Here are 10 of the biggest Decisions we have made along the way:

1. Go through the with pregnancy and birth – the doctor gave us the option to end the life of our daughter 30 weeks into pregnancy.  We would have had to go to another state that offered late term abortions.  We decided to let God and Kennady have their shot.
2. Have the shunt surgery – The brain surgeon told us on Kennady’s birthday that we could have a surgery to release the fluid on her brain or that we could choose not to.  Not having the surgery was a way of letting ‘nature take its course’.  She would not live long with this scenario and could also have quite a bit of pain in the process. We decided to have the surgery.
3. Our family would not slow down or be invalid – We saw many families with disabled members that were not active in their church, community, or life.  We made a clear decision within the first months of  Kennady’s life that we were not going to allow her  disability to restrict our behavior.  She was going to be the best dressed in our family.  She would be a part of our life. The older she gets the harder this is.  We hold each other accountable to keep this decision.

4. Medical Treatment – Throughout her life we have made hundreds of decisions to have surgeries, procedures, and medication.  Most of these prolonged life. Some of them improved her quality of life.
5. Meet with a Palliative care Doctor – This was a tough decision but a great one.  These doctors care for patients at or near the end of their life.  They help make critical care medical decisions.
6. Establish a DNR – Wow. Another very tough decision. DNR stands for Do Not Resuscitate.  This is a legal order written either in the hospital or on a legal form to respect the wishes of a patient to not undergo CPR.
7. Have more kids! – We decided in 2002 that we would try to have more biological kids.  We did!
8. Foster Kids – We decided in 2009 to start fostering kids.  We did from 2009-2011.
9. Laugh a lot – We constantly make fun of everything.  Literally, we MAKE fun out of a bad situation.  That means laughing about death, disabilities, each other, others.  We have so many laughs that others wouldn’t enjoy or understand.
10. Pastor a church and become a Midwife – Robin said Yes! to the opportunity to pastor a church.  Erica said Yes! to fulfilling a lifelong goal of becoming a midwife.