Allison and Josh were young in college when they met and fell in love. They married soon after in 2000 and couldn’t wait to start a start a family. At first the plan was to have around two children…but that plan didn’t last very long.
Down the line she gave birth to Abby (11), Jack (9) and Isabel (8). Then came Micah (5), their first adopted child. Finally was their fourth biological child, Julia (3). With their children’s ages spanning over 8 years, Allison and Josh had grown a family far bigger than they originally planned, but they couldn’t have been happier.
Image via youcaring
Image via youcaring
Image via youcaring
As fate would have it, another surprise was about to enter their lives! On Allison’s 38th birthday, October 30th, 2015, a friend and adoption attorney called her with some incredible news. Allison interviewed with LittleThings and gave a first hand account from there:
“She said that she’d remembered our talking about possibly wanting to adopt again and then shared that she was aware of a birth mom who needed a family for her baby. I called my husband to get the conversation started, but instead of proceeding with his typically logical, slow process of decision-making, he exclaimed, ‘Absolutely! This is so clearly an answer to what we’ve been praying.’
Image via youcaring
When the call came to let us know that sam’s birth mother was in labor, we wildly threw the kids and a handful of luggage into the van and hit the road for the 10-hour trip to Duke University Hospital in Durham, NC. the adoption attorney called.
‘Does Josh have both hands on the steering wheel?’
She proceeded to tell me that the doctors at Duke had just completed an ultrasound and had discovered that there were, in fact, TWO babies soon to be born. IÂ always have a hard time articulating the emotions that poured themselves over us in that moment. It was something akin to ecstatic, overwhelmed, terrified delight.
Image via youcaring
As the fear eased and the excitement grew, our friend’s name reappeared on my phone’s screen. When she began talking this time, though, her tone was completely different. Gone was the lilt and in its place was a voice of heartache.
‘I’m so sorry to tell you this; they’re on their way now to do an emergency c-section, and they don’t think baby B will survive the delivery.’
 Image via youcaring
A million and one things occurred during the next two hours of driving to the hospital, but when we finally arrived, we found a small, but healthy, baby boy cuddling with the nurses on the postpartum floor. But in NICU lay a precious three-pound darling whom we would soon find out was born without a brain.
The doctors looked at us with eyes of sorrow and compassion and said, ‘You don’t have to take her. We know this isn’t what you signed up for.’
 Image via youcaring
From opposite sides of the tiny incubator, Josh and I said in unison, ‘She’s our daughter.’
Our whole family spent the next 3 weeks at duke with her, cuddling, singing, crying, and praying. When she was stable enough, Duke graciously provided a medical transport to fly her to Children’s Hospital in our hometown of Birmingham, AL where she spent three more weeks in NICU.
 Image via youcaring
Finally, after 44 days in the hospital, Ava Leigh Lewis came home to her family.
Image via youcaring
Choosing Ava to be our daughter was one of the ‘hardest easy things’ we’ve ever done. We have multiple visits a week from her hospice team, and as much as we’ve come to love and treasure our nurses, their visits are a reminder that Ava’s life on earth will likely end much sooner than we would ever want.
We talk openly with the kids. They know that Ava’s life will be far shorter than what any of us would want for her. But they know that we’ve got a lot of love to pack in to a short period of time.
Wow. There are so many amazing parts to this family’s story. The love that goes into such a large family and the strength it took to get through this is astounding. Above all, the sacrifice and unconditional love for this tiny child is something deeply stirring. We should all take note.
Share their wonderful story and spread that love today!
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