Tripp Halstead died Thursday at age 7, five years after he was critically injured when a tree limb came crashing down in the yard of his day care.

The then 2-year-old had been running around with his friends that day in 2012. Horrified teachers heard the crack before the limb came down but couldn't get to Tripp quickly enough.  "That's when our whole world changed," Halstead said during a 2017 luncheon, themed "Find the Joy." The event raised money for the Elaine Clark Center, a Chamblee organization that serves special needs children, and gave supporters a chance to hear the Halsteads' powerful story.

FULL COVERAGE: Tripp Halstead has died

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The time Tripp met Adam Sandler on his Georgia movie set

"Initially the doctors said Tripp might not make it," Halstead said. "I remember going into the bathroom and just screaming, telling my husband, 'If he's not going to live, I'm not going to live.'"

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Travelers walk around the baggage claim in the South Terminal at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025. Atlanta is among the airports where the FAA will reduce flights due to the shutdown, and airports are facing a shortage of air traffic controllers. 
(Miguel Martinez/ AJC)

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