Another portrait shows the daughter without ears as her mother pulls the girl's hair back.
"I have a difficulty with her being born without ears. I need to see this image so I can heal in my heart," Debbie Groves told photographer Linnea Lenkus.
The two photos are among 35 portraits Lenkus is displaying to raise money for a Long Beach children's hospital clinic and raise awareness about families with special needs children.
As she took the photo called "Scars of Healing," Lenkus said she realized how powerful the project was.
The exhibit, called "Healing" will be held Friday at the Carpenter Performing Arts Center in Long Beach. On Oct. 10, another showing in Long Beach will be sponsored by Phantom Galleries L.A.
Thirty-five photos, all 30 inches by 40 inches, will be on display, showing 17 families dealing with all sorts of behavioral disorders, from autism to cerebral palsy.
A 12-by-12 inch book of the photos will be sold for $90 at the exhibits and online.
Profits from sales will go to Steel Magnolias, the fundraising group for the Stramski Children's Developmental Center at Miller Children's Center in Long Beach, about 25 miles southeast of Los Angeles.
The clinic survives on this kind of money, explained Dr. Gary Feldman, a pediatrician and medical director of the outpatient center.
"A lot of these kids are terribly misunderstood," he said. "I don't think the idea is to provoke pity but to provide understanding."
At the hospital's annual September gala, participants usually donate about $15,000 specifically for the Stramski Center. This year, Feldman opened that portion of the program with a video of Lenkus' photos, warning the audience how raw they were. They collected over $50,000.
Ross Davis, 31, has four children. His youngest, 2-month-old son Rory, is scheduled for an operation next month for a cleft palate. He will have at least five surgeries before he turns 6, Davis said in a telephone interview.
Davis, a union iron worker from Downey, said he didn't know if he should allow his son's photo to be used. His fiance encouraged him to do it "and it has been a blessing. It's a chance for people to hear what goes on in our lives when we have a disabled child."
Davis was also born with a cleft palate and despite a series of operations, he was teased all through school by other children and even some teachers.
He believes what he did with the project was honorable because he and his son are not the only people in America to struggle with the deformity.
"It's a to'ugh road. He spits up, gets gas, is uncomfortable a lot," Davis said. He hopes his childhood experience "will make me stronger as a father, more compassionate with my son.
"I am flattered I had this opportunity. No one ever asked how I felt before. I kind of buried my feelings. To have my new little guy here brought it all back," he said. He wants to explain so people will understand. "I just hope I can get the words out."
Lenkus, 49, and her husband, Chris Robinson, have three children: Dexter, 7, and 5-year-old twins Ava and Maxwell. They are all healthy.
She hopes schools across the country will use the photos as a teaching tool. "My children are fascinated with these images. They asked a million questions. They cannot figure out why they are in a wheelchair or have scars or no ears. It was a teaching opportunity for me, a chance for me to show my children how fortunate they are and how to treat someone they meet with a disability with compassion and empathy."
Lenkus has studios in Pasadena, Long Beach and Irvine and has been taking photos professionally for 20 years.
She started her career on the other side of the camera as a fashion model in Los Angeles and Europe, modeling for magazines like Elle and Vogue.
Born in Chicago, she moved to California 25 years ago and got her degree in psychology at California State University, Northridge. She took art or photo classes in Washington, Nevada and California.
She specializes in photos of pregnant women, newborns, children, families, flowers and nudes.
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