snuggles. More birthdays. More beach days. More of the ordinary moments that suddenly feel anything but ordinary.
When I had the opportunity to photograph Kailee and her babies playing together on the beach, it meant so much more to me than taking family pictures. It was a milestone. A celebration of her recovery and of the gift of being able to make these memories together.
Watching her run, laugh, explore, and love on her babies, knowing how different this moment could have been, was something I will never forget. Not long ago, we weren't sure we'd ever get these moments. And now I got to stand on the beach with my camera in my hands and watch this woman I love chase her babies through the sand.
What a gift.
Kailee, you have spent so much of your life holding other women up when they needed someone to hold them. You have been a source of strength and comfort for so many families, including mine.
I hope you know how deeply you are loved and how many people are celebrating this chapter with you.
These photographs are a little piece of that celebration. A reminder of how far you've come and of this beautiful gift of more time.
You have given so much of yourself to other people. I'm incredibly grateful that, for one little afternoon, I got to give something back.
I love you, friend.
And I am so, so happy you're here. 🤍
It's also incredibly meaningful to see Kailee turn her own experience into something that can help other families through The Light We Leave, a foundation she created to support children and families navigating a parent's serious or life-limiting illness. Through emotional support, memory and legacy projects, meaningful family experiences, and practical community care, the foundation is helping families create connection and lasting memories during an incredibly difficult time.
https://thelightweleave.wixsite.com/tlwl
