Dr. Wonderful once used that to describe Quinn during a presentation/conversation with a small group of parents of kids with PKD. I was in the room and it was fine with me for Dr. W to talk about our kids; so she did so with my permission. It’s (usually) an endearing term used in the south, like “Oh that Quinn, she’s such a mess that it’s adorable!” It was on this day and Dr. W and I had a moment, where I knew exactly what she meant.

Quinn is in fact a mess. And she is still adorable, in spite of her being a mess. Quinn is missing a few teeth. This is something that I need to get her into the dentist SOON for because she needs x-rays and possibly something done to cut the gum to the let the teeth out. Ouch.

She’s got a mole that concerns the dermatologist and needs to be removed, especially before she is immune suppressed. She walks and runs a little funny. Her hair is unusually thick and she doesn’t like it brushed; so her hair often looks messy. She has some speech issues. You can still understand her, but she does have some challenges with R, W, and some other vowel combinations. She can’t really button or snap yet, so she wears leggings or pull on kind of pants and when she pulls them up on her own, she often pulls them sideways so the seam in the back is always askew and highwaisted. She wears a little bit of breakfast, lunch dinner and snacks on her shirt and her cheek, everyday. She doesn’t really understand what a joke is, but she does like to tell “jokes” nightly at the dinner table.

But oh, to hear her laugh and see her smile and enthusiasm for life and learning. I can’t imagine her any other way. Except maybe with a new kidney.