Ruth, 20, lives with his foster mom and foster siblings in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He was given up as a baby by his birth parents who initially tried to care for him but realized they were not capable because of his medical complications caused by fetal alcohol syndrome. At night, he is hooked up to a machine which helps him breathe.
Gail, Ruth's foster mom, cleans equipment Ruth uses to cough for fifteen minutes each night to clear his lungs.
Gail helps Ruth clean his tracheostomy tube after he coughs.
Ruth spends time with his paternal grandma (right) at the trailer he lives in with his family during the summers. His paternal aunt and also his social worker, sits on the left. They visit Ruth often in either Kenora, where the foster family spends their summers, or Winnipeg, during the school year. Ruth enjoys connecting to his Indigenous heritage by listening to their stories about his birth family.
Phoenix, 6, makes shadows with his hands at night. Phoenix is Ruth's foster brother, but they are not related biologically. Phoenix is living with ADHD.
A bag of pills for the children are photographed at the summer home in Kenora, Ontario.
Santasia, 16, Ruth and Phoenix's foster sister, is photographed in the trailer home they all live in during the summer. The home is close to a lake where Phoenix likes to swim.
Gail hands Santasia and Ruth their morning pills after breakfast.
After dinner, Santasia drives with her friend on a golf cart around the resort as entertainment.
Santasia, Phoenix and Ruth are photographed before heading to the beach during their summer holiday.