Portrait of brave Hannah wins national award
Athlone photographer Corin Bishop has been awarded in the top prize for the IPPA Happy Faces Canon Portrait Award for his portrait of Athlone baby Hannah Carroll. Hannah had her photograph taken as part of the national Happy Faces Day, which was run at the beginning of April to raise funds for the Jack & Jill Foundation. Hannah was born with heart problems and has always been fed by tube, but despite this she is amazingly happy and it shows in her portrait. "She has the most amazing smile and anyone who meets her is inspired by her happiness," says Corin. Corin Bishop Photography's Happy Faces Event this year raised a fantastic total of €5,059 for Jack & Jill. Some 200 portraits were taken over one weekend at the beginning of April this year. Nationally the grand total raised for Jack & Jill by Irish photographers was €80,000. The people of Athlone and the Midlands have always been such a big support of the Happy Faces Day and this year they did themselves proud. Speaking about Hannah's condition, her parents Robert and Laura explain: "Hannah is eleven months today. She has pulmonary atresia with VSD and mapcas. Mapcas means major aorta pulmonary collateral arteries. VSD is a hole in the heart over the pumping chambers. She will undergo open heart surgery in the next few weeks. Her collateral arteries are at the moment connected to the lung; they have to be removed and attached to the aorta and the VSD will be closed with a patch. They added: "She will have to undergo a lot of operations in the years ahead as the arteries will have to be stretched as she grows and they won't grow with her. Until Hannah has her operation her oxygen level can go as low as 75% and she can often have blue spells. Hannah is tube fed at the moment and takes nothing by mouth. With all she is going through and being so sick and spending a lot of time in and out of hospital, she is always a very happy baby, always smiling." Corin would like to express his sincere thanks to the people of Athlone and the Midlands for supporting Happy Faces and helping to raise such an amazing amount of money.