A boy who lost his parents has received more than 4,000 photos of rainbows from around the world after his aunt took to Facebook to try and lift her 9-year-old nephew's spirits.
People sent the photos after a New York woman asked people to help lift her nephew's spirits after he lost both of his parents 22 days apart.
His mother, Shelly Ecuyer, died from gastroparesis and cystic fibrosis on May 2nd. Hie father, Robert Ecuyer, died after struggling with addiction on May 24. Soon after, Crystal Skawinski gained custody of her 9-year-old nephew.
"The first loss, my sister, was hard enough," Skawinski told ABC News. "He lost his bedroom, his toys, his mom, his dad and everything that was consistent in his life. Robbie is autistic and the consistency in life is what [he is] used to, so all of that was taken away.
Skawinski said that Robbie, who loves rainbows, had been told that his mother "went over the rainbow bridge" when she died. The day she passed, a double rainbow appeared over Robbie's school, something a family member was able to take a photo of.
"I sent [the photo] to his father to help make a mental picture for Robbie," Toma told ABC News. "As you see, one rainbow so strong and another quite vague -- another symbol for Robbie to understand mommy was waiting for daddy. Now we find double rainbows all over."
Robbie was overjoyed to see the photo, but when another one didn't show up one day, his aunt decided to ask people to send photos of rainbows from around the world. She went on Facebook, requesting that people post photos of their rainbows using the hashtag #rainbowsforrobbie
"It's raining so Robbie came out to check for rainbows," she wrote in the original post. "Make sure you send me rainbow pics if you have them!!!!"
People responded to the request and Robbie began receiving photos from all over the world. So far, people have sent him rainbows from Niagara Falls, Australia, Hawaii, and Taiwan.
If you'd like to send a photo out for Robbie, Tweet or Instagram it using the hashtag #rainbowsforrobbie.