“It was excruciating to watch a friend deteriorate before my eyes, and it was also difficult to reassure my daughter Georgie,” Courtney said. “I mean, how do you comfort a 17-year-old who knows his mother is going to die?”
Courtney remembers Anne’s health rapidly deteriorating, but any discomfort was secondary to the sadness of leaving her children without a parent.
“Her only stress was, ‘Where are the kids going?'” Courtney said. “She wanted them to be together.”
The same thoughts had been plaguing Courtney since her first appointment.
Ann’s then 7-year-old son, Kurt, had experienced the death of his father at an early age.
The father of Ann’s two daughters lived interstate and was not involved in Ann’s life.
“There were so many questions in my head, but the biggest one was, ‘What will happen to the kids?'” Kourtney admits.
Courtney has a life-changing realization as she watches Anne struggle with her children’s future.
The mother of one wanted to add George, Charlie and Kurt to her family forever.
While Anne’s decision to adopt her children was an easy one for her, her partner Nathan Donnarumma was conflicted about growing their family from three to six.
“I was thinking about it. I kept to myself a little bit,” he says.
“I made the decision by thinking about how I would feel if I were in that predicament. I didn’t have many options, but I knew this was the best choice, so I said, ‘Let’s do it.’ ”
