When they first met in college, Allison and Josh knew right away they were made for each other. It didn’t take them long to hit it off and become an item. Everyone always talked about how great they looked as a couple and how happy they made each other.
Just a few years later they were married and ready to start their family.
“We’ll have two, maybe three,” they thought. But they were so wrong!
By 2013, the lovers had four biological children and an adopted son. But they weren’t finished yet. They had grand plans to continue growing their brood.
But then on October 30, 2015, which is Allison’s birthday, the couple received a call from a dear friend who asked them if they would possibly consider adopting a pregnant lady’s baby whom she would not be able to raise up right.
Without hesitation, Josh and Allison accepted.
When the pregnant woman went into labor, the entire family of six packed up their car and drove all the way to Duke hospital.
But on the way, the family received some shocking news. There wasn’t one baby. There was two.
The couple and their growing family were all too eager to add two babies to the mix. They were all too happy to accept the twins with open arms and welcoming hearts. But then a third call came. And it was bad news.
One of the twins had been born with only a brain stem – the child didn’t have a full brain. There was almost no chance the infant would make it through the night.
“The Lord had created her life and the fact that she wasn’t born the way we would have chosen or wanted in an ideal world didn’t change the fact that she needed a family.”
In the video below, you’ll see more about the Lewis family and their experience with the twins Sam and Ava. Ava was the little one born with only a brainstem.
According to Allison, here are some answers about the baby who grew up without a brain.
“does ava really not have a brain? no, she does not. she has a brain stem, but there is no brain matter beyond that.
“how do you live without a brain? your brain stem controls all of your autonomic functions like heartrate, respirations, and digestion, so those “don’t have to think about them to make them happen” kind of things are done automatically for her by her brain stem.
“what is that tube that sticks out of her shirt? she’s unable to swallow her feeds so she has a gtube. the tube sticking out is the extension tubing that connects to the little button in her belly. we typically just leave it connected because she hates having her gtube messed with; and because she chills easily, it’s better just to leave her wrapped up than to strip her down to connect tubes for every feeding.”
What do you think about these Good Samaritans?
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