‘I glanced at the clock. My heart skipped a beat. 4:58. On this day, at 4:58 a.m., my first daughter was born. Nearly 2 hours later, she passed away.’: Mom recalls tragic day she lost 2 of her triplets

“4:58. I woke up this morning, my heart heavy, knowing the weight of this day. I took a deep breath as I thought back to six years ago, the day my triplets arrived more than 17 weeks premature. The tears began and I found myself trying to soften my sobs as my husband lay fast asleep beside me. I glanced over at the clock and my heart skipped a beat. 4:58. On this day, at 4:58 in the morning, my first daughter Abigail was born. Nearly two hours later, she passed away.

Over the years I’ve experienced several signs from above. With two of my triplets living in Heaven, I look forward to the random moments when a butterfly lands on me or I see a special rainbow in the sky. But, this moment sticks out the most.

It’s as if my daughter, Abby, is saying, ‘Hi Mom,’ when I need it the most. And the best part? It’s happened before. On their birthday, I have woken up in the wee hours of morning and glanced over at the clock. And just like I saw today, 4:58 has glowed in the dark the room.

Surviving life after loss is extremely difficult. A piece of our hearts are permanently shattered the moment our child dies. We go through the motions of life, but we are changed forever. Eventually, we learn how to live again, how to laugh and find happiness through the heartache. We learn how to move forward in life, but we never forget our children who are no longer here.

Tonight, we watched our surviving triplet turn another year older. We lit a candle on her cheesecake, and lit two candles, one for her brother and one for her sister in Heaven. As she began eating her birthday dessert, my daughter looked at me and asked, ‘How do we get cheesecake to Heaven? I think Parker and Abby would like some.’ Through the tears, I smiled. Our family is missing two of our children, but it turns out, they are never far from our hearts.”

This story was written by Stacey Skrysak, an award winning television journalist based in Illinois. You can follow her on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Submit your own story here, and subscribe to our best stories in our free newsletter here.

Read more about Stacey’s triplets:

‘The checkout lady saw my cart. ‘Oh wow! Did you get too many things on your registry?’ Tears poured down my face. ‘No, two of my children died,’ I said. ‘I don’t need these anymore.’

‘To the parents of Abigail.’ I was shuffling through the junk mail, before tossing it in the trash. But the last letter left me frozen. My heart began racing. I gasped as I read the name.’

‘I walked into my daughter’s room and instantly spotted that paper from the past. Seeing the 7 digits and extension took my breath away.’