Linda Bennett - A True Fighter.

Hello everyone. I know it's been a while. Have been very busy with a lot of stuff. From family, work and photography. But today it's not like any other blog that I have written. As you all know or if you don't know now you will. I give free Breast Cancer Survivor Photo-Shoots. Yes free. This has been my third year doing this. And it's a an amazing joy to see a smile on these amazing woman I photograph. But this blog is dedicated to a true fighter, a survivor and a single mother. Who you may ask? So let me introduce you to Linda Bennett. Here is her story.

"Hi! My name is Linda Bennett.  I am a 53 years old and I am a breast cancer survivor.  I was diagnosed in July of 2012 with Invasive Ductal Carcinoma of my left breast.  
Invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC), sometimes called infiltrating ductal carcinoma, is the most common type of breast cancer.  About 80% of all breast cancers are invasive ductal carcinomas.  Invasive means that the cancer has “invaded” or spread to the surrounding breast tissues.  

I had never suffered any major sickness in my adult life, so I was completely shocked when my doctor informed me that I had breast cancer.  I felt numb, empty and was certain that I was going to wither away and die.  After meeting with my doctor, I went home and cried…and then cried some more.  I kept asking God “Why me?” but also “Why not me?”
  
Prior to receiving my heart-breaking diagnosis, I was separated from my husband for 2 years and was a single mom raising my two boys alone.  After the initial shock and overwhelming sadness, God bestowed a genuine calmness over me.  From that moment forward, I knew everything would be ok. I was no longer completely consumed by the devastating diagnosis I had received and my attitude toward everything that was happening in my life positively changed forever.  

I went through every doctor's appointment and every surgery with a smile and positive thoughts and expectations.  My doctor offered me 3 choices: undergo a full mastectomy, have a partial mastectomy or take medications.  I chose a full mastectomy. My surgery was scheduled for August 5, 2012 and my doctors informed me that I was a candidate for the tram flap surgery. 

TRAM stands for transverse rectus abdominus, a muscle in your lower abdomen between your waist and your pubic bone.  A flap of this skin, fat, and all or part of the underlying rectus abdominus (“6-pack”) muscle are used to reconstruct the breast in a TRAM flap procedure. I gladly chose this reconstructive procedure over inserting silicone.

My journey with breast cancer encouraged me to make significant changes in my life.  I divorced my estranged husband, recognizing that his abusive ways had no place in my new life.  I made the decision to leave Florida, where I lived for 30 years, and start a new life for myself and my children.  I relocated to Tennessee to be near my brother and his family and begin the next chapter of my life.  The Lord has been with me for every step in my journey because he has continually blessed me and opened doors for me and my family.  

When people look at me and say things like “You've never been thru anything”, my reply is always “You have never walked in my shoes”.  I'm happy and smiling daily because, no matter what is going on in my life, I'M TRULY BLESSED.  I share my testimony with whomever will listen, because you never know who you may positively touch and help by sharing your story.  God Bless. "

What an inspiration. It was truly amazing being able to spend time with this lovely lady. So if you have an inspirational story to tell and motivate someone please come forward. Maybe your story will encourage and inspire others to also fight and get help. Thank you for reading. Feel free to share.

"Travel the world, capture every moment and feel blessed you were there at that moment in time"

BoriPhotography

Land Between The Lakes - A unique place.

As I woke up that day I had one goal and it was to visit an amazing park. Looked in Google and found Land Between The Lakes. I started looking at the photos provided by some other great photographers. I was pumped, ready to hit the road and visit this amazing place. Woke up the wife, prepped the girls and in 30 minutes was out the door with gear ready for an awesome adventure.

Land Between The Lakes is located half of it's territory is Kentucky and the other in Tennessee. The drive towards this amazing place is beautiful. Being able to see the farm lands, the cows and even spotted a couple of hawks along the road. I was super excited.

To get to this amazing location you have to cross a bridge, this bridge i high and narrow. Incoming traffic will be like if they are invading your lane but they are not, so don't be scared. They are building a two lane bridge right next to it, so hopefully they can leave the old one there for viewing a photographers delight.

As we drove towards the welcoming center it was cold and chilly, but you can smell the fresh scent of pine trees that surround you. Just amazing. If you want to see the Bison and Elks, you need to get a $5.00 pass which I consider to be cheap for the amount of wildlife you see there, plus the experience of being there.

We got to ELK & BISON PRAIRIE, I got my camera ready for that amazing shot. Was pretty down because I was not able to see any bison (they were being kept enclosed for some environment test) or elks the first 5 minutes of driving in this area. Then my wife tells me "Babe look over there, I see something among the trees". I stop and there they were..... Elks just chilling among the talk shaded trees. I got so excited. I was able to take some shots from more than 300 feet.

So we continued driving down the road to see if we were able to see any deer or more elk. Also was able to capture some amazing shot of the flora that surrounded us. As we were getting closer to the north side of the park we saw how the females and baby elks were separated from the male elks. Was able to get some shots of them. Pretty epic.

We decided to drive back to where we saw the male elks. They we still on the same spot we had saw them before. So I parked the car and started walking towards them keeping a safe distance. What an amazing feeling it was. Mother Nature, my camera and these graceful yet powerful elks in front of me. As I got closer they stood up, from 3 we had seen before, out of nowhere there were a total of 6 elks. Wow. I was able to see their warm breath come out their mouths while just staring at me, just wondering what was going to be my next step. But I stood there amazed by there beauty.


After a while we decided to drive around the other side of this amazing place. We reached a spot that was amazing. The reflection of this amazing place was breathtaking. Beautiful in a way like no other. Stayed on that spot for maybe 40 minutes. The sun was going down and it was getting colder by the minute.

Wrapped it up and loaded the girls, put gear away and started driving home. And for our surprise we saw an American Bald Eagle. Wow, epic capture. Was able to get a couple of shots from down below. There is a lookout tower where there are two huge nests. Now we know were to look for some epic shots.



Believe me when I say that I was a happy camper, like a when you give candy to a kid. And when I started editing these amazing shot, making those amazing colors pop...... it's a feeling like no other. I encourage you that reads this, please do go out and explore the world, take your kids with you so they can experiment and value what mother nature has for them.

Here is a link o of my Facebook BoriPhotography Galleria where you will find more photos I took from this amazing place. You are more than welcome to comment and share.