Tripp Roth

I have posted a few times about a very special beautiful little boy named Tripp!  I have been inspired beyond words when it comes to sweet Tripp and his mother Courtney.  

Conor had to write a paper for his English class.  A paper about a life changing experience.  I didn't realize at 16 he could write this:

I don't remember what I was doing exactly, but I walked up from the basement, probably from playing a video game or browsing the internet. I had walked upstairs to see my mother crying on her laptop. Normally I would be alarmed by the sight, but recently this was an occurring event. She had recently become a blogger, sharing information about our family and the process we've gone through of adopting a special needs child from a different country. Through her blogging, she had found families going through similar events, and other families asking for prayers and support.
"What's wrong Mom?" I asked her.
"Come watch this video," she told me in between tears. She began to tell me that she was looking at a blog titled ""EB"ing a Mommy." This was not the first time I had found her looking at this blog, and certainly not the last. I had never really taken a deep interest in it, seeing every time my mom was looking at it she was crying. She always tells me to come look at the heartbreaking stories she finds, and I don't like to look at them because I know that I too will become emotional. But this time I went over and looked at the pictures of a baby boy, whose face and body were covered with large sores.


Tripp, born May 14, 2009, and was diagnosed with Junctional Epidermolysis Bullosa. This is a disease where any friction on the skin or mucous membrane causes blisters to form. They told Tripp's mom that her baby boy probably wouldn't live to see his first birthday. A lot to take in, but she did not hold back any love for her precious baby. A lot went on the first couple months of Tripp's life, mostly trying to find as much information as possibly, and trying to find solutions to many problems as well. He had trouble breathing and eating due to sores in his throat and mouth. After attempts to help his breathing, the only solution was for Tripp to get a tracheostomy ("trach"). Following his tracheostomy were many eye surgeries resulting from many corneal abrasions and tissue growth over his eyeballs. Soon enough, Tripp lost his vision.


Reluctantly, with the fear of crying, I joined my mom and sister in watching a slideshow of pictures of Tripp . Needless to say the three of us were crying, heartbroken from the unfortunate events that have affected Tripp's life. But it didn't stop there. We watched videos of Tripp playing drums, scooting from drum to drum, playing perfectly to the rhythm. "How old is he Mom?" I asked.
"Only two," she responded.
"And he can play the drums that well?"
"Crazy isn't it?"
“He’d probably grow up to be a music prodigy,” my sister added. We all agreed. We also looked at pictures of the sores that covered his body and looked at endless pictures of him smiling and playing. Through all the pain, Tripp can still smile. I soon began to realize how lucky I am to be healthy, how lucky I am to refer to a small bruise pain, how lucky I am to have my vision, how lucky I am to not have to worry about being careful of my sensitive skin, and also how lucky I am to have found something that could make me realize how fortunate I am to be blessed with the life I have. It's sad that a suffering boy has to be the eye opener for me, and if I could I would do anything to give him better health. I never was a religious person, but at that moment I made a promise to God that if he would take pain out of Tripp's life, even if it was only for a day or two, that I would never ask him for anything else, for as long as I live.
We finished up watching the videos so I hopped in the shower, and took some time to relax. It couldn't have been more then five minutes when I decided that I needed to learn more about Tripp. So I went downstairs and got on the computer and read posts about Tripp and learned what the disease was and the chances that Tripp would get better. There isn't a cure for Junctional Epidermolysis Bullosa, and right now they're just trying to make Tripp feel comfortable because things aren't going so well. I pray for Tripp, for him to have better health and to be able to live like a healthy child. I will occasionally look and see how Tripp is doing, somewhat afraid that my hope for him to get better hasn't occurred yet. I would do anything for him to get better, almost like an exchange for him changing my life.