You wouldn’t know it if I walked past you, or possibly even if we were friends. You might not know it even if you looked me in the eye. The one thing that I rely on most in this business has been what’s caused me so much trouble throughout the years. As a photographer, I rely on my artistic eye to create beautiful images. But what happens if my own “lenses” (See what I did there? haha) don’t work properly?

I’ve worn glasses since the ripe old age of 5, and have had double vision ever since I could remember. Thankfully I didn’t have to wear an eye patch, but I had thick enough bifocals to make up for it. I was the lucky child whose vision could no longer be corrected by glasses alone, and the summer before middle school, I had eye muscle surgery to correct the issue.

I will spare you the details, but it was a quick and easy surgery and I was back to normal in no time (minus a few …interesting complications). That always seems to happen to me. You know, when you get an extremely long list of every symptom or side effect from medication (or a medical procedure), usually you disregard it because you think, “Oh that won’t happen to me!” However, I’ve learned to start paying attention to those kinds of things because they can happen, and they will likely happen to me (yes, I’m speaking from experience!).

Fast forward a few years to my freshman year of high school. I began taking a powerful medication for my skin that seemed to be addressing the issue. Little did I know that it was causing so much damage in other areas of my body. After about a month and a half, I began to notice my double vision again. Because I had the corrective surgery, I shouldn’t have been seeing double. After getting into the doctor right away, I found out that I had something called pseudo tumor cerebri. This basically meant that I had all of the symptoms of a brain tumor, but didn’t actually have a brain tumor. Talk about scary, am I right?? If I didn’t immediately stop the medication and have a spinal tap to remove the excess pressure, I would have gone blind.

Permanent damage and two more eye surgeries later, here I am, a photographer who uses the one thing that could have been taken away from me to create beautiful, lasting memories for my clients. I’ve shared my story with the women in my church multiple times, and have been on the prayer list before, during and after each surgery. My church family knows my story, and they know the struggles and frustration its caused me. Earlier in the year, I was photographing a family from my church, and the mom brought up the fact that it is incredible the ways God has used these trials for my good. The Lord is redeeming a once terrible situation and has placed in me a passion for photography. What once caused such grief is now the means that provides great joy.

I wanted to share a part of this story today for a few reasons. First, to give hope. Everyone is going through something, whether its big or small. We all have trials and at times, we feel like we are never going to make it out of them. I want to encourage you today because I believe that
the Lord works for the good of those who love Him. He is the Healer. He is the Perfecter. And He is the Redeemer. Second, I’m asking for prayers. In a few weeks I’ll be having my fourth eye surgery (I bet you saw that one coming, right??). I’ll be taking the majority of July off to recover, and would greatly appreciate any prayers that are sent my way. My friends, you are so greatly appreciated.

With joy,
Kelsie

P.S. Here’s a fun #FlashbackFriday! Aren’t my momma’s old glasses the best?? Sorry for the selfie, but it was too good not to post 🙂