If you see a purple butterfly on a crib, don’t ask your parents what it means…

Every family created out of love is looking forward to the birth of children with admiration and joy. The best names and plans for the future are discussed. And no one wants to think about the bad. And this, unfortunately, happens and knocks people down very much. The family of Millie Smith and Lewis Kahn from the UK have been expecting children for a long time.

When the doctors finally announced that they would become parents in 9 months, there was no limit to their joy. Millie’s family had twins for several generations, so she did not rule out this development. According to her inner feelings, it even seemed so to her. At 10 weeks, expectant parents were announced that they were expecting double happiness – they need to prepare for the birth of two twin girls.

But after another 2 weeks, Smith and Lewis sensed something was wrong – the doctor, who always talked about babies with pleasure, was silent this time. Finally, she said that one of the girls was developing well, and the other had anencephaly. This meant that her brain was not developing, and she would die during childbirth or immediately after. The parents were shocked.

Millie continued to carry the babies, listen to their kicks with her legs and know at the same time that one of them was doomed to death. The parents named the girls Sky and Kelly. Skye was destined to live for a few minutes or seconds, so her mother and father called her that — «heavenly». They wanted that, looking at the sky, they could always remember their departed daughter.

At the thirtieth week, Millie went into labor. She was taken to Kingston Hospital in London. Doctors needed an urgent caesarean section to save the children, although one of them was soon going to die. After giving birth, the babies were put in an incubator in a special room (it was called the «daisy room»), where parents could spend time with their children. Doctors predicted Skye’s death during childbirth, but she lived for 3 hours.

All this time, my parents were there. They kissed her and told her about their love. The mother apologized for not being able to save her life, although she was not to blame. When they said goodbye to Skye, Kelly was transferred to a regular intensive care unit where she had to spend about a month due to premature birth. After 4 weeks, Skye’s story among the staff was forgotten, and the parents of the children in the department had no idea that Kelly had a sister.

When Millie was sitting next to her daughter once again, another woman, the mother of the twins who were nearby, jokingly told her: «It’s good that you don’t have twins.» The girl’s mother could not say anything in response. The words struck her to the heart, she ran out of the department and burst into tears at the top of her voice. She didn’t have the mental strength to go back and tell the truth to the twins’ mother.

Besides, Millie didn’t want to hurt a person who didn’t say it intentionally. But an idea was born in her head how to protect other unhappy parents who lost one of their children from unexpected jokes or a hurtful word. She came up with a purple butterfly sticker. A small poster with the inscription was also developed: «When visiting the neonatology department as a partner or friend, please pay attention to the butterfly sticker, it is pasted on the incubator of a child who was part of a multiple pregnancy, but lost his brothers or sisters.»

Immensely grateful to God that Kelly survived, the parents did not forget about the second daughter. In honor of her, they created the «Sky Foundation». He helps people who have experienced the grief of losing one of their children and has already made himself known all over the world.

And a sticker with a purple butterfly is already used in many hospitals to protect bereaved parents from a careless word. Friends, now you know what a purple butterfly sticker on a baby’s crib means. Despite her pain, Millie did an incredibly kind act and thought about other parents who might find themselves in the same situation as her.