Treonnas ride to recovery

On the morning of Sunday August 20th, 2017 Treonna and her husband, Craig, were riding their motorcycles through Spearfish Canyon on their way to enjoy a peaceful breakfast together at Cheyenne Crossing. A rock chunk had fallen into the roadway from the inclines near the highway. Due to the winds and curves of the highway Treonna did not have a chance to see the hazard before coming upon it, she lost control of her bike on some of the broken rock pieces and was unable to correct it before being flown into the ditch. Craig, riding behind her, was able to immediately respond but found her laying unresponsive. Upon being transported to the hospital in Spearfish, where she was able to regain consciousness, she was life flighted to Rapid City; where they ultimately decided it was best to air ambulance her to Denver for specialized care. While on the flight to Denver she was in and out of responsiveness. That night surgeons fused 8 or 9 vertebrae in her spine; 2 of which still need to be either caged or replaced entirely. Treonna also had lacerations to her kidney, a broken sternum, and broken ribs. In her right leg she broke her tibia, fibula, and ankle. Her left hand, fingers, and wrist were all broken, as well as her left scapula (shoulder blade), and left femur just below the hip. She had hyper extended her left knee causing significant damage to her meniscus, ACL, and MCL.

When they arrived in Denver, Treonna spent nearly 6 hours in surgery to start the long process of repairing her body. However, this was only the first of what is currently and undetermined number of surgeries to come. Despite the numerous injuries to her legs, specialists are very optimistic she will walk again. Treonna has always been very responsible about wearing the proper gear while riding her motorcycle. Unfortunately, her helmet was ejected during the wreck and she hit her head. There was some slight bruising and internal bleeding once swelling went down, but it had cleared up by that afternoon. On Tuesday, August 22nd doctors were able to remove her breathing tube and Treonna is now breathing on her own successfully.

Treonna turned 25 this year. Since being married to her husband last fall, life has decided to push this couple to every extreme. In January Craig fell ill and doctors couldn’t find a cause. Craig quickly lost strength and was unable to work. Over the course of six months Treonna worked endless hours waitressing to support her family all while being the best care taker imaginable to Craig. In June, as things started to look very dire for Craig, doctors finally found the cause of his illness and performed an emergency surgery. He slowly was able to recover and recently began to start working again. Though things have been far from perfect, this couple has reveled in finally being able to return to some sort of “normalcy” in the past month of their life. Treonna was set to start her final year at Black Hills State University on Monday the 21st in her pursuit to become an accountant. This dream has been put on hold however, as doctors currently estimate it could take an upwards of two years for Treonna to recover. Anybody who knows Treonna can tell you she’s tough as nails, a fighter, a truly strong woman. She’s one of the most genuine and selfless people I’ve ever met in my life. Friendly and compassionate, she always seems to be the light hearted, happy, joyful influence in any situation. She’s got an incredible sense of humor, and is always up for a little healthy competition or new adventure. She began riding sport bikes several years ago, and quickly found a passion in being on the road. Recently, Treonna started assembling her own drift car in exploration of another new hobby. Treonna is a top-notch dog mom to her and Craig’s Pitbull, Laya, who I can only imagine is missing her mom incredibly right now. If there’s anybody that can overcome this type of tragedy, it is Treonna, and she is so incredibly determined to not let this setback define her. The thankfulness her friends and family have that she is still here with us, and the optimism we all have that she will be stronger than ever before at the end of this battle to recovery speaks wonders of her. Craig has relentlessly been by Treonnas side since the accident, and plans to stay in Denver throughout her recovery to support and stand by her. Treonnas mom, Shendra, and sister, Tristany, also drove to Denver the night of the accident and have stayed through the week to provide additional support and love for Treonna. Unfortunately, after an already financially strained year, and a lack of health insurance, this couple now faces temporary relocation and what currently seems like an endless stream of incoming medical expenses. We’re hoping to ease these worries right now, as Treonna recovering is the only thing that they should need to focus on or worry about. We understand that not everybody is in a position to always help out financially, and in those cases we only hope you’ll send extra prayers and good vibes for her healing and simply pass along Treonnas story to others.