Greg Anderson coaxed smiles out of Riley Adkins, 7, about the most activity she seemed able to manage during a Flashes of Hope photography session. They were among the first group of families visiting the hospital's Positive Image Center that day for free mini-makeovers and free professional photography services, all offered once a month through the Madison chapter of the Cleveland-based Flashes of Hope nonprofit organization. Diagnosed in January, Riley had been too sick the previous times the family wanted to join a Flashes of Hope session. Feeling better this time, she wore her favorite brown newsboy cap to the hospital but removed it for the photos with her mom, Kristi Adkins, and her sisters Kaitlyn, 16, and Bailey, 12. Like Riley, Megan Ketterhagen wore a wig for her school photos but not for the Flashes of Hope photo. Younger children occasionally wear costumes if they're in, say, a princess or pirate mood, but the black-and-white photography shifts the emphasis from clothes to the subjects' expressions and relationships to the family members or hospital staff invited to pose with them. read more

Technorati Tags: family, flashes, hope, hospital, photos, program, hair loss news