When Stacy and Bill Halstead married in 2007, all that they wanted in the world was a child.
They tried for months, to no avail. Finally, they turned to a fertility clinic, which helped them to finally conceive the baby they had dreamed of. Like the parents of this little girl who was a product of long months of treatment, Bill and Stacy would have have gone to the moon and back to bring their little one into this world.
Tripp Halstead was born nine months later. Stacy calls him her “one perfect miracle” because, like the Haskins family, doctors told her that she would never carry another child after she miscarried during her second pregnancy.
Then, tragedy struck shortly after Hurricane Sandy. Tripp, just 2 years old, was outside playing at his nursery school when a tree limb loosened by the storm fell and struck him in the head. Little Tripp survived the accident, but the road to recovery was only just beginning for the family.
Please note that some of the following images contain graphic medical content.
Stacy's very exciting morning post; Ahhhhhhhhhhh you know yesterday we thought Tripp said "out" while he was crying in the stander. Well today he is a happy camper and I swear he said "on" for the TV. I caught it twice on video but I was trying to edit and got rid of the second time he did it. Errrrr! At least I caught it once!! I literally cried and kissed his face off the first time he did it. So happy!!!!!!
Posted by Tripp Halstead Updates on Monday, November 2, 2015
Here's little Tripp in the months before his accident. He's a bright and energetic little boy, and Stacy describes him as a "sponge," absorbing new information all the time, and always curious to learn more.
But after the accident, no one was sure if Tripp would ever be that same little boy again. This picture was taken shortly after Tripp’s accident. He suffered a devastating injury, with multiple fractures to his skull and extensive brain damage. Even though he had improved substantially, his parents had no idea what his future would look like, and they were taking every moment as it came.
But by the second anniversary of his injury, little Tripp was already proving naysayers wrong, making some amazing strides. He was still disconnected at times; but more often than not, he was able to engage with people around him, favoring them with his adorable grins and kicking his legs to show his moods.
Now, almost exactly three years after his accident, Tripp is making leaps that doctors never thought he would be capable of. Mom Stacy credits Tripp’s improvement to a new round of treatment in a hypobaric oxygen chamber, which appears to have helped Tripp on his way to his next big accomplishment: speaking.
While it’s still tough to tell, Stacy believes that her little boy, who can communicate very slightly via blinking, is finally starting to express simple words again. Check out the video below to see Tripp’s latest achievement! And if you want to continue following the Halstead family, please check out their Facebook page here.
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