PHS grad appears on ‘Today Show’

Prescott High School Class of 2021 graduate Trenten Williamson has had a big year. Not many people can say they’ve gone viral on Tik Tok, gone viral on Facebook, and been on “Today with Hoda and Jenna.” Not to mention beating the odds of a medical diagnosis that was supposed to keep you from reaching high school, let alone graduating.

As Trenten’s mom Jeri says, to know Trenten is to love him. He is a hero to siblings MaKenna and Landen. He is the inspiration to Jeri and his dad, Mike, to keep going even when the going gets tough. His enthusiasm for music and food are relatable to teenagers everywhere.

Doctors diagnosed Trenten at age 2 with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, a rare genetic disease that primarily affects males. It causes the body’s muscles to become weak and damaged. By fifth grade, Trenten began using a wheelchair fulltime. With DMD, a genetic mutation prevents the body from producing dystrophin, which is a protein that muscles need to work properly. Without dystrophin, children will have problems walking and breathing. The irreversible, progressive disease eventually causes the muscles that help people breathe and

Screen shot courtesy of “Today” the heart to stop working. There is currently no cure.

“When Trenten was diagnosed with DMD, it was like a knife in our hearts,” said Jeri. “The doctors told us he wouldn’t make it to high school, let alone high school graduation. So, him graduating is a huge milestone for us.”

For Trenten, it was a huge milestone as well.

“It was a great feeling, just knowing that I accomplished this was awesome,” he said. “I can’t wait to see what’s next.”

His dad Mike is also overjoyed, but admits to another emotion swirling through him.

“I felt relief that we made it,” Mike said. “Excited and scared for what is next, but definitely relief we made it to this point.”

Hearing the cheers and applause from other parents and students made Jeri cry tears of joy. Siblings MaKenna and Landen watched their hero, along with their grandparents.

“Raising Trenten has been a group effort and we couldn’t have done it without every person in our lives,” Jeri said.

Who is Trenten?

Like any typical teenage boy, food is high on Trenten’s list of likes. In fact, Foods was his favorite class in school.

“I always had so much fun there, plus who doesn’t love to eat in class?” Trenten said.

School had its tough moments too, of course. He credits his occupational and physical therapists, Amber Schurman and Becky Lease, and teacher, Jordan Poirier, for keeping him on track.

“I missed a lot of school and it was hard to make connections with my classmates because of that,” Trenten said. “It was also hard to keep up because I wasn’t there.”

Schurman worked with Trenten since he was in third grade. The decade she spent with him has made an impact she won’t soon forget. She is proud of his perseverance, hard work, positive attitude and accomplishments.

“I’m not sure if he learned more from me or me from him,” Schurman said. “There is no doubt, however, that he made my day brighter each time we worked together. His witty personality, fun sense of humor, honesty, intelligence and clever remarks always bring a smile to my face. I sure will miss working with him but know he is destined to do amazing things and I can always call him for technology assistance. Trenten, you are one of kind and I feel blessed to have had the opportunity to work with you.”

Trenten’s attitude and personality also impacted Poirier.

“Trenten has an infectious personality,” Poirier said. “He always has a smile on his face. No matter what was happening in his life, he always had a positive attitude about everything. He could always lighten up a room with his sense of humor.”

Viral on Tik Tok

Over time, his love of music grew to rival that of his parents’.

“My mom and dad love music, so I guess I got it from them,” Trenten said. “I like music because it is the great equalizer. It doesn’t matter who you are or what you have going on, everyone can connect over and appreciate good music.”

He’s a huge fan of The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Michael Jackson, EWF, Nirvana and more. Posters line his bedroom walls.

One night this winter, Trenten was jamming out and singing along to “September” by EWF. His mother and sister captured the song on video, and MaKenna told Jeri to post it on Tik Tok.

“We all went to bed thinking nothing of it and when we woke up it had gone crazy,” Trenten said. “By the time it slowed down the video got 3 million views and over a half a million likes.”

