The North Texas husband and father nearly cut in half while on a family vacation in the Bahamas has returned home and is sharing the family’s story of perseverance and the long road to recovery for the first time.
It’s the family summer vacation to the Bahamas that went terribly wrong for a Prosper family. Brent Slough said he was nearly sliced in half by a boat propeller that ran over him in the ocean while snorkeling with his daughters.
The emotional return home to Texas
From an ambulance transport and three weeks in a Miami hospital, to a chartered plane equipped with a medical staff for a painful flight to North Texas, and ending at a rehab center in Celina: It’s been one hell of a month for Brent Slough, the father said.
But the waiting arms of his two young daughters made the trip back home from a nightmare vacation worth it.
“I could get through anything just to be able to see my girls again,” Brent Slough said. “They told me, you know, ‘please don’t cry.’ And I said, ‘okay, I won’t make any promises,’ but, that was just so — it was overwhelming, just to feel their hugs and the love again.”
Family’s near-death Bahamas vacation and inspiring road to recovery
The 42-year-old father, husband and former Army Ranger was on the first day of a Bahamas vacation with his wife and two daughters when a quick snorkel trip near the beach before dinner nearly cost him his life.
“Well, I strongly believe that everything happens for a reason,” Brent Slough said. “That I’m still alive. Because that’s God’s plan for me.”
Three men in a small boat close to the shore ran over Slough and kept going, even after he says they looked back at what they hit.
Slough had gashes from the propeller blade as deep as 12 inches into his backside, which doctors say would’ve killed him if they were anywhere else on the body.
“So number one, don’t get hit by a boat,” Brent Slough said. “But if you are going to get hit by a boat, I got hit by a boat in the best possible way. Still horrible, you know… but, any other way in my head would have killed me. Any other loss of limb, or damaged artery… bled out.”
From an ICU in Miami to rehab in North Texas
After more than three weeks in a Florida ICU, Brent Slough arrived at a rehab center in Celina, where he is already defying expectations just by standing up to greet the crew from CBS News Texas.
He’s heavily bandaged with still-open wounds. But he’s alive and close to home, which is enough for his wife, Whitney.
“We’ve always been strong Christians, but I don’t think we’ve ever prayed so much as we have since the accident,” Whitney Slough said.
Family’s fight for accountability and closure in Bahamas incident
The only thing better than seeing her husband fully recovered would be to see the boaters responsible face justice where the crime has made headlines.
She has been tirelessly pushing for that during multiple trips to the Bahamas.
“Once the attorney general in Nassau files charges, we will be able to learn their names and learn if they’re going to move forward with justice for Brent, which I’m hopeful will happen,” Whitney Slough said.
The Slough family has been through so much, but they believe the nightmare experience brought them closer together. There are still challenges ahead, but the family is resilient.
“He’s going to get through the pain no matter what,” Whitney Slough said.
Wednesday night, the U.S. Embassy in the Bahamas notified the Slough family that two of the men on the boat had been arrested and charged with causing grievous injury. They also said that the driver of the boat is currently wanted for the same charge and for failing to register the boat.
The journey forward
When asked if he is angry and bitter about the accident, Brent Slough said dwelling on that is not helpful.
“You know, vengeance is not up to me, you know, it’s up to God,” he said. “And, if it’s warranted, it’ll happen one way or another.”
Slough’s injuries include a fractured pelvis and broken leg that could all be debilitating if his body doesn’t recover. But he refuses to allow that to happen.
“But when a bone is broken, it heals back stronger,” Brent Slough said. “I think that as a family, you know, this gives us an opportunity to do that.”
He’s back to doing some work remotely and planning to return home in a few weeks after what was supposed to be a carefree summer vacation.
“So, all in all, pretty bad vacation, but the lessons that I’m learning from this will carry me through the rest of my life and hopefully be a benefit to others,” Brent Slough said. “I’m focused on my own healing, and I’m just focused on the next day and the next week and getting better.”
