Millie Smith and Lewis Cann were ecstatic when they learned they were having a baby. Millie believed she was pregnant with twins because her family already had a large number of twins. It turned out that her mother’s intuition was true.
The ultrasound confirmed her pregnancy with twins, but the physicians knew from the start that one of the infants had a limited chance of survival
The parents learned that their daughter, born prematurely at thirty weeks, had anencephaly. This is a severe disorder in which the fetal neurological system, including the brain and spinal cord, fails to develop normally, resulting in death.
The parents were informed that their joyous child had only a few minutes or hours left to live.
Before they parted ways, her parents named her Skye. They wanted to name her before saying their goodbyes.
Millie expressed how vital it was for Skye to have a name before she was born. She knew Skye’s existence would be cut short, lasting only a few seconds or minutes, therefore she wanted to make sure she was given a name during that limited time.
She explained that the name “Skye” indicated a place where they imagined their baby would always remain, a reminder that they could look up at the sky and 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.
read more on next page
