They had been trying to conceive a baby for more than four years.
Now a breathtaking photo of the newest addition to their family is sweeping across the Internet.
Kimberly and Patricia O’Neill welcomed their daughter London O’Neill in August 2018 after going through scores of fertility treatments for over four years.
The couple decided to give a perfect end to their years-long journey by taking a stunning photo of their daughter surrounded by all the needles that they used in their long journey.
“We feel so blessed to have her,” 30-year-old Patricia tells PEOPLE of their daughter.
“She’s calm at most times, and a little feisty when she’s hungry. I don’t have the words to express it, she’s just so amazing.”
The photo of London wrapped up in a rainbow-colored cloth, surrounded by the 1,616 needles that Patricia used in her treatments, was captured by Samantha Packer.
Alongside the heartwarming photo, Packer hinted about the O’Neills’ tough journey, writing: “4 years, 7 attempts, 3 miscarriages and 1,616 shots.”
The photo has so far got more than 94,000 likes and 68,000 shares on Facebook, with people across the globe leaving heartfelt comments.
“It’s a good representation of our journey,” Patricia tells PEOPLE of the photo. “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.
“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.”
The O’Neills, from Sun City, Arizona, reached out to Packer shortly after their daughter’s birth on August 3 and asked if the photographer could incorporate the needles into London’s photoshoot.
And Packer knew what she had to do!
“It was amazing to see them all laid out. To look at them all and go, ‘Man, I was able to do that. I was able to get through that,’” Patricia recalls the moment she saw the arrangement. “My wife and I looked at them and we started tearing up.”
Packer also recalls how the couple’s reactions brought tears to her eyes.
“It was really special because when they walked into the room and saw it all laid out, they got really emotional,” the photographer tells PEOPLE.
“And that’s what I love to do as a photographer is create something special for my clients that they really are gonna treasure.”
It was the end of a four-year journey for Patricia and Kimberly, 37. Though they both had one kid each from their previous relationships, the couple wanted to complete their family with another little addition.
They decided that Patricia would be the one to give birth, but it wasn’t easy. The 30-year-old was unable to carry a child to term due to a couple of blood conditions.
She took scores of fertility treatments including in vitro fertilization (IVF). However, the woman suffered two miscarriages in 2016.
“We were taken back. It’s what you expect,” Patricia says. “The doctor encouraged us to keep going because it was our goal to have a baby.”
But when Patricia suffered a third miscarriage in 2017, she was almost 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 says. “My wife and my mom, they pushed me to do it.”
At last, they succeeded. “We held our breath,” Patricia recalls. “It was very scary. Throughout the pregnancy, we were always on the edge of our seat.”
The couple finally welcomed their daughter via a C-section.
“When we heard her cry, we both looked at each other and started crying,” Patricia says. “I was shaking and crying so hard. It was an overwhelming feeling of relief.
“She’s here. It was a lot of emotions for us all at once. It’s still unreal to me that we finally have our baby. We actually made it here.”
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