Support The Skye High Foundation in Memory of Josephine

Hi! I'm Noelle Wysocki, mom to Adrienne (7), Liliana (4), and Josephine (forever 14 days old). I'm raising funds on behalf of The Skye High Foundation so that every family in the US who experiences the death of a multiple in, or shortly after, birth has resources to help them communicate their loss to their medical team during the NICU stay of the survivor(s). I know that's a mouthful. Let me tell you about why this is important to me.

My identical (monochorionic diamniotic) twin girls were born at just 27 weeks due to complications with Twin-to-Twin Transfusion Syndrome (TTTS) and Twin Anemia Polycythemia Sequence (TAPS). Josephine suffered catastrophic brain damage and died at 14 days old on November 30, 2020. Liliana lived in the NICU for a total of 99 days before she was strong enough to come home.

Since birth, Liliana's medical chart has read "Twin Birth," letting her care providers know that she did not come into the world alone. When Josephine died, another note was added to her chart, further down, "Twin deceased." To get to this second note, care providers would have to scroll down a bit, something that didn't always happen when new nurses, doctors, or lactation consultants came into the room. I couldn't tell you how many times I was on the receiving end of well-intentioned "I see you had twins! How exciting! Congratulations!" I would then explain that Josephine had died while tears streamed down my face. I wished they had read just a little farther in the chart to have a better understanding of what we were going through so they could tailor their conversation. I wished for some kind of symbol to make it easier for them to know this critical detail.

Not long after Liliana came home, I found The Skye High Foundation while scrolling Loss Mom content on Instagram. It was then that I learned about Millie, mom to Callie and Skye, and the purple butterfly symbol she launched. Millie, too, yearned for a symbol to tell care providers about the death of one of her twins, Skye, while her survivor, Callie, grew stronger in the NICU in the UK. She created a purple butterfly sticker and attached it to Callie's cot, a silent communication that Callie's twin had died. With that, The Skye High Foundation was born.

Thanks to The Skye High Foundation, the purple butterfly and other support resources and memorial items are now available to families who have experienced the death of a multiple at every single hospital in the UK! The Skye High Foundation is making a difference for families who carry this unique sense of grief by helping them communicate to their providers that one of their children has died. Skye's purple butterfly is now coming to the US and I want to help get it, and the other Skye High Foundation resources, to as many hospitals as possible.

I am a Skye High USA Ambassador in honor of Josephine. Had I had the purple butterfly while Liliana was in the NICU, and staff had received the excellent training about its meaning, Jake and I could have been spared additional heartache at having to correct our care providers over and over again letting them know that Josephine had died.

Your contribution to this fund will help provide the purple butterfly, staff training resources, and other support materials to hospitals across the US. Just $150 allows The Skye High Foundation to provide support to one hospital for a whole year.

Thank you for considering donating to The Skye High Foundation and helping families who have experienced the death of one of their multiples feel supported throughout their NICU stay.