Purdue superfan Tyler Trent’s parents attend State of the Union
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The parent’s of Tyler Trent arrived home from Washington, D.C., after being invited to the president’s State of the Union.
Trent died Jan. 1 at age 20 after a long battle with a rare form of bone cancer. But, the Carmel couple is determined to ensure their son’s death was not in vain.
Kelly and Tony Trent had been on a mission even before their son’s death to raise awareness and money for pediatric cancer research. So, as you can imagine, the State of the Union was a platform they welcomed.
The Trents’s trip was brief, less than 24 hours, but they covered a lot of ground. Snapshots showed their White House tour with U.S. Rep. Susan Brooks, a Republican from Indiana who invited the couple. The Trents met House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Vice President Mike Pence. They even got a glimpse of President Donald Trump.
“We actually walked by him with his aides preparing his speech for the evening. But, we did not get to meet him,” Tony Trent said.
During Trump’s State of the Union, the president told the story of 10-year old cancer survivor Grace Eline. She was one of first lady Melania Trump’s guests. The president urged Congress to increase funding to $500 million for pediatric cancer research.
“We talked often about how much Tyler would’ve loved this. And this was right up his alley. He genuinely wanted to raise money for pediatric cancer,” Kelly Trent said.
Since 2017, the Trent family has raised around $1.5 million for pediatric cancer research.
“Every two minutes, a child is diagnosed with cancer. So, the amount of time it takes to do this interview, there’s going to be another child that’s diagnosed with cancer,” Tony Trent said.
Tyler Trent was diagnosed with osteosarcoma at the age of 15. He died during his third battle with the cancer. Before his death, he gained national attention for his determination to live and his love of the Boilermakers. The attention has continued after his death.
“It really helps immensely in the hard times to know that it’s not in vain,” Kelly Trent said.
The Trents are releasing a book in March on Tyler’s journey called “The Upset.” So far it’s already sold 10,000 copies. You can preorder it online. A portion of the proceeds will go toward pediatric cancer research.