Treighton Pete Tadlock, whose dream was to be a Marine, had a motorcycle accident on June 11th, and his story was cut far too short on July 2, 2024, at the age of 19. We started this plea for support—originally—to assist with mounting medical expenses, and now it must be written as a memorial. Your financial support for Travis and Stacy, his parents, and Tryn, his 11-year-old brother, will make a huge difference in their ability to grieve his loss without such worry about the extraordinary medical expenses and the cost of the funeral services. I choose to focus first on who Treigh was before the accident, because I want you to know him for all of the drive, passion, zeal, love, dreams, accomplishments, strength, and fire that made him who he was. Those things are what made him special! Those things are what made him truly spectacular (in the words of his younger brother, Tryn). ~You can skip to the end if you want to read more about the accident and the agony of the last three weeks. Treigh was tough—truly built to be a Marine, competitive to his core, and always a defender of those who needed someone to stand up for them. He loved life and lived it fearlessly! Sports (hockey especially), family, concerts, friends, skiing, his big gray Ford truck, his dog, his independence, and being a big brother—all things he loved! Treigh played a lot of hockey and loved many sports, lettering in hockey and football. He was part of an extensive hockey family and mentored many young hockey players. He coached several teams that Tryn was on, as Tryn started to get into the sport. It is hard to imagine that any younger brother could look up to his older brother with as much admiration as Tryn did to Treigh. Treigh was and always will be his hero! Throughout high school, the Marine Corps Junior ROTC was a defining part of his life, and he rose in the ranks to serve as Battalion Commander Cadet Major of the unit during his senior year, leading the entire battalion. He received the highest JROTC honor in the state of Colorado at graduation from the Special Forces Association: The JROTC Distinguished Leadership, Education, and Training Award, for scholastic excellence and leadership proficiency in keeping with the traditions and ideals of the United States Army Special Forces. This award came with an opportunity to train with the Special Forces once in service. He could not wait to join that brotherhood. ~The doctors and medical staff in the ICU at Swedish Medical Center in Denver worked night and day for three weeks until the injuries and complications made it impossible for Treigh to win the fight. The first 24 hours after the accident were chaotic—a life flight to Denver’s top trauma center, teams of doctors, blood loss of nightmarish proportions, and finally a bit of a miracle. His pelvis was broken; arteries were ruptured; his left leg was in terrible condition, and his lower abdomen was going to present lots of medical challenges. He was wearing a helmet, so his head, neck, and spine were uninjured, and we were thankful for that piece of grace in this nightmare. The blood loss was a real threat throughout his time in the hospital, and we lost count of how many units of blood products he was given after it got beyond 200 (shout out to all folks who take the important step of donating blood). He had many life support systems assisting his body, as the trauma of the accident interrupted the normal functioning of many major organs. The ECMO machine (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation—technology that became more commonly known during COVID) removed blood from his body and pumped it through an artificial lung and back into his heart. The trauma/cardiac ICU room was filled with a mix of medical professionals around the clock. In the calmer times, he had a team of two nurses constantly monitoring and adjusting medications to steady his vitals and provide care 24/7. It was agonizing to see him going in and out of surgery every two to three days; but the greatest agony was to come. As we watched his dream of becoming a Marine slip away with the injuries, we ached for him, but losing him is so much worse. We do not yet know the extent of the financial responsibility from the hospital, the doctors, the Flight for Life, the many surgeries, and everything that was needed for his care, but we were glad to have such skilled medical professionals use every bit of knowledge and all of their tools to try to save him. We had doctors tell us that he was the strongest patient they had seen (no surprise to us)—that he and his mental and physical toughness had gone further than they could have expected from anyone, giving them the chance to take all of the life-saving steps that medical science could make available. In the end, that partnership of medical treatment and the fight within Treigh’s being partnered as long as they could, and both reached the extreme of their limits. Treigh will be forever in our hearts, and we will miss him always. Love you FOREVER!
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