Millie Smith and Lewis Cann were thrilled to be expecting identical twin girls, but their joy was tempered by devastating news: only one of their daughters would survive. On April 30, Smith gave birth at just 30 weeks to Callie and Skye.
Skye lived for only three hours, and Callie spent the night in the NICU, watched over by her heartbroken parents. While in the NICU, a well-meaning but unaware mother told Smith she was “so lucky” not to have twins, a comment that crushed her.
This moment inspired Smith to ensure that no grieving parent would have to silently endure such pain again. Smith and Cann’s journey began in November 2015 when they learned they were expecting twins. Smith, who had a strong feeling she was carrying more than one baby, was devastated when doctors later discovered that one twin had anencephaly, a fatal condition where the brain and skull do not develop properly. Despite knowing that one of their babies would not survive long after birth, the couple decided to continue with the high-risk pregnancy.
They named their daughters in advance—Callie and Skye—so that Skye would have her name spoken in the brief time she would be alive. When they were born, both girls cried, an unexpected and deeply emotional moment for the parents. They were able to spend three precious hours with Skye before she passed away in their arms. After Skye’s death, the NICU staff provided a bereavement midwife and a special room to help the grieving family. As time went on, however, new staff and families became unaware of what had happened. Smith recalled a particularly painful incident when another parent, overwhelmed with caring for twins, jokingly remarked how “lucky” Smith was to have just one baby. Unaware of Skye’s passing, the mother’s comment sent Smith into tears.
That was when Smith realized the need for a simple, compassionate signal that could quietly inform others of a loss without requiring grieving parents to explain. She created a purple butterfly symbol to place on incubators, indicating that one or more babies in a set of multiples had passed away. The purple butterfly initiative, now overseen by The Skye High Foundation, has expanded to hospitals worldwide, providing comfort and awareness. Smith chose the butterfly as a symbol of babies who had “flown away,” and the color purple because it is appropriate for any gender. Today, Callie is a thriving 7-year-old, and Skye’s memory lives on through the foundation’s support programs, cards, and purple butterfly merchandise. Millie Smith remains dedicated to supporting grieving families, saying that while nothing can stop such loss from happening, initiatives like the purple butterfly can make a meaningful difference in helping others navigate their grief.
