Butterflies: Spring’s Powerful Symbol of Transformation, Loved Ones Lost, and the Who Is Carter Foundation

Photo Credit: Cindy Gustafson

Elizabeth Abbott, at her brother Carter’s memorial service

NOTE:  All proceeds from the sale of Who Is Carter? An Unexpected Journey of Tragedy and Miracles benefit the Who Is Carter Foundation.  Order your copy on paperback or Kindle today.

Have you noticed more and more butterflies in your area in recent days?

They seem to be everywhere, and their return is a welcome sign that Spring is here.  Nature’s cycle of life continues, punctuated by these fluttering, colorful messengers all around us.

You may have also noticed that the logo for Who Is Carter is a butterfly, so we thought that this time of year is perfect to share the story behind that symbol.

As you may already know, the Who Is Carter Foundation was established in memory of Carter Abbott, a precious boy who passed away at 20 months of age from a brain aneurysm.  Carter had sustained a brain injury as an infant.  His parents, Matt and Emily Abbott, set aside his limiting prognosis--looking past what they were told Carter would never do--and instead pursued what Carter could do.  The Abbotts discovered that they were not the only parents facing this challenge, so they want to make sure that children like Carter have access to all of the resources and hope that they need for a life full of possibilities, not limitations.  They are giving families those resources and hope through the Foundation’s current projects: TheBrainPossible.com and The Brain Possible Podcast.

Carter’s death was unexpected: Despite his brain injury, he was a very healthy baby.  His memorial service was a precious time for family and loved ones to gather and celebrate the life of this remarkable boy.  In a book about Carter’s life, Who Is Carter? An Unexpected Journey of Tragedy and Miracles, Judy Geng, Carter’s grandmother shares this moment from the memorial:

“Our daughter Jessica had ordered monarch butterflies to be released after the service. There were six. We let Elizabeth [Carter’s older sister] release them, and they must have not been all the way warmed yet because they were lethargic and reluctant to fly away. The butterflies sat on her fingers, her face, her shoulder. It was beautiful…  Every time I see a butterfly—especially if it’s a monarch—I think of him in a happy way. Now he’s like the butterfly. He’s got a new body.”

Several years later, when it came time to choose a logo for their newly established Foundation, the butterfly was the obvious choice to Matt and Emily.  Butterflies carry powerful symbolism: Their ability to metamorphosize from humble, creeping caterpillar to a brilliantly-hued, flying beauty is nothing short of miraculous.  Butterflies remind us that complete transformation is possible, and that it happens every day.  They remind us of the hope that the humble body we have here on earth will one day be transformed into a beautiful and glorious one in the next life.  And to the Abbotts--and the entire Who Is Carter community--butterflies are a constant reminder that Carter’s legacy lives on.

Remarkably, monarch butterflies have even more significance:  The ancient Aztecs believed that the monarch butterfly represents the souls of dead children who are returning to the earth; they saw the image of a human face in the motif of the butterfly’s wings. In Aztec culture, the monarch butterfly was also considered the goddess of motherhood and love.  That symbolism seems appropriate, since the Who Is Carter Foundation provides support not just to the children affected by brain injury, but their parents, too.

So this Spring, when a butterfly settles on a flower in your garden or flits past you as you walk outside, remember Carter.  Remember the impact of a life transformed by possibilities.  And remember that you have the power to transform the lives of children like Carter as you join in the work of his legacy, the Who Is Carter Foundation.

Carter Matthew Abbott