SHELBY COUNTY, Tenn.– A young Shelby County boy diagnosed with Spina Bifida continues to beat the odds after doctors told his mother he was not expected to live and that if he did, he wouldn’t be able to walk.
Whether being curious about how a camera works or playing on a backyard swing, you could say 8-year-old Trennen Eddy is being pushed to new heights with a little help from his big sister, Grayson, and their mom Lindsey.
They both get a little choked up when they talk about how amazing he is.
“I think he’s really special to this family and he brings us all together,” Grayson said through tears.
“When her brother was born, he was born with Spina Bifida and I think you always pray that your child is going to be taken care of…gosh, I have not cried in so long,” Lindsey said.
The tears are for how Trennen has overcome barriers from when he was born in Bentonville, Arkansas with Spina Bifida, Hydrocephalus, and Chiari Malformation of the skull.
“When Trennen was born, we didn’t think he was going to live. We were told he wasn’t going to live,” said Lindsey. “And so, I think I became the fierce protector. We had so many doctors who told us just to abort and that just couldn’t be my story.”
Before he was born, Lindsey was also told her baby might have other complications such as a disorder called holoprosencephaly, an abnormal brain development.
“He was going to have one hole for his eyes and nose and when they showed him to me his face looked completely normal. I remember asking if he looks normal is he going to live and they said yes,” she said. “But he has Spina Bifida.”
Still, Lindsey wanted to make plans to bring her son home, but couldn’t.
“We didn’t buy any diapers. We didn’t buy onesies for him because we didn’t want to come home to an empty nursery,” she said.
A specialist in Bentonville recommended the family either move to either Little Rock or Memphis to give Trennen his best chance of surviving. His mom knew Le Bonheur is where her son needed to be.
“They (Le Bonheur) gave us the chance of life that we needed. They had the hope that I needed to have, alongside of me, and they were willing to fight with us,” Lindsey said.
Trennen’s fight included being told he might not be able to ever walk because he had some paralysis and club feet. His mother said so far, he has been through a total of twelve surgeries — five brain surgeries and the rest were in his legs and feet.
Lindsey remained hopeful in spite of all the surgeries.
“The scary diagnosis was nothing because I had a choice to abort him and I chose to keep him and God was giving me a chance to show what a gift he would become,” she said.
One of Trennen’s gifts was felt the day his mom saw him defy all the odds and take his very first steps as he tried to get to a playroom at Le Bonheur.
“He let go of the wall one day and just walked from the wall to the playroom,” Lindsey said.
It was only eleven steps, but for his family, it felt like he walked miles.
“God is in control. All the things they told us he would never do and all the fears and Trennen just kept breaking barrier after barrier,” Lindsey said.
Those broken barriers mean today Trennen is playing, running, and even flirting with his nurses.
“He would open the door and peek his head out and say hey ladies and they’d just giggle at him the whole time. He’s Mister Personality,” his mother said.
He’s got personality and a determination not to let anything get in his way.
“He’s not going to take no for an answer. He’s going to figure it out. He’s going to adapt and push through with a smile on his face,” his mother said.
His family says their faith and Trennen’s team of doctors, nurses, and staff at Le Bonheur made his smile possible.
“They go above beyond there. Between the nurses, the doctors, the therapists, it could be the staff in the cafeteria or the janitor coming in with a big joyous smile checking in on her babies, we’ve had it all,” Lindsey said.
The family’s prayers are answered as Trennen is living life to his fullest because of Le Bonheur, a beacon of hope and healing.
“Thank you for helping him and thank you for trying your hardest on letting him come home for all of us,” said Trennen’s sister Grayson.
“Every memory we have in that hospital has so much passion and love that hospital, my heart just explodes talking about it because it’s truly been a gift to us,” Lindsey said.