TACLOBAN CITY – A father's joy in having an addition to his family, also left him a harrowing experience when the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) claimed the love of his life.
As a tribute to his wife, Laverne, who passed 40 days ago due to COVID-19, Alden Deloyola still took the courage to fulfill his late better half's wish.
He used the newborn photoshoot of his son Ace to advocate for vaccination against the dreadful disease for the sake of all the pregnant women.
"This pandemic has caused a lot of fear and tragedy for all the mothers-to-be and their families. If you have plans to be pregnant please take vaccination first or wait until this gruesome pandemic evaporates forever. The pregnant women who had sacrificed their lives for their offspring are all heroes in this course of time," Alden said.
Alden and his wife had been a couple for 10 years before they finally tied the knot last June.
However, while his wife was pregnant with Ace, both of them got infected with COVID-19.
Alden already had his first dose of the vaccine but his wife has not yet been vaccinated then.
She delivered their baby through the emergency caesarian section at 35 weeks. However, Laverne succumbed to the disease a few days later.
Samuel John Orlanes, the owner and head photographer of Sam Orlanes Photography, which specializes in newborn, maternity, and kids photography in Cebu felt sad upon learning what happened to the family when Alden's sibling inquired about their service.
"We always meet new moms with babies all the time, except for this one. It is the first time we did this without the mother. Worst, she passed already," he shared.
He also felt the pain of Alden since his wife, who is their lead editor and digital marketing specialist gave birth last June.
"We're grateful since there was no surge of cases at that time since the surge recurred in July. I couldn't imagine if it happened to us because we only got vaccinated in August," Orlanes said.
Orlanes considers their photoshoot an honor and privilege to be able to extend help by offering a special photo session for Alden's family.
Since the mom was no longer physically present, he asked Alden to send him photos that he could incorporate in the shoot.
"He had photos that fit for their family photo. I wanted to give the family a family photo where they are complete even if it was only edited."
Orlanes said he witness the sadness in Alden's eyes even if he was smiling for the camera.
"As we always say, we consider photographs as lifetime keepsakes. May these photos give them hope and strength to move forward," he added.