Kristi West squeezed her eyes shut as tattoo artist Kevin Upton touched the needle to the top of her foot. The pain only lasted five minutes, but the marks it left and the meaning behind them will remain for a lifetime.
The meaning of West's tattoo, two clusters of three arrows, was twofold — the cluster represents three groups of 21 chromosomes that are found in a child with Down syndrome, and each individual arrow represents one of her six children, who range in age from 3 to 16. West's daughter Avery, 10, was born with Down syndrome.
West was one of 24 parents of children with Down syndrome to get a variation of that tattoo at Bearded Brothers Tattoo Co. in Duncan on Saturday.
"It's like a tribe, and this represents our children and what we've gone through with them and also together as parents," she said. "There are good days and bad days, but we know we can reach out to one another when it gets bad."
The idea behind the tattoo began in California, based on a bond created by a group of women who attended a retreat together in 2017. The three arrows pointing away from the body signify not only the three sets of chromosomes, but also rising up and moving forward, said West, of Campobello.
She said she put feelers out to some parents she knew through the Down Syndrome Family Alliance of Greenville and was surprised and thrilled at how many people wanted to get the tattoo.
"It was a surprise, but then also not really because of how we all just naturally come together," she said.
Randi and Ben Harper, of Greenville, each got the tattoo in honor of their 19-month-old adopted son Zane. Randi Harper said adopting a child with an intellectual disability is something she knew she wanted to do from a very young age.
"It was something God put on my heart when I was 12 years old," she said, "The Down syndrome community is a family that supports and encourages and uplifts, and to have that because of our son is beyond words."
She added: "To get this tattoo alongside my friends in honor of my child is amazing."
For Upton, the shop owner, the opportunity to work with such a group was one he couldn't pass up.
"Being a parent myself, it's beautiful that they support their child no matter what," he said. "I know it's not an easy task, but those children deserve the same amount of love. They could've gone anywhere, but I'm glad they chose my shop."