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My Plea:

Thank you for taking the time to watch our video and read our story.

We would be honoured to win the award for UK Awareness Advocate 2018 at the Butterfly awards, please feel free to share our story and we would be grateful for your vote!

After the loss of our daughter Skye in 2016, we vowed to make a change for families going through something similar.

Skye was part of a twin pregnancy, with her identical twin sister Callie. Skye passed away after 3 hours due to a condition called Anencephaly. A condition which is not compatible with life.

Loosing Skye was the hardest things we have ever had to deal with, our hearts were broken and our family was incomplete. Callie remained in Neonatal for 7 weeks whilst she grew stronger. On a daily basis we would hear comments from other families about how well their twins were doing, or how full their hands were with two. Worst of all, we once heard “You are so lucky you don’t have twins”. Along with the fact new nurses would come in, unaware of our situation and we would continuously have to re-live the pain by explaining Skye’s story. This is where our purple butterfly started.

It was at this moment we decided to create something to help other families. We wanted something that would explain their story for them, without them having to say anything. To also honour their angel babies. We created the purple butterfly sticker/cot card and poster. The butterfly cot card is placed in an incubator/cot to signify that the surviving baby was part of a multiple birth but not all the babies survived. The poster was to explain to the other families and staff in the hospital what it meant.

Our mission then was to spread the word and get this implemented into as many hospitals around the world as possible. We created a Facebook page and within a couple of weeks of announcing our idea on Facebook, our idea went viral. It has since been launched in hundreds of hospitals all over the world. In several different languages. We have had a fantastic response from mothers, fathers, grandparents and staff etc. They have all explained to us how it has taken the stress away from them. It has meant they have not had to continually explain about their baby but has also allowed them the opportunity to make sure their angel baby has been honoured and remembered.

We then went to the media to share our story, knowing this was the quickest way to reach families in a similar situation. Our story was shared on TV in the UK, USA, Australia, New Zealand and The Netherlands. It was also in the news online in countries everywhere, along with our story in magazines and newspapers.

In addition, we created the butterfly blanket. This was created for surviving babies to keep in memory of their angel twin or triplet. Giving comfort to the families, knowing their baby would always be remembered. We have been donating these to hospitals to give to families in need.

Sadly, the loss of a baby who was part of a multiple birth is not rare and we are pushing to raise awareness of the purple butterfly and want to continue getting it into hospitals all around the world. Helping as many families as we possibly can. We hope to continue sharing Skye’s story and continue our work with the purple butterfly to help ease some of the pain grieving families have to endure after such a tragic time in their lives.

What Others Have Said

They have given so much hope to so many families around the world and the symbol they created is very meaningful all around my family, in our home and our daily lives