Sonora, CA Child Photographer | Elijah Kickin’ Cancer | Christine Dibble Photography

Elijah “Superman” Mainville is just days past his sixth birthday, but he is already battling Neuroblastoma for the second time. (You can read his story here.) Cancer is a disease that should strike men who pluck young women from the streets and keep them hidden for a decade, or men who kill their wives and unborn children instead of asking for a divorce. But cancer doesn’t care, and for some reason, cancer picked this sweet little boy. Elijah has an amazing support system and a strong faith in God that he will beat this. I really think positive thinking and visualization helps in a cancer battle, and I thought it could help Elijah, but how do you teach a kid who is barely old enough to make sense of the alphabet to visualize fighting something he can’t see? You do what a kid does best…step into a pretend world that a kid can understand. So we set up a Superman shoot. Colby agreed to play the part of cancer, and we spent an afternoon watching Superman defeat cancer. Elijah was such a good sport, and I even got a hug out of the deal at the end!