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February 9, 2008
This post has special meaning for me. Last month I had the opportunity to meet one very special little guy named Giovanni.
I was reading an article published on January 7th, 2007 in the Boston Herald when I first learned about baby Giovanni Guglielmo. Giovanni was born with nemo - an extremely rare chromosomal disorder resulting in a number of lifelong complications. Only about a dozen cases of nemo have ever been diagnosed in the United States.
Giovanni's diagnosis meant one thing - he needed a life saving bone marrow transplant, and fast.
The main complication Giovanni suffered was his deteriorating immune system. His best shot at survival was a life saving bone marrow transplant. With Greek/Italian heritage, finding a match was the toughest part. In the meantime, Giovanni's life was spent at Children's Hospital confined to a crib and protected from outside germs which could kill him.
Either his mom or dad stayed by his side at all times. He never woke up to an un-familiar face.
The family, who is from New Hampshire, made the almost two hour trip to Children's Hospital in Boston several times a week.
Have you seen this boy lately?
Giovanni received more local press last year than most celebrities get. His story became a sensation, especially to readership of the Boston Herald. To the credit of Giovanni's father, this story, and the importance of the bone marrow registry made itself onto the front page more than once.
This is Giovanni's father, Michael Guglielmo.
Years ago, after a run in with the law, Guglielmo found himself locked up. "Prison saved my life" he said. While serving time, Guglielmo took his high school education and turned it into a masters degree. With the help of a few law books, Guglielmo eventually became the in-house attorney, fighting for the rights of fellow inmates. He was even able to get his cases published in several news articles. Using the media to his advantage was something he became very good at. Years later he was doing it all over again - except this time he was fighting for his son.
Guglielmo shaved his head to support his son while undergoing chemotherapy. (His trademark horseshoe was never touched).
Giovanni missed out on a lot of things while stuck in the hospital. He went his first year of life without crawling or sitting up.
His two half brother's continued to go to school while their parents were back and forth to Boston.
Giovanni's father is a contractor. Now committed to his family full time, the business suffered. With debt mounting, the family decided to raffle off their beautiful new home. With tickets at $500 a piece, checks started coming in immediately. What they didn't expect in the mail was a letter from the attorney general, telling them it is against the law to raffle real estate.
Luckily, the donations did not stop pouring in. With all of the media attention paid to Giovanni, strangers opened their hearts, and their wallets. The Guglielmos were able to stay a float, and in their home. A local artist even offered to paint a mural on the ceiling of their family room after the Sistine Chapel, in honor of baby Giovanni.
In March of 2007, a match was found. Not bone marrow, but cord blood. On March 21st, Giovanni received the gift he had been waiting for, a chance at life. The cord blood was transfered into Giovanni's body, and now began the waiting game.
This picture was taken on January 6th, 2008 - 291 days post transplant. The transplant went remarkable.
In honor of Giovanni, Italy held it's first ever bone marrow drive adding 1,000 people to the international registry. The Vatican was impressed. Giovanni received this honorary blessing from Pope Benedict. Once Giovanni's immune system is strong enough, the family hopes to visit Italy.
"When someone complains about their bad day, I tell them to go sit in the lobby of Children's Hospital so they can watch the parents who have to leave without their children" said Guglielmo, referring to the number of children who don't make it.
The Guglielmo's have started a non-profit orginization called, Save Giovanni's Friends, in hoping of doing just that. Bone marrow drives are held each weekend throughout greater New England by Save Giovanni's Friends. They have added over 10,000 people to the registry in just a year. All it takes to join is a simple cotton swab of your mouth.
He hopes to add over a hundred thousand donors to the registry in hopes of saving more children like Giovanni.
While there is no comparison between Giovanni before and after transplant, his struggles are far from over. Giovanni recently underwent testing for ectodermal dysplasia, a condition that interferes with the development of skin, hair, nails, teeth, and sweat glands. Each case of ED is different, and the severity of Giovanni's case is still unknown.
With new ties to DKMS and the Red Cross, Giovanni will continue to be the face of the bone marrow movement.
I contacted the family in hopes of doing this portrait session because I wanted to show the new Giovanni. If you have followed this story from the beginning, you remember the iconic photos taken of sick Giovanni in the hospital. Now that he is at home and doing much better, I wanted to show the flip side. A happy one year old.
Thank you to Michael and Christina for so willingly letting me into your home. We wish you nothing but the best!
Because of the Save Giovanni's Friends drives, nine people have been given a second chance at life. "He's saved nine lives and he doesn't even know it," said his father. Please become a bone marrow donor, each person can truly make a difference.
For a list of up-coming drives in the New England area, please visit
Save Giovanni's Friends.
February 7, 2008
Only
The Estate could being Paris Hilton to Boston. The heiress hosted the clubs 1st anniversary bash on Wednesday night.
The Globe ran my photo of Hilton posing along side a Boston Police Officer. I hope he doesn't get fired for this!
Party girls.
Amanda & I.
7 News reporter Grant Greenberg and friends from the Lyons Group.
Paris Hilton, making her entrance.
