A Mother’s Love: Welcoming Dying Infants into Her Heart

Meet Cori Salhart, a licensed nurse and mother of eight from the United States, who has dedicated herself to a truly unique mission: adopting terminally ill babies whose life expectancy is just a few days or months. Cori’s journey began thanks to an adoption program at her local hospital in Wisconsin, aiming to find homes for babies and children diagnosed with 'severe medical conditions.' "When we first got the call in 2012, asking if we could adopt a nameless two-week-old baby with nobody in the world to care for her, we couldn’t say no. Her prognosis was grim — she was born missing a brain hemisphere, and doctors didn’t expect her to survive," she recalls.

Without hesitation, Cori and her husband took the baby into their home and named her Emmalyn. For the 50 days she lived, Emmalyn experienced boundless love from Cori’s eight biological children. On the 51st day, she passed away. "Her passing was heartbreaking. But with time, we recognized the immense privilege we had in holding her close, rather than seeing her treated like an object of use. It comforts us to know she didn’t suffer and wasn’t alone in her final moments," Cori shares.

Cori with one of the babies she adopted (Image courtesy of Cori and Mark Salhart’s Facebook)

Last year, Cori adopted another baby, four-month-old Charlie, who faced similar medical challenges as Emmalyn. The doctors predicted he would only live for 18 months. "Charlie is on life support and needs constant supervision. We were told his biological family couldn’t handle the situation, which we completely understand and do not judge. Our role is to step in when families feel overwhelmed, offering support to the best of our ability and theirs."

When asked about the difficulty of saying goodbye to these children, Cori explains, "Of course, it’s hard. Each time one of ‘our’ babies passes, it breaks us. But our hearts are like glass windows meant to break and then be made whole again. Our hearts grow stronger and more beautiful because of what they have endured. We strongly encourage families who have the means—both financially and otherwise—to consider adopting these children, not just those with terminal illnesses. Any child lacking something in their biological family, be it love or attention, needs your support."