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“For me, reality remains exactly as virginal and unexplored as the first time anyone tried to represent it.” Albert Giacometti 1901-1966
Your life can change in a heartbeat. Sometimes that change is a revelation. A wonderful thing that grabs you by the shoulders shakes you and says, “This is it! Take it! You are a fool if you don’t!” Then, there is the change that comes out of nowhere. It is an event that puts you in the hands of others. Sometimes, providence gives you the means to come back and learn. Sometimes it doesn’t. Thanks to the management of Long Beach Memorial Hospital, I have been the privileged witness to those changes in people’s lives that come out of nowhere. Seeing is different than participating. I never understood that before. I worked in this ER for 1 year before starting the photography project, as an EMT. It is a Trauma Center in Los Angeles County. I participated in the day to day operations. I participated in events that will stay with me forever. When I was assigned this project, I grasped the opportunity. As a participant, things move so quickly. You are focused on only one thing. Doing your job to the best of your ability as part of the team, to insure the best possible outcome. To this day, I can remember watching the Trauma Surgeon massage the heart of a dying 17 year old girl. How do you frame a death? These photographs are dedicated to the patients and staff of this ER who allowed me to share in these fleeting moments of struggle.
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