Photographer brings dreams of sick children to life

Canadian photographer Sean van Del is leading the Drawing Hope project. He takes drawings of children dreaming of recovery, and creates magical photographs based on them with the authors in the main roles. Sean believes that this gives the sick child and his family a little more strength to fight for life.

He sells the pictures, and transfers the proceeds to his young heroes. The photographer urges them to never lose hope. After all, everything in this world is possible. And we agree with this statement.

1. Riley is the queen of hearts

2. At 7 months old, Riley underwent a heart transplant. She is now a member of www.beadonor.ca — an online registry supporting donors.

3. David is the Guardian of the stars

4. David was born with underdeveloped left heart. He has already gone through 3 surgeries in his life. And although David needs a transplant in the future, he knows that all his dreams will come true.

5. Chance — captain

6. In June 2011, Chance was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. His chemotherapy will last until October 2014, but the desire to survive inspires his family and those around him.

7. Alexandria is the queen of the sweet kingdom

8. Alex was born with an underdeveloped common bile duct in the liver. A month old, she underwent a surgical procedure, but after 3 months it turned out that a transplant was needed. Fortunately, the organ was found in just 8 days. Her new life became possible only thanks to the donor.

9. Dawson is the pirate of Trillium Island

10. Dawson developed meningitis when he was only 2 months old, resulting in bleeding in the brain, as well as infections in the kidneys and bladder. He spent the first years of his life in the hospital, fighting diseases. Dawson spends most of his time in a wheelchair, but that doesn't stop him from dreaming.

11. Sadie is a sunny princess

12. Sadie can't leave the house without protection from the sun. She spends most of her time in the dark. But with her happy and radiant smile, anything is possible. Even the sun from sunflowers.

13. Dominic is a time traveler

14. Dominic was born prematurely with Down syndrome and heart failure. He has undergone many operations and communicates only with the help of facial expressions and gestures. But this does not affect his infectious laughter and passion for adventure at all.

15. Marko is a researcher

16. On the 34th day of Marco's life, a heart was transplanted. At the age of 4, he came face to face with cancer and defeated it. For Marco, everything seems possible... even magic apples.

17. Travis the Lookout

At 22 months old, Travis started having stomach problems due to E. coli. After the operation, he lost 80% of his colon and went blind. Now he is 7 years old, he has grown into a confident boy and is engaged in judo. He believes that the world can be saved from bad people. Travis couldn't draw a picture because of the loss of vision, so he described his dream in words.

18. Kesi is a quiet angel

19. Kesi was born with Rett syndrome, a mental retardation found only in girls. At 14 months old, she stopped talking and began to lose her newly acquired motor and subject-role skills. Girls like Casey are called "silent angels." Now she is 21 years old, and she communicates through smiles and laughter.

20. McKenna is the Princess of destiny

21. McKenna was born with a delay in physical development, which led to a risky operation at 4 months. Part of her skull was removed to avoid serious brain damage. Besides, McKenna has autism, but she believes in miracles.

22. Jack is the hero of the streets of Hope

23. Jack was born with a rare liver disease, followed by liver failure. Two months later, the transplant saved his life. Jack has already had many operations, and soon, another transplant may be required.

24. Cooper is a wizard

25. Due to retinal rupture, Cooper has been struggling with Stickler syndrome since the age of 5, which affects the eyes, hearing, joints and causes arthritis. But that didn't stop him from seeing the world as it is — full of wonders and possibilities.

26. Kayla is the keeper of the forest

27. When Kayla was 9 years old, she was diagnosed with Crohn's disease, an inflammatory bowel disease. Every day she tries to control the disease in order to continue riding. To date, there are no medications that will allow her to recover, but Kayla does not lose hope.

28. Naomi is an energetic butterfly

29. Energetic Naomi is five years old, and she has mitochondrial myopathy. Until she was two years old, she hardly moved, and now she can sing and dance. Naomi gets tired quickly, and no one knows how exhausting the next lesson will be. But she strives to overcome these difficulties in order to inspire the people around her. If you believe in yourself, anything is possible — even to soar like a little butterfly!