How we got the name

 Butterflies for Joe is probably not the name my husband would have chosen for our cause.  He would probably like Broncos for Joe or Buffaloes for Joe or actually Studs for Joe.  He liked to refer to himself as JTG, Joe the Great!  But then he shouldn’t have sent butterflies to comfort us!  Those of you reading this that knew Joe are probably thinking the same thing.  But interestingly enough, after my mom past, every butterfly he saw he would say “ hello Lucille”.  So I think they teamed up and decided to send them to us enforce!  

On Joe’s last day, less than 30 days after starting on an SSRI, we were having lunch; he hadn’t been eating but finally said a burger sounded good.  While we were eating, a pale yellow, almost white, butterfly flew right through us.  I said to him “look there is mom:” He didn’t notice.  Oh if only I had known his thoughts.  

It wasn’t until after he was tragically killed, (notice I didn’t say committed suicide), that we found out about the spirituality of the butterfly.  I won’t go into to much detail but tell you that learning about this and the overwhelming number of butterflies that were with us after his death, let us know he, along with many of our other loved ones were with us. 

We found out about the spirituality in an art gallery in SoHo in NYC.  Our oldest son lives there and I needed to get away.  It was about 2 weeks after he died.  Both boys and my son’s girlfriend, now fiancé, were just walking around the city we know so well.  For some reason we walked into a gallery and I was immediately drawn to this amazing ink drawing but the artist Vladimir Kush. One of the staff came up to me and started explaining about how butterflies come to give us comfort and let us know that the spirit of those we love lives on.   I just knew it was representing the love we shared. Well I had to have the art and have been given permission to share it on my website.  After this moment, butterflies started coming and didn’t slow down until about a year and a half after his death.  They seemed to follow my path of grief and are still around me today. So many instances that I can’t even begin to list them here. 

When we were discussing the name, my son asked if I had ever heard of the Butterfly Effect.   It’s the theory that a butterfly flapping its wings in an ocean in one part of the world might ultimately cause a hurricane in another part of the world”. This was the perfect description of what we are trying to accomplish.  What happened to my wonderful husband has happened to others and will continue to unless we are able to educate others on what to look for. 

On this website, You will see beautiful faces and read stories of others I have met from around the world that have suffered through this type of tragedy.  These courageous families are all fighting to save others from the heartbreak they experienced. We want the butterfly to cause a hurricane of outrage about what is happening to so many.   

These are very personal stories.  Experts that have been studying these drugs and their effects for decades support our documentation of the tragedies we have experienced.  Please view the list of experts and watch the videos list further on the site.