Art therapy gives ailing patients release from fears, pain.
Portraits, projects aid children.

It may not sound like a big deal for an adorable infant to smile for the camera. But when he's hospitalized, scared and in pain, that smile is a priceless milestone.

Tonya Maxey of Chicago's Roseland community was afraid to take her first-born, Hugh, to a portrait studio. Born at 27 weeks, Hugh has bronchial pulmonary disease, and his breathing can be adversely affected by being near someone with a cold or when weather changes.

"I'm always worried about germs and even using props," Maxey said. "During the cold season, we are locked in the house. No one comes in, and no one goes out."

So when Hugh, now 16 months old, was being treated at the University of Chicago Children's Hospital last month and a free service inside the hospital was offered, she jumped at the chance and suited him up in a red bandana and denim jacket.

"It's his first actual professional picture," she said, beaming with pride.

Established in March, Heartworks Photography Inc. is a nonprofit organization that at UCCH, Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago and hospitals around the country, many on a waiting list. From camera equipment to airfare, Heartworks survives on donations.

Based in Carol Stream, Heartworks brought an entire photo studio - lights, backdrops and 50 props, from cowboy hats to princess gowns - to UCCH recently to take portraits of 20 patients. The props, and later digital editing, cover any breathing tubes, IV poles or other medical equipment so the child appears to be in a studio and not a hospital.

"Some kids have never left the hospital or are in and out constantly," Heartworks co-founder Synthia Miller said. "Us coming in is a break in their routine. It gives the families something to think about other than the illness."

Miller, who spent much of her teenage years in the hospital and has done portraits for Make-A-Wish Foundation, says the work is "a personal ministry, a way to affect people's lives in a positive way."

One mother at UCCH, Miller said, seemed embarrassed by her child with Down syndrome. By the end of the photo session, though, she left bragging about his portrait and the thought of it being used for brochures and online. "Her whole view of him changed", Miller said.

Heartworks is just one facet of the "expressive therapies" offered at UCCH, Child Life specialist Jennie Geartz said.

An art therapist provides other activities to allow kids to express themselves, such as crafts to take back to their room and home, in a safe, comfortable environment.

"Art is something very familiar to children," Geartz said.