Atypicals

Last spring, Florida started requiring doctors to get prior approval if they wanted to put kids under 6 on Medicaid on powerful antipsychotics. For Robert Bartlett, 4, who has what his pediatrician Dr. Helene Hubbard calls "intermittent explosive disorder" the delayed waiting period to get approval had catastrophic effects, like him biting other kids in preschool, having uncontrollable tantrums and being inconsolable. He is currently on Depakote sprinkles and the atypical antipsychotic Risperdal. "No kid is perfect," said Robert's mom Cynthia Bartlett. "But on his medication he's a really good boy. It helps level him out, helps him focus and gives him a shot at normalcy." Between a game of air hockey and playing with his pet bunny rabbit Tuesday afternoon, Spongebob Squarepants caught Robert's attention freezing the otherwise active 4-year-old in his tracks for a few minutes.

APAD Blog

Thanks to our pals at Dreamhost, who determined that the old APhotoADay blog was too popular, and getting too much traffic -- and thus taxing their servers too much, we have wiped the slate clean. Gone are the last 8 years of posts. Blank is our canvas. The APAD blog has moved to www.aphotoaday.org/blog... or catch us on our RSS feed.

The Devil Went Down to Georgia

After coming down from the stage and strolling out onto the dance floor, fiddle player Mark Young lays back as he plays to the crowd while performing with Don Fontenot & Les Amis de la Lousiane during the 9th annual Cajun Zydeco Crawfish Festival.

Lap-Band Surgery

I love photographing surgery. I find it fascinating. I once watched a doctor (in Gaza) perform over a dozen heart surgeries in one day. I've seen organs transplanted and taken out, but this was a whole new different experience. I was sent to photograph people watching a live broadcast of a surgery that was happening 15 miles away. Not quite the same awe factor, seeing it on a big screen instead of in person, but it was cool because in this minimally invasive procedure, they inserted a video camera to show us how the operation works.



About 100 people gathered in the conference room of a Marriott hotel to watch a video feed of a live lap-band surgery taking place. As opposed to a gastric bypass, a lap-band procedure is viewed as a less-invasive procedure for weight loss, where doctors essentially tie a band around part of your stomach. Doctors and bariatric centers are marketing their procedures in a new way - with live feeds showing prospective patients what it looks like.

He's Not 'Lost' Anymore

Once a Lost Boy of Sudan, former refugee Mogtaba Mokhtar Maki, 27, left, breaks into a smile as he raises his right hand to become one of 53 people sworn in as a U.S. citizen Thursday morning in the federal courthouse in downtown Tampa.

Four years ago, writer Saundra Amrhein and I got to watch Mogtaba be reunited with his dad and sisters. So it was nice when Saundra called last week to ask if I wanted to photograph Mogtaba becoming a U.S. citizen for a follow up. His is a pretty inspiring story of perseverance and overcoming some pretty amazing obstacles.

It was pretty great to see this huge grin on Mogtaba's face afterward, and for him to tell us how happy he is now that he finally has a place to call home. Sometimes in the midst of all the doom and gloom of newspapers, and all the hustle and bustle of our days it's easy to lose track of how cool our jobs really are. Honestly, how many people can say they get to witness and record so many amazing moments? So many important parts of people's lives? So many cool things like this?

Meet Ray.

Ray made my day.

Women of Steel and the Wonder Dog