Kindergarten is a big step in every child’s life. It’s the rite of passage between being in pre-school and finally becoming a “big kid.” But for 5-year-old Walker Myrick the first day of kindergarten was just a reminder that something was missing.
Walker never got to meet his twin brother, Willis, because he tragically died in their mother’s womb from a rare condition before they were born. Though he is not here, their mother, Brooke Myrick, says Willis and Walker still share an inseparable bond.
Brooke Myrick
So when Walker started school in Alabama—a milestone they should have reached together—he was excited to share it with his twin.
After his first day of Kindergarten, Brooke took her son to Willis’ grave. “He told us he just wanted to tell Willis about school,” she said.
Walker ran ahead as Brooke got the baby out of their car, and when she got over to her son, she captured this beautiful moment: 5-year-old Walker, resting against his twin brother’s grave, and telling him all about his first day of school.
Brooke Myrick
“It is special for me and that photo meant so much to me,” Brooke explains. “When we lost him I just always wanted Walker to never forget Willis.”
Brooke and her husband Michael first found out they were pregnant with twins in October 2006. It wasn’t until she had reached 24 weeks of pregnancy that Brooke found out Willis had passed away from twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS). The condition occurs when the blood vessels of the babies’ shared placenta are connected—causing one twin to receive more blood flow than the other.
Brooke Myrick
Now that he’s nine years old, Walker still asks to visit his twin brother regularly. “I think he feels a sense of peace at the grave site,” Brooke explains. “Even though years have passed, he has told us he believes his brother is always with him. He does speak of him often and shares his brother with his friends.”
Brooke Myrick