Father writes book and creates Butterfly Suites to honor late daughter

by Laura Straub

Richfield resident Anthony Gargano and his wife Megan were dealt a devastating blow when they lost their daughter Luna in the third trimester of their pregnancy. Now, two years later, Gargano is honoring Luna’s memory through his recently published children’s book, “Penny Goes to the Moon.”

In addition to honoring Luna, the book aims to normalize talking about pregnancy and infant loss, to support other families with similar experiences and to raise money for some outstanding support organizations.

“We found out at our 20-week ultrasound that our daughter had a rare condition called an omphalocele and a hole in her heart. We did genetic testing and found that there were no genetic issues or concerns and doctors assured us that with proper care and surgery after her birth she would lead a normal life. We continued to monitor her diligently and all continued to go well,” said Gargano. “In the 36th week, we had a good growth scan and heart rate monitoring session, all readings were normal as of that Friday. That weekend we went to a parenting class and celebrated my first Father’s Day, but we started to suspect something was wrong as my wife noticed decreased movement. The next day my wife went into the doctor and found that there was no heartbeat for my daughter.”

Luna Serafine Gargano was born asleep at 37 weeks on June 18, 2019.

“We were devastated and felt a deep sense of loss,” he said. “We were fortunate to have a family to support us, but we were grief stricken for some time, and we had a desire to continue to have our daughter be talked about.

“My wife and I went to grief counseling and completed a group pregnancy loss program with the Cornerstone of Hope,” said Gargano. “We also joined a local pregnancy and infant loss group called Precious Parents. Having these resources helped us have a safe place to talk about our daughter and grieve, as well as navigate tough periods.”

He also began writing “Penny Goes to the Moon.”

“ I wrote the initial version of the book within a couple months of my daughter’s passing,” he said. “As part of the grieving process we began looking for children’s books that dealt with child loss for siblings. Seeing that there were very few options, we thought this book might be helpful to other families who experience loss.”

Gargano’s story is about a family – and their dog, Penny – that is expecting a baby. The family loses their daughter, Luna. Penny travels to the moon to visit her sister and they have a wonderful time together before she travels back to Earth to share memories with her parents.

Gargano worked with Archway to publish his book to print on demand. It is available online.

He plans to donate profits from sales of the book to organizations helping others with pregnancy or infant loss, including The Butterfly Suite, founded by Gargano and his wife. Through the Butterfly Suite, the Garganos create bereavement rooms at hospitals that resemble home settings, where family members can create memories with their loved one before saying goodbye.

“Our first project was with Cleveland Clinic Akron General, where we gave birth to Luna,” said Gargano. “I was actually a guest on the podcast Fake Doctors Real Friends with Zach Braff and Donald Faison, on episode 212. I was able to talk about my experience and promote the fundraiser, so we received donations from all over the world to help this project come to fruition.”

Gargano also plans to donate profits to Precious Parents and March of Dimes.

Today, the Garganos are a happy family of three. Their son, Arlo, is 11 months old. After losing their daughter, the pregnancy was anxiety inducing, especially during the pandemic.

“We were fortunate to have a great doctor and support groups to help us through the process, but we always had a worry something would go wrong in the back of our minds,” Gargano said.

After Arlo was born, Gargano took on a new challenge in his professional life, starting a new financial firm called Journey Wealth Management with partners TJ Gliha, Lauren MacLaren and Pete Franz.

Gargano said after losing his daughter he wanted to increase his focus with his clients in a new environment. “My partners and I are able to … control the client experience and the types of clients we work with compared to our other firms where we had less discretion.” The group specializes in working with professional golfers, entrepreneurs and executives, helping each client envision the life they aspire.  ∞