Accident Survivor Spreads Gratitude for Hospital Staff

“The doctor held my hand and told me it was going to be alright. I do not know many doctors like that anymore.”

Becky Sletto and her boyfriend, Connor, were on a snowmobile trip with friends in the small town of Ashby on a frigid day in February. What started off as a fun afternoon quickly turned into one of her worst nightmares.

“I had not been on a snowmobile since I was a teenager … I was a little bit rough,” recalled the Alexandria resident.

Becky and her group of three stopped to fill up on gas before heading back on the trail.

“I did not realize you cannot turn a sled on tar … We were on a main street near parked cars. I realized I was going to hit a car because I could not turn the sled. Instead of hitting the brake, I hit the throttle at 50 miles per hour,” Becky asserted.

The salon owner and mother of three recalled exactly what happened next because she was awake for the whole thing.

“I wish I were not … Connor came running over to me asking if I was OK. I initially thought I was … then I looked down and saw a lot of blood,” she groaned.

Becky sustained a life-threatening injury to her femoral vein after hitting a parked car. Luckily, a nurse happened to be having breakfast nearby and heard the crash. The nurse used Connor’s coat as a tourniquet until the first responders arrived.

Becky was airlifted by helicopter and made the conscious choice to receive care at CentraCare – St. Cloud Hospital.

“I always heard they do not mess around in St. Cloud. I felt good about that choice,” Becky affirmed.

The last thing she remembered was being admitted to the Emergency Trauma Center and getting prepped for surgery.

“I lost six units of blood before going to the hospital … during my stay I ended up losing another six,” Becky exclaimed.

She ended up undergoing five surgeries including a fasciotomy. It is a procedure that helps relieve swelling and pressure typically in the leg.

She emphasized she was terrified because she knew she was in a life-or-death situation. Her road to recovery included a 22-day hospital stay. That experience gave her a deeper appreciation for her care team.

“When you are there that long, you get to know everyone. The care I received was very personal, vulnerable, and beautiful … I think about that and get choked up. The people God put on my path helped me heal,” she marveled.

The patient has made it her mission to thank the medical staff who helped play a role in saving her life.

“I want them to feel good too because taking care of another human being is the most overlooked job in the world. I want to focus on them and their strengths and what I love about them,” Becky promised.

She said the hospital staff and their teamwork are second to none.

“They calm your fears and are good at what they do … I was blown away by that and I cried when I left that unit … I felt reassured. I felt safe. I felt cared for. I felt like my doctors were just phenomenal and so smart …The doctor held my hand and told me it was going to be alright. I do not know many doctors like that anymore,” She professed.

Becky was discharged from the hospital on March 6 and was given the green light to continue her recovery journey from home.

“I learned to take it one day at a time and roll with the punches … Thanks to fast acting people, I was able to get through it and it didn’t feel so hard.”