Pictures of Hope; Helping Amazing Photographer, Naomi Williams

Naomi Williams is an extremely talented photographer here in the NE Florida area and Megan and I have just heard of her sad and devastating news...please read below, which was taken from her support website, http://www.fornaomi.com/:

The Casa Monica Wedding Team extends their thoughts and prayer to Naomi and her family for a quick and full recovery.

About Pictures of Hope

Pictures of Hope is a collaborative response initiated by family and friends of Naomi Williams. Naomi is fighting cancer – Stage 4 Metastatic Melanoma - and has just begun a very tough and challenging journey. Please join us as we support an incredible woman who has had a huge impact on our community. This initiative and Blog is for sharing hope, information, dreams, thoughts, prayers and support. DONATIONS ARE APPRECIATED and will help Naomi and Nik focus on Naomi’s recovery at this time where Naomi is unable to work.

Just one month ago, 29-year-old wedding and portrait photographer Naomi Williams of Ponte Vedra Beach was living a normal life; watching her 2½-year-old son Jake grow bigger by the day, running a successful studio and together with her husband Nik of 8 years, they were looking for a bigger home and hoping for a little brother or sister for Jake.

That was before everything changed. What started as a pain in Naomi’s back led to several tests and surgeries and then, the verdict: Stage 4 Metastatic Melanoma - a type of skin cancer which has spread from its original site to other parts of the body, in Naomi’s case into her spine, pelvis and lungs.

The emotional burden of this grim discovery and the journey ahead is difficult enough. We can all offer words of support and our heartfelt prayers, but there’s something equally powerful we can do for Naomi, Nik and Jake. Like so many other, the Williams family lives on dual income. Obviously, Naomi is unable to work causing a financial burden that this young couple simply can’t concentrate on right now.

Pictures of Hope is a collaborative response initiated by family and friends of Naomi Williams. We are trying to raise funds for Naomi and her family who have just begun a very tough and challenging journey. Unfortunately, the effectiveness of currently approved treatments - such as Chemotherapy and Radiation - for Stage 4 Metastic Melanoma are very limited. Should Naomi’s body not respond to her current treatment, she and Nik will be seeking alternative treatment programs abroad which have had greater rates of success but are not covered under insurance.
In addition to this website initiative, we have also designed an event called Picture A Cure which is aimed at raising awareness of skin cancer - so that other families can be reminded of the importance in taking measures in disease protection, living in the moment, and planning ahead if disaster should strike. Picture A Cure is scheduled for June 13th 2009 and will help raise funds for Naomi and for skin cancer research. Tickets will have a suggested donation value of $50 per person. Due to space considerations, a limited number of tickets are available. If you’d like to request a ticket, please email your address and your desired number of tickets to: info@naomiwilliams.com.

Please join us as we support an incredible woman who has had a huge impact on so many lives - through her work as a wedding and portrait photographer, as a mother, wife and as a friend.