Brooke and Michael Myrick were thrilled when they found out in October 2006 that Brooke was pregnant with twins. Brooke's mom had a twin, so they knew it ran in the family.
During a routine ultrasound at 24 weeks, though, Brooke and Michael got some devastating news: one of the babies didn't have a heartbeat.
According to doctors, the twin had been dead for about a week before they found out. Willis, the baby who passed away, died of twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS), which occurs when identical twins share the same placenta, but one twin gets more blood flow than the other.
Walker, the brother who survived, also could have been at risk, since TTTS can be fatal to both fetuses. In identical twins, TTTS occurs around 15 percent of the time.
Although Brooke and Michael were devastated, they knew they wanted Walker to always know about his brother, so they made sure to explain what happened to all of their children.
As a twin, though, Walker has always had a special bond with Willis, even though he never got a chance to meet his twin.
[H/T: Daily Mail]
Although the brothers never really met, Brooke thinks Walker has a close connection with his twin, Willis, who passed away in the womb.
Brooke told LittleThings: "I think he always felt his absence and at certain times his presence. Walker has spoken about him from a very young age."
Brooke and Michael have always made sure that Willis is still part of their family, even if he isn't with them on Earth.
The family visits his grave regularly, where Walker usually tells Willis about what's going on in his life.
When Brooke took the picture above, Walker had just started kindergarten and wanted to make sure to tell Willis all about it.
He was so excited to talk to Willis that he ran ahead of his mom while she was getting the baby out of the car.
Walker, who is 9 now, asks his parents regularly to bring him to Willis' grave. He likes to talk to him and leave him flowers and gifts.
Although it would have been nice for Walker to get a chance to grow up with Willis, his parents are so glad that Walker feels connected to his brother even though he passed away.
Now, the Myrick family raises awareness for TTTS, which they didn't even know about before Willis' death.
They hold an annual fundraiser, The Walker and Willis Birthday Walk, on the boys' birthday every year to raise money for the TTTS Foundation.
Brooke wants other parents to be aware of TTTS and the way it affects identical twins.
On their fundraiser's Facebook page, Brooke writes,
March [2017] will be seven years since I had my twins, not the ending we all wanted and hoped for but we were blessed with Walker being born alive and healthy and he is now a healthy first grader. We have never forgotten Willis and long for him to be with us.
Walker has always talked about his brother and he has grown up visiting him often at the gravesite. My twins were not diagnosed with TTTS for one because our ultrasounds were very far apart, which shouldn't be so with identical twins, and secondly, they believe it happened fast with my boys.
We just went in for routine ultrasound and found out Willis no longer had a heartbeat. I was in shock and still remember those awful emotions of that day like it was yesterday. Through placenta testing afterwards and from signs that Walker exhibited the rest of the pregnancy we were told TTTS was most likely to blame.
Walker asked to do this walk and we want to donate any money raised to the TTTS Foundation. We know it will then be used to spread awareness and to help other families experiencing TTTS or who have lost babies to TTTS.
Brooke said: "I want other families to know TTTS is not as rare as doctors say it is. Also, TTTS can happen at any time in pregnancy and their physician needs to do weekly ultrasounds."
To help the sweet Myrick family spread the word — and to help honor baby Willis' memory — please SHARE this incredible story with friends and family!
