Tyler Melton was a care-free 18-year-old just a few days ago. He graduated from Memorial High School in May 2025. Tyler is a well-mannered young man with a great sense of humor. He always has a joke ready! In August 2024, he began working at Market Street Grocery Store in the deli. He enjoys the work, his co-workers and his customers. Tyler is a ‘foodie’ and willing to try anything at least once. Tyler enjoys car shows and going to drag races. He loves his ‘new to him’ car, a 1997 BMW Convertible 328i. His future plans include anything to do with cars.

Everything changed on Friday, October 31 with a motor bike accident. He was riding in a park when he lost control of the bike, hitting his head and face on a steel post of a gazebo and was sent airborne. Unfortunately, Tyler sustained critical injuries. He was first transported by ambulance to Wichita Falls Regional Hospital, where they performed emergency surgery on his injuries and when stabilized, he was then airlifted to the intensive care unit at John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth.

Tyler has had numerous surgeries. His abdomen was opened to inspect internal organs for any damage that would not have shown up on the CT scan or MRI. Another to repair a shattered patella on his right knee. He had to have a portion of his skull removed to allow his brain to swell. Once all of the swelling in Tyler’s brain as gone down, the skull will eventually be closed with another surgery to install a custom-made 3D synthetic plate, as the fragments of his skull could not be salvaged. He was intubated, on a ventilator, to assist with his breathing. He also has a feeding tube. He recently has undergone two more back-to-back surgeries, one to repair and insert plates to stabilize numerous facial and jaw fractures; and the second surgery to perform a tracheostomy to move the ventilator tube from his mouth to his throat. 95% of the injuries are on his right side. He has not had any voluntary movement in his left arm or hand – only movement in the left hand when pain stimulus is performed. Movement of his left leg has decreased over this last week. This is due to the traumatic brain injury on the right side that controls the left side of his body.

As of the morning of November 10, 2025, eye doctors have examined his right eye again and found that one of the bone fragments is pressing on the back of his eye. Some of the nerves have been damaged and to what extent is unknown at this time. They are working on a plan for path forward as to whether to wait for more swelling to go down and/or the need for surgery to remove the fragment that is pressing on the back of his eye.

Tyler’s parents are Sarah and Tim Melton. Sarah is a bakery manager and cake decorator at United Supermarket in Burkburnette, Texas. Tim is a disabled veteran, having served 11-1/2 years in the Army, which includes 6-1/2 years overseas and 2 deployments. Tyler also has 2 brothers and 1 sister; his younger brother Ryan, who is 15, lives at home in Wichita Falls and attends high school. His other brother, James Dean, is 21, and Hayley, is 23.

Tyler has a great team of doctors and nurses at John Peter Smith Hospital. They are cautiously optimistic for his recovery but caution it will be a long road—measured in months and years, not days. The neurologist has let his family know that it could be six to twelve months before they can know if the “old” Tyler will return or if there will be a “new” Tyler or a mix of both will be with them. Right now, everyone is thankful that he’s still alive. A traumatic brain injury means it is a very slow process to see what functions return after the swelling has been relieved. What parts of the brain that do not recover or if the brain “maps” new paths to accommodate for the damage. The road to recovery will include several more surgeries and long-term rehabilitation to learn to walk again. His right leg is in a brace to keep it extended to let the surgical site heal and bone to fuse to the hardware in the patella. He’ll have to learn to eat when the feeding tube is safe to remove. Physical strength lost from weeks, if not months in a hospital bed will have to be regained. For now, his left arm and hand have no movement. Learning accommodations for doing whatever he needs/wants to do with one hand will require professional help with physical therapy.

Very few families are prepared for this kind of emotional and financial stress. We ask first and foremost for your prayers—for Tyler, for his medical team and for his family. If you feel like you can financially help with the expenses, it would be a true blessing to this hard-working family. We understand with today’s economy that money is tight for many of us. If you can share Tyler’s story on your social media platforms, perhaps others can also pray and assist with a donation. Literally, just a dollar would help to ease the financial burden for this family as they negotiate mounting medical expenses, unpaid time off from work for Sarah to be with Tyler (more than two hours away from home and work), and planning for a long-term care rehabilitation center.

We are deeply grateful for your prayers, kindness and generosity.