I suppose the fact that it’s been over two months since I last saw Talia is a good sign. Of course busy times in life have made it tough for me to visit Talia lately. I’ve remained in touch with Talia’s mother Desiree and have been reassured to hear she’s doing quite well. Tonight I was glad to squeeze in some time tonight to visit with Talia. I admit I was anxious to finally catch up with Desiree and Talia – our visit with one another has been way over due. When I arrived at Talia’s home I was thrilled to see Talia having so much fun with two of her friends as they sang and danced to Hannah Montana.

I made sure that Talia’s sister, Matia, didn’t escape without allowing me to take a photo with her in it too.

Talia also shared with me yesterday’s newspaper where she was featured on the front page of the local section of the Orlando Sentinel. Talia and her sister Matia were featured in the article written about Arnold Palmer’s expansion of its cancer center. (The article is also available online to read.)

I’m glad to see Talia remains energetic around my camera, she certainly isn’t camera shy. I think my camera was pointed at her half the time during my visit with her and she made sure to pose for me several times.

One of the things I enjoyed most about my visit was seeing the happiness that comes with the great friendships surrounding Talia. The girls were cute as could be. Her friends seemed to enjoy having their pictures taken just as much as Talia. I was relieved they all enjoyed being followed around by me as I photographed some fun moments with the girls.

Seeing all the happiness earlier this evening certainly made me think that this amazing child must be surrounded by angels to beat the odds with cancer. Since meeting her last fall she’s made a significant recovery. In fact, Desiree told me this evening that the latest tests indicate that she’s cancer free. Of course there are still chances that her cancer could return like it did last year – but for now all we can do is just pray that the worst is over. During my visit Talia shared with me her collection of angels. Last year when she was sick she decided to begin collecting angels. She showed me several shelves in her room filled with angels – every angel special to her. She showed me her favorite angel, also her first angel, that she was given to her by her mother.

She numbered rocks that were placed beside each angel she had and even gave each angel a name. She showed me the angel I had given her last fall on the first day I met her. Talia asked me to guess what she named her. I asked, “What???”. She tells me to look down to the left. As I did I saw my daughter, Hope, standing beside me. All I could do was smile as she told me she named the angel Hope.

It was nice to also finally meet Talia’s puppy Bella. This squirmy little pup was a challenge to photograph but as you can see in the photos – she’s just as precious as Talia.

It was very promising to see Talia in such great spirits this evening. I’ll keep my fingers crossed that Talia remains just as energetic and resilient as she was this evening.