Facebook goes crazy

The COVID-19 pandemic was tough on many, and that’s also true for the Williamsons. Jeri was laid off from her job at a local church in July 2020 due to the pandemic. She didn’t work from July to November 2020. In November, Keller Williams in Hudson hired her part-time, and she now works for them full-time.

“I didn’t really get unemployment and I didn’t get any of the extra weekly pandemic monies,” Jeri said. “It was a struggle for sure, but I had to keep going because there are three people who count on me not to fall apart when things get hard. I couldn’t give up because they were watching me and I needed to show them that even when it’s hard we don’t give up.”

February 2021 was especially tough. Trenten, who did not attend in-person school during the pandemic due to being high risk, was in and out of the hospital with severe anxiety attacks. Jeri felt bleak. She wanted to find something for she and Trenten to look forward to, so she focused her thoughts on his graduation party. She wanted something to keep his mind off his struggles.

She wrote a post on the “Grown & Flown” Facebook page, which provides parenting advice related to raising kids ages 15-25. She was looking for ideas to give Trenten “a bawler grad party” on a budget.

“I thought I would get ideas on how to have a potluck grad party or cheap places to have invites made,” Jeri said. “Next thing I know, I am being Venmoed money and people are offering to make signs and invites and cookies and so much more.”

Trenten received boxes of presents via Amazon and donations from strangers. The outpouring of support was overwhelming.

Today show

The Facebook post not only caught fire online, but it caught the attention of the “Today with Hoda and Jenna” show.

Trenten and Jeri were guests on the show during their “Celebrating Our Graduates” series on May 26. Reporter Donna Farizan conducted the interview and even sang a few bars of “September” with Trenten.

Mike said he still can’t quite believe his son was on TV. He was thrilled that the world could see what his son has accomplished. Trenten himself found the experience to be “crazy.”

“I never in a million years thought my mom’s post would garner so much attention,” he said. “It was honestly the coolest experience.”

Jeri didn’t think the offer to be the Today show was real at first. It took the initial interview for it to sink in, though she was still in shock. They contacted her in March. It was difficult to keep it a secret, but she had to until she had a set air date.

“I have always known how amazing he is and now the whole world does too,” Jeri said.

Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager, the show’s hosts, surprised Jeri and Trenten at the end of the segment with a $5,000 Lowe’s gift card, to be used to help make their home more accessible. They also surprised them with appearances by three of his anonymous donors.

What’s next?

Now that Trenten has his PHS diploma in hand, he’s not sure yet where his journey will go next.

“I haven’t decided yet,” Trenten said. “I am hoping to take some trips with my grandparents and then possibly go to school for computer science.”

Jeri and Mike just want Trenten to be happy.

“The biggest goal for us is to get to a place where we could build a handicapped accessible home for him,” Jeri said. “One that we could all be in together, but that is comfortable for him. That will take some time and some hussle on my part, but that is OK, we will get there.”

As for that “bawler” graduation party? That happens Sunday, June 27 at Ridgetop. Thanks to the generosity of many strangers, Trenten will have great decorations and of course, great food.

“He is so excited to be able to have the food he wanted, instead of what I could afford,” Jeri said. “Trenten loves good food and we all know Amy (Hildebrandt, at Ridgetop) is the best at making awesome food.”

As he looks forward to his party, Trenten contemplates his life’s meaning, which obviously has impacted everyone around him.

“Just because you have something like MD doesn’t mean you can’t accomplish everything you set out to do,” Trenten said. “Is my life different from others’? Sure, but it’s also really wonderful and I hope that everyone who meets me or knows me knows that not everyone’s path is the same, but it’s still awesome and rewarding. You can do anything if you just have a little faith.”

Photo courtesy of Jeri Williamson

Photo courtesy of Jeri Williamson

Prescott High School graduate Trenten Williamson poses with mom Jeri and siblings MaKenna and Landen at his graduation on May 28.

Trenten Williamson was diagnosed with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy at age 2. He has not let the diagnosis keep him from his dreams and goals.