Kids Are the Real Heroes in Photographer's Justice League Shoot
Kids love superheroes, but for children with disabilities or illnesses heroes such as Wonder Woman [...]
Superman
Superman may be the Man of Steel but he is also a man of great heart and that is what made Teagan Petit a perfect Superman for Rossi's shoot. Teagan was born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS) which means the little boy was born with only half a heart. Rossi compares Teagan's condition to Superman's weakness around Kryptonite, writing on his blog that Teagan's weakness is that, due to only having half a heart, he cannot regulate his body temperature.
That hasn't slowed Teagan down, though. Despite taking daily medication and wearing an oxygen mask at night, the little boy continues to fight and recently won a huge victory when doctors were able to remove his feeding tube.
prevnextThe Flash
Rossi reimagined the Scarlet Speedster as a little boy named Zaiden whose boundless energy and love of running isn't always seen in a positive light. The little boy, who has ADHD, has gotten into trouble in school as well as lead to him not being invited to birthday parties. This, Rossi, explained, made Zaiden a perfect Flash.
"I thought that turning Zaiden into The Flash would be perfect," Rossi said. "Maybe now his friends will not only invite him to their parties but ask him to bring the suit and be the life of the party."
prevnextCyborg
Double amputee Kayden Kinckle was a natural choice for Cyborg. The 5-year-old was born with a condition that causes the internal organs to grow outside the navel which lead to the amputation of both of his legs, but the condition hasn't slowed him down.
"After seeing Kayden in person, I couldn't believe how strong he was. At a young age, he was learning how to walk with prosthetic legs, he told his mom he wanted to do it by himself and didn't want any help," Rossi said.
prevnextWonder Woman
Radiation therapy to battle a rare form of cancer may have taken young Sofie Loftus' hair and left her weak, but it hasn't diminished her strength to fight making her a perfect choice for Wonder Woman. According to Rossi, the little girl had even had radiation right before her photo shoot and still found the strength to do it anyway.
prevnextAquaman
Not only does 2-year-old Mataese Manuma look the part of Aquaman, but Rossi describes boy as a "powerhouse."
Matese, who has a rare form of cancer called acute megkaryoblastic leukemia, had to have his photo shoot delayed for a few days when he woke up with a fever after finishing a round of chemo, but once he was feeling better he was more than ready for his turn as Aquaman.
prevnextBatman
Rounding out the Justice League is 5-year-old Simon Fullmer. Simon is battling a rare form of nerve cancer. A huge fan of Batman (and Bruce Wayne,) Simon is described as being "a quirky strong kid who never complains."
Sounds like the traits of an excellent Batman to us.
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