CROSSLAKE — It is the call every parent fears.
“When we got to CentraCare [Hospital] in St. Cloud, where Patty was flown to, we were told that she probably didn't have long ...15 minutes, maybe,” said Frank Rohde on the KAXE Morning Show.
Sept. 12, 2023, was the day his daughter was hit head-on by a vehicle while riding her bike near Crosslake.
“They even called in the palliative team and started talking about gifting organs,” Frank continued.
Patty Rohde had compound fractures in both legs and arms and severe trauma. She stayed in a coma for a little over two weeks. Doctors were unsure if the 24-year-old would still be herself when — or if — she woke up.
Patty proved them wrong. She woke up. And her first words? “I gotta pee.”
“The whole team was crying. ... Patty was there,” Frank said, remembering his relief that his daughter and her personality were not gone.
While Patty may not remember that exact moment now, she finds humor in it. She does remember a dream she experienced while in her coma.
“I was in a very serene place and I just think that ... I'm not scared of the end,” she said.
Patty is on the road to recovery. She is living on her own and she walks with a cane due to damage to her peroneal nerve.
“I can't build my quad as much as I would like to because of the nerve damage," she explained. "I just need my quad to swing my leg up and I can't right now, so I just need to strengthen it. It'll be years, I think, of strengthening before I can freely walk without a cane or anything.”
When asked about what she is interested in for her future, Patty said her bachelor’s degree in psychology, earned before her accident, led her to an internship with forensic psychologist Frank Weber.
“I really like that work. ... It's like profiling, that kind of stuff,” Patty explained. “I'm also kind of playing with the idea of being a psychologist in a hospital and just helping people with processing their injuries."
Patty and her family are grateful to the medical care she received. That doesn't mean she doesn't believe her hospital stays could have been improved. Patty said she could have used better mental health support to get through her ordeal. Luckily, she has now found a therapist in Bemidji who has been helping her processing everything.
After her stay in St. Cloud, she spent months at Craig Hospital in Englewood, Colorado, which specializes in neurological rehabilitation. She is planning to see a concert in Denver at the end of the year, and can’t wait to surprise the staff there.
Frank mentioned how support from the community and faith in God made a huge difference to his family.
Listen to our full conversation above.