Atascocita Couple Raising Funds For Butterfly Bereavement Room At Texas Children’s Hospital

ATASCOCITA, TX -- A couple of lost their infant daughter after only 50 days of life, are working to create a lasting legacy and raising funds to build a Butterfly Bereavement Room in the Texas Children's Pavilion for Women that Katie and Phillip Hurlbut hope will provide comfort to families in their time of grief.

On Sept. 7, 2015, Ella Grace Hurlbut passed away after she developed a bacterial infection.

Ella and Anna Hurlbut were born on July 19 and weighed in at less than two pounds after being born at just 27 weeks.

At first, the twins were receiving care in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at the Texas Children's Pavilion for Women, but Ella developed a bacterial infection and was transferred to the NICU in the Texas Children's Hospital's West Tower for specialized care.

Ella and the doctors fought the infection for two weeks before it claimed her life.

The hospital transferred Ella into a private room, where her mother and father were able to spend their daughter’s final moments with her.

In their heartache, the Hurlbut’s were grateful for the care their daughter received, but felt that there needed to be an environment for parents that provides privacy and peace during such an emotional time for families.

Aimee Renaudin, a nurse at Texas Children’s Hospital, and one of Ella’s nurses during her two weeks in the West Tower NICU, launched an initiative to open a Butterfly Bereavement Room for the West Tower NICU.

In May 2016, the first Butterfly Bereavement Room opened in the West Tower at Texas Children’s Hospital, complete with a crib and chairs, and armoire with baby clothes, bathroom and shower -- everything needed to provide comfort and privacy for parents and their infant in their final moments together.

The Hurlbut’s were able to see the new room on the one-year anniversary of Ella's death, and not long afterward, heard of plans to create another and wanted to help.

In December, Katie and Phillip Hurlbut launched a fundraising page through the Give to Texas Children's website, to fund the room in Ella Grace Hurlbut’s memory.

As of jan. 19, the family has raised just over $13,000 of the needed $50,000 goal.

"Right now, there's nothing like this available for families in the Pavilion," Katie told the Houston Chronicle. "It's never easy to lose a child, but we just don't want anyone else to go through it in the circumstances we went through. So, if there's an opportunity for us to make that a little easier for other families when they're going through that type of loss, that's what we hope to accomplish."

To learn more about the Texas Children's Pavilion for Women Butterfly Bereavement Room project or to make a donation, visit http://waystogive.texaschildrens.org/butterfly.

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