The photo of that handsome young man above is that of Anthony C. Sanchez. Born August 1st, 1989. Son to Anthony and April Sanchez. Many of you know Rebel sisters Kristie Clay and Sam Enos, wh0 have been fighting this rebellion alongside us for quite some time now. Anthony happens to be their cousin. He was 23 years old. His aging stopped on May 14th, 2012.

Last month, Anthony was diagnosed with AIDS. After blood testing, they found out 2 things… 1) it looks to be he contracted HIV from an unknown source when he was 15 years old and 2) had he been tested only a year ago they could have stopped the HIV’s progression to AIDS. Fact of the matter though, you can’t wish about changing the past when your reality is the present. Ever the optimist, he was told that if he maintained taking care of himself and with the right medications, he’d be alright!

As it would turn out, this prediction was far from coming to fruition. He WASN’T feeling better 2 weeks later and found that he was starting to have trouble breathing. A trip to the hospital uncovered the unfortunate circumstance of Pneumonia. Given the dire scenario, he was admitted to the hospital. For 4 weeks, he fought with all he had. His family fought with everything THEY had.

On May 14th, he went down swinging.

Do give a bit MORE of a backstory, Anthony’s younger brother Dylan had gotten into a bad car accident a year prior. He was on his way to school and was blindsided. Even with more surgeries than you’d think possible, Doctors didn’t predict survival. If he DID survive, full recover was slim to none. The bright spot on this story is that via some sort of miracle, Dylan DID make a full recovery. By the grace of whatever you find to be holy, he made it. I’m sure you caught some keywords in there though… “Surgeries,” “Doctors,” and “Recovery.”  The hospital bills piled up. So much so they lost their house in order to keep moving forward.

Trying to keep afloat after such a trying event is hard enough. That’s when the family was hit with AIDS diagnosis. With no paid leave off of work, Anthony’s mother and father (Kristie and Sam’s Aunt and Uncle) stayed by Anthony’s bedside till the curtain was closed. A new set of hospital bills emerged…

As a community, this is where we come in. Kristie Clay does photography of the professional variety. She is amazing at what she does, and wants to help out her family. If she was a millionaire, her and her family’s problem would be solved! She’s not, however so… it’s not. To compensate, this Sunday and next Sunday, she is offering one hour of a professional photo experience. The weather is perfect for family portraits, right? Doesn’t the sunshine make you want to commemorate how much you love your hunny with a picture or several? How about those glamour shots you’ve been looking to send off to those modeling agencies? Pick your pleasure! Either way, the breakdown is as follows:

What’s the deal?: 1 Hour of professional photography with a full CD of all photos taken, professionalized by Kristie herself

When?: May 20th (Sunday), May 21st (Monday), and May 27th (Sunday). ALL DAY! Space is limited to hours in the day!

Cost: $80 (normally $100-$200 depending). 100% of the proceeds are going to the Sanchez family. No profit, just love!

Location: Spring Lake. Kristie knows all the great photo op spots!

Contact Kristie Clay to book your appointment! She will be running them ALL DAY both days, so you’ll have lots of options (before they fill up that is!).

Kristie Clay Contact Info: 

• Phone Number: (707)694 – 5086
• E-mail:  kristieclay@hotmail.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kristie.clay