A much-loved musician from Manchester released his debut solo single on Tuesday (March 25th), a track named 'Lullaby In The Sky'. Tommy Smith, frontman of 'The Haciendas', released the single as a tribute to his late son Elias, who he and partner Millie Gladstone lost during their twin pregnancy due to a condition called twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome.
Tommy, who has been performing at gigs around the UK and writing songs for the last decade, wrote the song originally for personal reasons, and to help the couple through the ordeal, but after feedback from the family and other friends since sharing the track, Tommy believed that the song would resonate with families all over the world that have had to walk in his shoes and similar situations to himself and Millie. The pair also wanted to raise awareness around TTTS and implications within multiple pregnancies. The song was played at Elias's cremation, and Tommy and Millie have now teamed up with the 'Twins Trust' charity' and released the single, with all of the proceeds from the single going to Twins Trust, with the aim of helping other families in similar situations on their own journeys. Tommy's full statement about the single release reads 'Last year me and my partner found out we were expecting a baby, which we later found out we were having twin boys. After months of excitement and planning for the boys, we had a routine scan and were told we were being transferred to the fetal medicine unit at Liverpool Women’s Hospital, as the boys were showing signs of TTTS (twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome). Twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome is a rare condition that occurs in 10–15% of identical twin pregnancies when there's an imbalance in blood flow between the twins. It happens when identical twins share a placenta, resulting in unequal blood exchange through connecting vessels. After our first scan, we were asked to come back for a follow up with Professor Asma Khalil which we would then have our options laid out to us. We were thrown into panic and worry, we had never heard of this condition before, I knew nothing about it. What would happen? Are we at risk of losing our boys? Can they be saved? It was a rollercoaster ride from there on out. We were offered laser ablation surgery to seal the abnormal blood vessels that connect the twins on the placenta, which stops the sharing of blood between the twins. We were made aware of the potential outcomes which can follow with the surgery, which included losing one or both of our boys. We went back the following week to see how the boys had reacted to the surgery, unfortunately, Elias’s heart had stopped beating. We were absolutely broken, our journey that started full of joy of happiness had taken a major bump in the road, and we were left with a real bittersweet feeling. Without the surgery, there was a possibility that we could have lost both of our boys. With the support and guidance from Professor Khalil, we decided to go for the treatment to try and save them. Elias sacrificed himself in order to save his brother. The rest of the journey was just as hard, knowing Elias was still in there whilst his brother was growing was hard, alongside the potential risks to Enzo. There was light at the end of the tunnel, on Wednesday January 29th (34 weeks and 3 days) we delivered our boys via c-section. The hardest yet proudest day of my life, tears of joy and heartache rolled into one. We got to spend the day with Elias, he was dressed up beautifully and we did hand and footprints to remember him. Enzo spent just over a week in NICU as he required some help with being a premature baby. Following the discharge from hospital, we then had to plan our final goodbye to our angel baby Elias. As a musician, I was searching high and low for the right song, the right words to relate to our journey and feelings. I could not find it, so I wrote my own tribute to Elias, a lullaby, just for him, in the sky. We used the piece of music at his service, which as hard as it was, was such a beautiful moment and I feel at peace knowing my feelings have been transferred into a piece of art that will always be there for him. Also, when the time is right, we can tell Enzo about his twin brother Elias, their story, our journey and his ultimate sacrifice which led to Enzo being part of our family as Elias watches down on us all from above. As a family we would like to thank everyone who helped us throughout our journey. Special mentions to Professor Khalil, Dr Annabel Dieh, Nicola McClean, Gavin Mitchell and all of the teams at Mitchell Funeral Services, Oldham NICU, Oldham Complex Pregnancy and FMU Liverpool Hospital'. Tommy and Millie are a beautiful couple with hearts of gold, and I wish them all the best for the future, and with the single. Please support them by downloading the single 'Lullaby In The Sky, which is available now on iTunes for just 99p, with all money raised going directly to the 'Twins Trust' charity.
