“Sometimes when you’re at it alone, you need to know that someone’s been able to get there, and they’ve had struggles, too.”
After trying to get pregnant for 4 long years via IVF, Patricia and Kimberly O’Neill, a couple from Arizona, USA, finally welcomed a little bundle of joy, a baby girl named London, into the world on August 3.
To celebrate their miracle, they hired photographer Samantha Packer, owner of Packer Family Photography to capture their experience in an image. There’s no surprise that it went completely viral when it was shared on Facebook.
Samantha posted the mesmerising photo of baby London surrounded by every single IVF needle Patricia used for her fertility treatments. All 1,161 of them. She captioned the photo: “This is the first time I have been asked to do a photo like this! I was honoured and wanted to create something special! Mum said, ‘4 years, 7 attempts, 3 miscarriages and 1,616 shots.”
Unsurprisingly, the photo has clocked over 91,000 reactions and 66,000 shares.
Now that London is two weeks old, Patricia and Kimberly couldn’t imagine their lives without their new bundle of joy. “We feel so blessed to have her,” Patricia told people.
“She’s calm at most times and a little feisty when she’s hungry. I don’t have words to express it, she’s just so amazing.”
But Patricia admits that after suffering two miscarriages in 2016 and a third one the following year, she was about ready to give up. “I was done. I was done poking and prodding myself. I was done with all the doctors visits. I was throwing in the towel,” she explained. “My wife and my mum, they pushed me to do it.”
While there’s no question that the pair’s IVF journey was daunting, Patricia hopes that the image will help other couples who are struggling with the same infertility struggles.
Patricia said both her and her wife’s initial reaction made them tear up. “It’s amazing to see them all laid out. To look at them and go, ‘Man, I was able to do that. I was able to get through that.”
“It’s a good representation of our journey,” explained Patricia. “It’s inspiring to hear other women sharing their stories on a topic that’s kind of taboo. It’s been great to see some women that are like, ‘You’re giving us hope to get through this’ because you truly need that. She also added: “Sometimes when you’re at it alone, you need to know that someone’s been able to get there, and they’ve had struggles, too. You’ve gotta persevere through them.”
