When Millie Smith and Lewis Cann learned they were expecting twin girls, they realized only one of them was going to live. On April 30, Smith gave birth to identical twins Callie and Skye after a high-risk, 30-week pregnancy. Skye lived for just three hours.
Callie’s parents watched over her in the NICU incubator, devastated and enamored, as she passed the night without her sibling. In all honesty, Smith was informed by a tired mother of healthy newborn twins that she felt “so lucky” not to have two children. The new mother was speechless after hearing the remarks, which crushed her.
She then realized that Skye’s legacy was to console other grieving parents after seeing the purple butterfly.
In November 2015, Millie Smith and her partner, Lewis Cann, welcomed their first child. Smith, whose family contains numerous sets of twins and who is expecting two daughters, claimed to have had a “gut feeling” that she was having more than one child. Less than two weeks after learning they were carrying twins, the British parents were devastated to learn that their unborn kid had a fatal condition.
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“The doctor said nothing while the scan was happening. She said nothing, but I was giddy with excitement and adored seeing the infants. Lewis and I both saw there had to be an issue right away,” Smith remarked. The doctors revealed that one of the kids had anencephaly because the CDC estimates that 1 in 4,600 newborns in the US are born with the disorder. This birth defect is so severe that “nearly all babies born with anencephaly will die shortly after birth.” Even though the parents were aware that one of their babies would probably pass away soon after birth, they decided to go through with the incredibly dangerous pregnancy.
When their girls were born, several months later, Smith and Cann named them Skye and Callie.
“We were aware that Skye required a name before her birth,” Smith stated.”I wanted her to be named in the few seconds or minutes that she would live, knowing that.”
“Skye meant somewhere we knew she would always be, that we could look up at the sky and remember our baby,” the speaker clarified. Smith was just 30 weeks along when she went into labor on April 30, requiring an urgent C-section.
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To help them deal with the loss, the couple was given access to a “bereavement midwife” and a “Daisy Room,” which is a place where parents may spend time with their child both before and after death.
They both sobbed when the girls were born. We were informed that Skye would not move or make any noise, so this was a significant event, Smith remarked, adding that he was grateful to have had three hours with Skye before she passed away.
Skye died while we were holding her. The lowest point of our life was this. I’ve never experienced such intense heartbreak. However, I am honored that she persevered for such a long period to be with us.
Three sets of twins, including Callie, were admitted to the NICU to recuperate from their early births. The majority of the nurses knew what had happened, but as time went on, nobody spoke of Skye. Smith said, “After about four weeks, everyone pretended like nothing had happened, so the folks nearby were unaware of our predicament.
Smith was obligingly told by a stressed-out mother whose twins were in the NICU that she was “so lucky” not to have twins.
“The other parents were unaware of Skye’s situation or anything that had occurred to her. The remark was more lighthearted and entirely innocent. They were not to be aware that I had two at one time.
Smith went on, “But the remark almost broke me.” They had no idea why I had sobbed as I hurried out of the room. I couldn’t bring myself to tell them what had transpired. That whole thing could have been prevented with only a sticker.
Smith realized at that moment that she needed to create something that would speak for grieving parents to prevent future misunderstandings of this nature. To let staff and visitors know that the loss of one or more babies in a set of multiples was signified by a purple butterfly on the incubator, she made a poster for the neonatal intensive care unit. I went with butterflies because I thought it was appropriate to honor the babies who departed, and purple because it works well on both boys and girls,” Smith added.
Hospitals throughout numerous countries have been able to implement the Purple Butterfly initiative because to the support of the Skye High Foundation, which is in charge of it.
Now seven years old, Callie is a bundle of energy and happiness, and her legacy lives on through purple butterfly cards and other initiatives that help families who have lost a child similar to Skye. There are currently many different gifts and accessories available in the Purple Butterfly retail line.
“In the end, I won’t be able to stop this from happening, but it will be better if we can establish more support groups and implement measures like the stickers.
It’s the most difficult thing for anyone to handle, according to Smith. The world is lucky to have kind individuals like Millie Smith who are trying to lessen the pain of those who have lost a child, no matter how old.
