June is a woman in her late 50s with a tattoo that is both a memorial and healing. June had always wanted to have biological children. When June met and married her husband, he had two young boys. While this meant that they had children in their marriage, June says that “they already had a mother” and she still wanted to experience all that comes with motherhood for herself. June and her husband struggled to conceive but with the help of medical interventions they were eventually able to get pregnant six times. Devastatingly, none of the pregnancies came to term. Four of the babies arrived too early and two before June and her husband “could even celebrate any success.” There were three baby girls and three baby boys. June suffered from depression and says she “spent far too much time at the cemetery.”
June’s friend suggested a memorial tattoo and they found the saying, “Your lives gave wings to my heart.” June initially wanted the tattoo on her ankle but was advised against the location because she is older in age and there was concern about her veins. Instead, she chose her left wrist so that it is always visible to her. The tattoo artist created the design based on the saying that June shared. The tattoo artist also added three pink dots for the baby girls and three blue dots for the baby boys. June says that the tattoo “truly helped [her] heal so that [she] didn’t feel the need to always be at the cemetery.” The tattoo reminds June that her children are always with her and helps her to stay grounded by having something to touch and remember.
STORIES FROM THE SKIN 