Kendall was able to lead a less stressful life during her 9 months of pregnancy. She realized that everything would fall into place and worrying about it would not help the situation. Cody and Kendall were blessed with a beautiful baby boy, named Will. He was 8 pounds 5 ounces and was very healthy. Cody and Kendall had never been more proud and happy. Kendall finally felt like her life was coming together rather nicely. During her pregnancy, her doctors were worried about her extreme amount of energy and need for constant movement as a result of her ADHD. They wanted to make sure that she was getting adequate rest and was not harming the baby’s health in any way. Kendall told the doctor after the delivery that she had been feeling so frustrated because she had a lot of pent up energy that she wasn’t able to exert because of the doctor’s orders to rest. He decided that since Kendall had to have a C-section, he would increase her dose of ADHD medication until she was able to be active again.
Kendall was able to work as a nutritionist at the hospital until about a week before her delivery. The other nutritionists at the hospital evenly distributed her clients to one another so help until Kendall was able to come back to work. After about a month, Kendall returned to work and she had such a difficult time with it. Although she loved what she did, she did not want to leave Will at home because she loved him so much. The first couple of weeks of returning to work was completely heart breaking. She would cry her whole ride to the hospital and would count down the hours until she got to see him again. Cody did not stop working either and leaving Will was equally as difficult each morning. It broke his heart to see the love of his life so upset. They knew Will was in good hands with Susan and Leroy and they really enjoyed being able to spend quality time with their grandson. However, Cody found out that he was being promoted to head male practitioner on his floor. This promotion came with a nice raise. Enough to allow Kendall to be able to cut down on her hours at work and stay home more with Will. This made Kendall overwhelmingly happy. She loved Cody and loved having a family.
Taking care of a child made Kendall feel normal. She thought with her ADHD that she would have this absurd amount of energy still and would get agitated staying in one place at a time with the baby but it actually was the opposite. She finally felt tired like all the other mothers felt. She wasn’t going to bed with all this energy she felt like she needed to expend before she could lay down and rest.
Having a baby made time go by so very quickly. Before Kendall knew it, Will was already 7 years old and she was 9 months pregnant with their second child. Will was an active baby and was very smart. He loved sports and loved to help Cody out in the yard with his fake lawn mower. Kendall and Cody had a little girl named Katrina. She was a chubby happy little baby. She weighed 9 pounds 2 ounces. Will was so excited to have a little sister to take care of and she showed early on that he was a very protective older brother. After having Katrina. Cody and Kendall finally took time to themselves and talked about finally getting married. Although having two kids before marriage used to be considered unconventional, it is not uncommon in today’s world. Kendall and Cody have always felt like they were a married couple. It just was never in official writing. Kendall however had always dreamed about getting married and now that they were at a secure place financially, they could afford to have a nice wedding that they both want. Kendall decided to take her time planning the wedding and a year later in mid-summer they were married. Will and Katrina got to be a part of the ceremony and Susan and Leroy have never been so proud. They went through such struggles with Kendall from the moment they adopted her and they wanted to give her the best life she could possibly have and they finally feel like they accomplished that. They raised a hardworking, loving, beautiful wife, mother, and daughter and they couldn’t be more proud.
Time continued to fly by. As Katrina and Will got older and busier, Kendall decided to go back to work at the hospital full time. She loved working there. And it was very convenient that her and her husband got to be at the same place and see each other often. Even after years and years of being together, they were still madly in love with one another. Their relationship was something they both valued an enjoyed. They did an excellent job in raising their kids. Both Katrina and Will were at the top of their class and they were both sports fanatics. Will played baseball, basketball and football and was trying to get a scholarship to play D1 baseball in college. Katrina was just starting to do middle school track and cross country and she loved it. Her coaches told her that she had a gift for running and to cherish it and use it to her fullest.
Kendall and Cody were very proud to have raised such respectful talented kids and they had no doubt in their mind that they would be successful. Will ended up playing baseball at University of Virginia and he majored in finance. Katrina ended up becoming one of the best cross country and track runners in the state and she also got a scholarship to run at Ohio State University. Katrina majored in speech pathology. Kendall felt really blessed that neither of her two children had to deal with the struggle of having ADHD. Both of her kids made friends very easily, were well-behaved, and did not struggle much in school. Those were all things that were somewhat of an issue for Kendall growing up and she felt very fortunate that her kids were able to live a “normal” life.
Will and Katrina moved on with their lives and began working in their respective fields. They both landed jobs right away and things seemed to be going fairly well for them. Living on their own and supporting their selves was definitely a struggle at times but they knew that if they needed anything, Cody and Kendall would help in any way possible. They lived close to home and every Friday they had dinner with Kendall and Cody. This is something the whole family really enjoyed. It made the family so much closer than ever before. With both kids out of the house, Kendall and Cody ended up spending a lot of time together. They planned little weekend trips and did things that they were not able to do when they were raising their family. They were still very happy and very in love. Katrina and Will hoped to have a relationship like their parents one day.
When Kendall turned sixty, she went in for a mammogram. She had not gotten one in a while just from being busy with work and she didn’t make it a priority. She however felt like she needed to get one because she had felt a small lump in her breast but she wasn’t worried and felt like it was nothing. However, the results from the mammogram showed that Kendall had stage 4 breast cancer. This was a devastating moment in her and her family’s life. Kendall never thought she would ever have cancer. It never crossed her mind and she felt like she had so much more life to live. She was willing to do whatever it took. The doctors recommended that she do a double mastectomy. She agreed and went for surgery right away. They were able to remove the cancer from her breasts. Her family was relieved and so happy. It was a moment like this one that really made them realize how precious life can be and to cherish every single moment.
Kendall continued to be an advocate for breast cancer awareness for the next 10 years. She worked with relay for life and did a lot of fundraisers to help those who are suffering from breast cancer. This really helped Kendall feel like she was doing whatever it took to make a difference in someone’s life. However, at 72 years old, Kendall continued to have some health concerns. She went in for a doctor’s visit and they had found that Kendall had stomach cancer. This really concerned her and her family. Her doctor said that Kendall’s cancer was starting to spread throughout her body. Kendall wanted to put up a fight and for a year Kendall continued to do radiation and chemotherapy. However on July 21st Kendall unfortunately lost her fight to cancer. She fought as hard as she could have and never gave up. This was such a tragic loss for Cody, Katrina, and Will. In addition, the rest of their family and friends were completely devastated. Kendall was an amazing mother, wife, daughter and friend and will be missed by everyone who knew her. Katrina and Cody set up a foundation in their mother’s name to keep her memory alive. Kendall was fortunate enough to be able to see both of her kids get married and each have a child. She was a proud grandmother and she loved her family more than anything in this world. Kendall’s story is an inspiring one. It shows how although life may throw curve balls and challenges your way, it is how you deal with those challenges and the attitude you have that will make you a successful human being. Kendall always stayed positive and worked hard to get to where she was, and her family will make sure that her story is told to inspire those who may be dealing with something very similar.
