The marvels of Photoshop

I promised my friend Miriam I'd do what I could with this picture she had taken with her adored niece, Milene, whose life was sadly cut short by an aneurysm. The picture was faded and had serious water damage. She scanned it and sent it to me via e-mail. Here's the progression of the repair:

The original . . . Much improved, I think, with the help of the "dodge" tool (thank you, John!) although I'll never be completely happy with the color. I also resized it to make it more dramatic . . .

But this is my favorite . . .

I intend to send it to her at Christmas, placed in a 5 x 5 silver frame from Pottery Barn. She has no clue this is coming, I gave her so little hope that something could be done . . . I don't know, it's an awfully long time until Christmas . . .