Tot back in his own backyard

Toddler injured in fall from road grader gets a helping hand from Home Depot

By AMY MAY

The Daily Inter Lake

Tristan Dishon's favorite toy is a miniature road grader.

In his backyard, the 3-year-old plows through dirt and grass with a fleet of scaled-down construction vehicles - but the road grader is his favorite.

A surprising choice considering it was an accident with a real road grader that cost Tristan his leg and mobility from the waist down.

On April 13, Tristan was riding in the cab of a road grader with his grandfather when, according to Tristan, he decided to jump from the moving machine.

He sustained injuries to his lungs, liver, spleen and heart. The lower half of Tristan's right leg was amputated and he remains paralyzed from the waist down.

It's been a little more than two months since his accident and Tristan is thriving.

According to his mother, DeAnn, just like any other 3-year-old boy, "Tristan's all over the place."

Now, thanks to Team Depot of Home Depot, Tristan will be able to get all over the place using his wheelchair.

Several employees from Home Depot, as well as friends of the Dishon family, spent Thursday working to construct wheelchair ramps in the front and back of the Dishon house in Kalispell.

All materials were provided by Home Depot, but the man-power was donated by each individual.

"No one here is getting paid," said Team Depot representative Charlie Stafford. "They are here out of the goodness of their own hearts."

Tristan spent Thursday watching the construction workers from his own pile of dirt in the backyard.

With legs splayed and dirt on his face the toddler matter-of-factly pointed out his "long leg and short leg" and explained how the doctors took his leg after he flew in a helicopter.

According to DeAnn, 26, Tristan's attitude has made the ordeal much less painful.

"I don't have to spend a lot of time comforting him," she said of her son's injuries. "Because he's OK with it."

And as for DeAnn's father, Bob, who was driving the road grader, "the better Tristan does, the better he does."

Kim Dishon, DeAnn's mother, describes her daughter as a rock. "You really find out who your children are when something like this happens," she said.

On June 2 a benefit barbecue and raffle was held to help with the cost of medical bills. An account has also been set up for donations in Tristan Dishon's name at Glacier Bank.

"The community has been wonderful," said Kim. "Their support has really kept us going."

At the end of July, Tristan will travel to a Shriner's Hospital in California to be fitted with a prosthetic leg and walking brace.

And although Tristan is still paralyzed, his family refuses to give up hope.

His grandmother said, "I think he's going to walk."

Reporter Amy May can be reached at 758-4459 or by e-mail at amay@dailyinterlake.com