By Mackenzie Krumme – Wisconsin Public Radio –
Cori Salchert leaves the Christmas lights on year round.
It’s not to celebrate the holidays, but so an ambulance can easily spot her house any time of year.
“Hearing that an 11-year-old stopped breathing … can be a scary thing for an EMT, so we just lessen the difficulty for finding our home,” Cori said.
Since 2012, Cori and her husband, Mark, have adopted five children, all with a terminal prognosis — meaning the Salcherts adopt these children knowing their lives will be cut short. They get most of their needs met at the Salchert’s home in Sheboygan, which is equipped with a stairlift and handicap shower.
Social workers and doctors close to Cori call her a unicorn. She said that idea of being exceptionally rare often makes her sad, because she wished more people could give dying children a loving place to spend the rest of their lives.
To others, it might seem like a daunting endeavor to continuously lose and grieve children.
“One of our pastors had told us, ‘These kids are going to wreck your life. But they are not going to ruin it. So your heart is never going to recover the same as it was before you had them. And that’s an OK thing,’” she said.