Hilton wore the medal she received after being named Harvard Lampoon's "Woman of the Year" at Harvard University.
Paris Hilton with friend
Jeff Beacher.
Friends of Hilton and Harvard University students Hannah Hoffman, Ab Gupta, and Andre Moura.
And on to the dance floor where the party began.
Beacher (left) has a show in Vegas that entertains with acts including those of the oompa loompas (right).
Hilton, posing for me.
Another shot of Amanda & I.
Click the green button below for more photos from Paris Hilton at The Estate!
January 30, 2008
Victoria Beckham was in Boston today signing autographs (and pairs of jeans) at Saks Fifth Avenue in the Prudential Center.
She was just as I imagined.
The showing was unbelievable. It actually got kinda scary at one point... everyone was crowding around her.
Victoria's UK bestseller.
A+ for effort.
Spice Girls fans?
Reminding everyone where they were.
Victoria with her new jeans.
Starting at $220, available at Saks Fifth Avenue.
And to wrap up the spice sensation, the girls had a reunion concert at the Garden the same day.
I used my press pass to get in. The tour only allowed the media to stay for two songs though.
Favorite!
The Spice Girls.
I have to say - The Spice Girls were never my thing. I can only recall two of their songs at best. I chose to shoot them for fun, since they seemed to be taking Boston by storm. It was a fun day, I love covering things like this... and I'll be doing more!
If you would like to see more photos from Saks, or the concert, click on the green button below. Enjoy!
October 30, 2007
Incase you didn't hear, we won the World Series last week...
Any time Boston wins something, you can bet there is going to be a rally/parade!
I love you too!
I was standing in front of the Four Seasons... I think this guy was a guest at the hotel and I'm not sure if he had any idea what was going on, ha!
Here come the ducks.
I snuck one of myself in a passing bus.
Lots of dogs showed up as well.
And another. Thanks for letting me take your picture!
The cleanup...
Update: I added a link below to the rest of the photos, due to popular demand :)
September 2, 2007
Newton is a big city. With that said, tonight I heard fire engines racing somewhere around 8:30pm, from my home in Newtonville. Around 9pm, Amanda called me from Waban, asking if Newton was "under attack or something". Apparently she could hear them not only from across town, but also a half hour later.
I turned on our police scanner, lol, and tried to hear what was going on. Not willing to wait any longer, I got in my car and headed towards Waban. Then Mom called and told me it was something on Washington Street, which is a main artery of Newton with lots of large buildings. It didn't take me long to find the flashing lights, and the suspected fire.
By the time I had arrived, the apartment complex fire was already out. The only reasons I go to these are because 1) I am nosey & 2) because I freelance for CNC, one of Boston's major publishers. They rarely assign things to me but when I come upon something on my own, they'll usually publish it.
The ladder truck shown here is the one my brother Joe works on. He wasn't on duty tonight. I'm sure he'll be disappointed to have missed this one.
Water being sprayed through the roof.
Firefighters on the top floor making sure everything is out.
June 13, 2007
My Nephew Jason and I were featured on last night's Larry King Live show with guest Larry Birkhead. I happen to be a huge fan of the show (I take after my Grandmother), and when watching Tuesday night's show, King announced a new feature called "IAsk". He invited America to submit a question for Larry Birkhead (Wednesday night's guest) via video, in addition to regular emails and phone-ins.
A chance to be on Larry King Live? I knew it was something I needed in on. I've also intently followed the Anna Nicole Smith saga from the very beginning. I was devastated when she died, and subsequently I got hooked on the television coverage. Larry Birkhead, the father of Anna Nicole's daughter, Dannielynn, has been in the center of the media frenzy since last year. I have to admit, I've always been a bit jealous of him. A photographer turned celebrity and ex of Anna Nicole Smith. Quite a resume he has... Perhaps there is hope for myself?
One step at a time. I needed a good question to ask Birkhead. I didn't want to bring up Anna Nicole. I needed a question that the CNN staff would want to air, and one that probably wouldn't get asked by King himself. My first instinct was to ask about his future career as a photographer. However, I didn't run with this, and it's a good thing since it was one of King's first topics (we think alike!) I decided to ask something about Dannielynn, and, I would include Tater Tot!
To find out what we asked, watch this clip I shortened for youtube: (We are past the 4 minute mark)
I did a few takes with Jason around the house while nobody was watching, and I sent the best one to CNN around 3:30pm. I wish I could say that I didn't expect it to get picked, but I definitely knew it would. Before I headed to work that night, I told a few people to be sure and catch Larry King... (but only because Birkhead was going to be on!) Just as I expected, at 9:43, I got a phone call.
Not to draw our 15 seconds of fame out any longer than necessary, but I do think it merits some minor appreciation due to the fact that my video was chosen as the first ever "IAsk" question for the show. I can only imagine how many others were sent in as well. It's also fun to think about the millions of viewers that watched, and who may have been among them. I have no doubt that both Virgie and Stern were home watching on the couch!
I just hope that Jason (who I nicknamed Tater Tot for the internet) gets as much of a kick out of this, later in life, as I did just now!
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