family center

Our Story of Love at First Sight…

On June 18, 2019, my sister in law Julie went to a prenatal appointment only to be told the most devastating news, that her daughter Evelyn Grace had passed away at 38 weeks gestation. The next few days was a whirlwind of emotion. After being induced, Julie was in labor for 16 hours before giving birth to Evelyn Grace Atkinson at 2:25pm on June 19th. Evelyn was able to spend some time with her mom and dad, grandparents, aunts, uncles and was baptized with her family surrounding her. She received her gifts picked out by her older sister Olivia, and said hello and goodbye to her family all in one day.

I think grief can be so heavy. The weight of it just crushes people. I cannot speak for Robbie and Julie, but I can say that having faith in god, prayers, support from friends and family, and seeing signs from Evelyn have helped enormously. We think of Evelyn when we see tulip trees, butterflies, a flicker on a TV screen, a dream of a baby girl with her eyes open, a whisper of wind, a rainbow, a teal orb in a picture during a moment of peace.

We chose the name Evelyn’s Butterflies, because of the change that has happened to all effected by the loss of our sweet baby girl. As most know, butterflies go through a complete metamorphosis and are never the same. Jen, Laura and I talked about this while we awaited Evelyn’s arrival. In the same fashion, I don’t think any of us, especially Robbie and Julie, will ever be the same after that day. As we thought of this, Jen remembered the butterfly posted on the door to Rob &Julie’s room at the hospital. I believe that was a sign from heaven that we could take this horrible tragedy and find some way to make a difference.

I don’t think anyone can anticipate or prepare for the loss of a child. The grief at times can be unbearable. Julie and Robbie were shown such an outpouring of support and love from family, friends, colleagues, their church and many other people. In an effort to honor Evelyn yearly, we hope to participate in A Walk to Remember as a tradition and to raise money for the wonderful organization that is WNY Perinatal Bereavement Network. This organization helps families during their times of need, whether it’s helping to pay for a funeral, providing a cuddle cot, support networks or relieving the financial burden families face after the loss of a child.

Please consider donating to our team, Evelyn’s Butterflies. The money goes towards to an amazing cause and would mean so much to Robbie, Julie, Olivia and their family.

Thank you for taking the time to read our story and learn about our baby who will only live on in our hearts… forever. We would like to ask that you help the organization that has helped us and helps so many others in their times of need.

All donations made to this page are made in loving memory of our baby gone too soon and will be used towards the WNYPBN’s Program.