Greg Gaver

Last month, I spent part of a day photographing Greg Gaver for a series of stories in the South Bend Tribune. Greg suffers from Prader-Willi syndrome, a genetic disorder that stems from an abnormality of the 15th chromosome. The disorder has several symptoms, but the most prevalent is a constant sense of hunger. If unchecked, this can lead to binge eating and disorders associated with it such as diabetes and extreme obesity. Caregivers – oftentimes parents – must keep ever-present control of food for people with PWS, meaning that  food pantries and refrigerators are often kept locked. To illustrate the story, I photographed Greg along with another family in Michiana (which I will post soon as well). I appreciated Greg and his family’s openness to allow me to photograph him for the story, and I hope our series helped to shine a light on the disorder.