Thanks for the reply, however, if I'm correct in saying that "thread_id" is basically my "parent_id", right?
If so, that would only return the total replies to the parent_id (thread_id), whereas I need it to show the total replies to the parent_id, and each individual reply made to that post.
For example, if we have a post (let's say an id of 1). If I reply to that post, then the total number of replies to it will be 1. If I reply to the reply of that post, then the total number of replies to the post will be 2 and the total number of replies to the reply will be 1. Furthermore, if I reply to the reply of the reply of that post, then the total number of replies to the post will be 3, the total number of replies to the reply will be 2, and the total number of replies to the reply of the reply will be 1. And so on.
What you've suggested only accounts for the parent_id's (thread_id's) total replies. :/