More on the kid...

I get bored pretty easy. I get tired of the same old thing. But I discovered something. I don't get tired of my wife or daughter. Do they get on my nerves sometimes? Sure, but I never get tired of them. We went to Boise last week (or was it the week before?) for follow-up appointments for Trinity. We were there for two days because Trinity was scheduled for a follow-up MRI and they won't see her at the neurologist's office the same day as the MRI. I can see why; she has to be put to sleep for the MRI because it takes over 45 minutes and she has to stay still. Trinity can't stay still for 45 seconds, much less 45 minutes! Here are some photos from the trip:

Here's Miss Smiley-Bug waiting for her turn in the MRI machine. She was having fun crawling around and trying to pull on as many dangling cords as possible. She's so much fun to be around. She barely even cried when they put the IV in her arm. She did fight a little, just because she doesn't like being held still. Who can blame her?

The doctors said that everything went well, but we still had to help lil' T come off the drugs again. I hate that part, it's so tough to watch her fight her way out of the haze. Come to think of it, it like me in the morning. Now I know what Autumn feels like.

Always one to do things a little different, Trinity catches a ride to the exit. I think Autumn has always wanted to be pushed around in a wheel chair. Cross that one off the list!

While we were at Trinity's appointments, we were able to stay at the Ronald McDonald House in Boise. What a great service it is. It was close to the hospital, there is a kitchen, and people even come and cook meals! It truly is home away from home. They even say, "Welcome home!" when you come in the front door. While we were there, we had visitors! Our friends Kathie and Kate were in Boise doing some shopping, so they stopped by for a visit!

It's funny trying to take pictures with children. We keep telling people to just look at the camera and let us get Trinity to smile. It's amazing how long it takes to train grand parents! But Trinity sure loves her Oma and Opa!

Okay, so this is not Boise or Trinity. This is my nephew Mark, who has had a great football season this year. Here he is in Corvallis after the state 4A football championship. As a senior he was the starting left tackle for our Baker Bulldogs, who were second in the state this year! We are so proud of Mark, who as worked so hard for years. It is great to see him do so well at the time his team needed him. Good job Mark!

Okay, this is the part that gets a little hard to write...

Okay, this takes some explaining. Trinity's brain swelled because it lost oxygen. Now that swelling left scars. The doctors say that the scarring is what they expected, which means that it followed the pattern of swelling, nothing new that they hadn't seen before. This is an image from the MRI, from the bottom of her head, so the left side of the image is actually the right side of her brain. If you look between 6 o'clock and about 7 o'clock, you'll see a dark spot. That is the scarring. That's the part that was damaged, the part that will never grow back. To me, it looks like a big area. It hurts to think that my daughter has been injured like this.

Here's another slice that shows even more scarring. To Autumn and I this was a little shocking and to be honest it really bummed us out. The fact of the matter is that Trinity is doing AWESOME. But seeing the scars hurt both of us. This is our baby.

But the reality is that Trinity already had these scars before we saw them. She is recovering and laughing and playing even though she has these wounds. This doesn't change anything, except now I can see what your prayers and support have helped to overcome. This is the miracle that you are a part of. This image, as painful as it is to look at, is a reminder that God chose to give us our baby back, even after she went through an injury that left her with these scars. I am nothing but thankful to see these images. I am nothing but thankful for every single one of you, and I am most grateful to a God for all the moments that I have with my daughter.