Millie Smith and Lewis Cann were overjoyed when they learned they were expecting a baby. From the start, Millie had a strong feeling she might be carrying twins—after all, twins ran in her family. Her intuition proved right.

The ultrasound confirmed she was indeed pregnant with twins, but joy quickly turned to heartbreak when doctors discovered that one of the babies had almost no chance of survival.

Their daughters were born prematurely at thirty weeks, and one of them was diagnosed with anencephaly—a severe condition in which the brain and spinal cord fail to develop properly, making survival impossible.

The devastated parents were told that their baby girl might live only a few minutes or hours.

Before saying goodbye, they gave her a name: Skye.

Millie later shared how deeply important it was to name her before birth. She knew Skye’s time on earth would be heartbreakingly short—perhaps only seconds or minutes—but she wanted to make sure her daughter had an identity in that brief life.

She explained that the name “Skye” symbolized a place where they imagined their baby would always be—a reminder that whenever they looked up at the sky, they could think of her.

“Skye left us while she was in our arms. It was the saddest moment we’d ever had. I’ve never experienced such profound sadness before. I am delighted she battled so hard to stay with us as long as she could.”

Skye lived only three hours, yet to her parents, those hours were filled with beauty, love, and meaning.

After her passing, the couple received support from a compassionate midwife and were given time in the “Daisy Room,” a private space where parents could spend precious moments with their baby before and after death.

But soon after, no one spoke about Skye again. Millie was heartbroken—it felt as if her daughter had been forgotten.

She recalled how, at first, hospital staff acknowledged Skye’s situation, but over time, her existence seemed to vanish from conversation entirely.

Meanwhile, Millie was caring for her surviving twin, Callie, who remained in the NICU. One day, while speaking with another mother of twins, that woman casually remarked how “lucky” Millie was not to have twins—completely unaware of her loss.

“The other parents were not aware of Skye’s position. The innocent statement was made in jest. They were unaware that I had already had two children.”

The words cut deeply. Millie burst into tears and ran out of the room, leaving the other parents confused. She couldn’t bring herself to explain. Later, she realized that a simple sticker could have spared her that painful moment.

That thought became her mission.

Millie came up with a way to show when one or more babies in a multiple birth had passed away: a purple butterfly sticker placed on the incubator.

She explained that butterflies symbolize the babies who are no longer with us, and purple is a color suitable for both boys and girls.

From this idea, the Skye High Foundation was born. What started as one mother’s act of love grew into the Purple Butterfly Campaign, now adopted by hospitals in many countries.

The initiative has expanded into a collection of items and keepsakes, all carrying the same message of remembrance.

Millie emphasizes that while nothing can erase the pain, added support and simple gestures like the butterfly stickers can make an enormous difference for grieving families.

Today, her surviving daughter, Callie, is seven years old.