Purple Butterfly Of Remembrance

One mother’s innocent remark reopened a wound Millie Smith could barely bear.

Her surviving daughter lay in intensive care, while the twin who had lived for just three hours was gone. Then a few devastating words inspired a quiet symbol that would help other grieving parents feel seen without having to explain their deepest heartache to every new stra…

Millie Smith and Lewis Cann were expecting twins when doctors discovered that one daughter had anencephaly and would survive only briefly after birth. Millie continued the pregnancy, choosing to carry and cherish both girls.

They named her Skye so they would always have somewhere to look and remember her. When labor began unexpectedly at 30 weeks, both babies were delivered, and both cried. Three hours later, Skye died in her mother’s arms while her sister, Callie, survived.

During Callie’s neonatal care, another mother unknowingly told Millie she was “lucky” not to have twins. The encounter revealed how easily a family’s loss could become invisible.

Millie’s response was a purple butterfly placed on incubators to acknowledge a baby’s deceased sibling from a multiple birth. The idea spread between hospitals, later supported by the Skye High Foundation.

Its message is quiet but profound: this family carries a loss, and this baby’s sibling still matters.