A child is the biggest joy in life and creating that new life is the biggest miracle. Unfortunately, some couples aren’t blessed to conceive the natural way so they turn to adoption or IVF (in vitro fertilization).
Patricia and Kimberly O’Neil are one of those couples that couldn’t conceive naturally so they decided to try IVF. They have been trying to have a baby since 2012, and when nothing happened they turned to IVF. The couple worked with a specialist and luckily, they welcomed a baby girl London in August, 2018.
While people saw how gorgeous their baby girl is, they couldn’t see the 4-year struggle, 3 miscarriages and 1,616 IVF shots.
The family hired Samantha Packer to photograph their new baby and their new family, but they didn’t know that this one photo will inspire countless people around the world.
“Kimberly decided as soon as I started shots that she would save the needs and that we would do a photo at the end of our journey. I never expected there would be so many needles,”explains Patricia.
On the photo, you can see the 2-week old London, lying in the middle of 2 hearts created from the IVF needles the couple used to have her.
The photographer shared the touching photo on Facebook, including the couple’s heartbreaking words:
“Four years, seven attempts, three miscarriages, and 1,616 shots.”
“We want [London’s photo] to bring hope for women that are hopeless in this journey and a voice for women that are afraid to speak of it… We both were amazed and teared up when we saw the set-up. We were overwhelmed with joy looking at the miraculous completion of our journey in the photo. It’s really easy to let this journey overcome your life, but you can’t let it. Find someone to talk to that’s been through it. There’s strength in that,” explains Patricia.