92-Year-Old Fights Terminal Diagnosis to Meet Great-Great-Granddaughter, and We're Sobbing

Emotional photos of a 92-year-old Alabama woman are going viral, and for good reason. In the photos, Jean Roper can be seen snuggling a fresh newborn baby, her very first great-great-granddaughter. The special moment was caught on camera by Jean's photographer great-granddaughter, 24-year-old Kayla Tracy, who says Jean was told she was dying of kidney failure and only had a few weeks to live but fought the terminal diagnosis to be able to meet the baby girl who would be named after her.

Jean, who has been married to her husband Edward for 75 years as of March 5, has three children of her own, as well as seven grandchildren, 11 great-grandchildren, and 11 great-great-grandchildren, most of whom are boys. This was part of the reason Jean was so determined to be around long enough to meet little Magnolia Jean, her first female great-great-grandchild.

"To know that she was going to soon have a great-great granddaughter was like medicine for her," Kayla told PEOPLE. "It was so amazing to watch her transformation that I knew I had to document it. She'd been battling depression since losing her middle son four years ago to the same thing she had — kidney failure — but her whole attitude changed when she learned about that grandbaby. And once she was born, wow. It was an emotional time for everyone to witness her holding that new baby girl in her arms."

But the fact that Jean fought long enough to see Magnolia welcomed into the family on Jan. 31 isn't the only emotional element to this sweet and inspiring story. While waiting for Magnolia to be born, the matriarch's condition actually began to improve, and now, there's no sign of the kidney failure that threatened her life just a few short months ago.

"[She] absolutely helped me to survive and pull through my diagnosis," Jean told PEOPLE. "She helped keep my mind off how weak and terrible I felt, and I thought she was the most beautiful baby girl I'd ever seen. She was so tiny and every part of her was just perfect."

Kayla told POPSUGAR that since her photos and her great-grandmother's story have gone viral, she's been printing out each article for Jean to read, and that the 92-year-old loves it. Jean, if you're reading this one, I just want to say thank you for reminding me that life is fleeting and spending time with our loved ones is what's most important. Enjoy that sweet baby girl, she's precious.