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Tomorrow begins "birthday season" for Bryn. Aneurysm rupture  on 5/20, a second near fatal hemorrhage on 5/26, and 6/12, the day she was born her spunky little baby self.   It's been two years since we received the phone call that Bryn collapsed while running and lay dying in the Emergency Room .  It was a BLINDSIDE.  A dark day that we will not recover from this side of heaven, our heartbreak is tempered with profound gratitude.  Bryn was very near death twice in 6 days because of one of the most devastating things that can happen to a brain, massive hemorrhage.  We now know that Bryn's aneurysm was most likely present at birth.  It was located deep in one of the three main arteries of the brain, causing the most severe type of hemorrhage.  No risk factors (except being female) . No warnings.   When we remember that day, we know  that she was driving 15 minutes prior to rupture, sleeping just a few hours before rupture, home alone the day and night before.  Looking back, she lived alone her last 3 semesters of college, loved to travel, ran long distances, drove from Fayetteville to Dallas often by herself,  swam countless hours in daily practice as competitive swimmer for 10 years.  As a family,  we have been out in nature, skiing, and traveling in the middle of nowhere. There were many moments her aneurysm could have ruptured and taken her life very quickly BUT that aneurysm MIRACULOUSLY ruptured on 5-20-2019 at a park in downtown Anchorage, 1 mile from a fire station and 4 miles from the hospital she worked.  Bryn  regained consciousness for long enough to tell first responders to call Derek and was able to talk to him before her condition rapidly deteriorated, taking all ability to communicate .    Cue the ER nurses, Neurosurgeons, operating room and ICU nurses.  Each one chosen and  perfectly orchestrated to save Bryn for a chance to recover.  It was hard to see it through our sadness, but that aneurysm rupturing on that particular day, in that place, in those exact circumstances, was an absolute miracle.  

We prayed for a chance for Bryn to fight and the fight is on.  Her progress is ongoing and astounding.  There is nothing quick or easy about this, yet it is the miracle we celebrate everyday .  We know Bryn receives God sent strength to tenaciously persist and keep others laughing along the way.  There are days that she grieves for life before brain injury, when life came pretty easy.  Paralysis and aphasia are certainly not included in the world's definition of "living the dream” , BUT we know that Bryn is fearfully and wonderfully made (including aneurysm, aphasia, paralysis) by a God who provides daily strength in our brokenness. He alone defines our worth.  He alone defines perfection. He remains with us through it all, when we feel our faith and when we don’t.  I’m not sure we will ever understand all the “why’s” here.  In the end, we have  a lot of questions about suffering  but I'm thinking that's where the answers come from.  Sometimes faith begins with doubt.  Healing begins with grief.  

Bryn is back to many of the things she loved to do before injury.   She’s literally a walking, talking, reading, writing miracle and she will say that we all are, really.  All glory to God  who continues to hold us close and reminds us nothing is a sure thing except Him.    Big thanks in “Year 2” to Bryn’s brilliant speech pathologists Kait, Keli, Robin, Kristen, Jennifer, Emily and Brooke who are determined NOT to allow hemorrhagic stroke to have the last word.  Literally. 

If you would like to, it would be the best gift to Bryn if you sent a message to her phone or just leave a message for her here on CB for her to read.

Below is a second year recovery video created for Bryn to show her how far she has come since 5/20/2019.  You can watch it by clicking here or  by copying and pasting the link in your url.  

https://www.icloud.com/iclouddrive/0KsnkD1kq1hSZlrKi8TROAPEQ#Bryn's_Year_2!

Thank you for loving us, praying for us and for helping us feel God’s love in very tangible ways.

Gratitude Always ❤️

#brynspiration