6-year-old tragically has both her feet amputated while riding in pickup truck

A young Virginia girl suffered devastating injuries in a freak accident that occurred while she was riding in a pickup truck.

On May 17, 6-year-old Aubrey Scaletta, daughter of Virginia State Police Trooper Daniel Scaletta, was riding in a pickup truck with her sister, Grayson. As they rode along, Aubrey and Grayson were playing with a ratchet strap used to secure cargo. It appears that a truck window may have been rolled down, and the ratchet strap suddenly flew out the window and got wrapped up in the drive shaft of the truck. The ratchet strap must also have been wound around Aubrey, because she was nearly pulled out of the vehicle as the drive shaft rotated.

Then horror struck. The tension on the ratchet strap grew so strong that it severed both of Aubrey's feet from the rest of her body. She was quickly airlifted to Roanoke Memorial Hospital, where she underwent a grueling, six-hour surgery to reattach her feet. She was placed on a ventilator and kept in the pediatric ICU, according to a statement from the Virginia State Police Association, which is attempting to raise money to assist the Scaletta family.

Community rallies around family after child loses both her feet in tragic incidentwww.youtube.com

Despite her traumatic injuries, Aubrey appears to be making significant improvements. "Both feet seem to be receiving good blood flow after being reattached, and as of this morning, doctors have taken off the ventilator," the VSPA said about a week after the accident.

"Her little toes look so good," her mother, Lauren Scaletta, wrote on social media.

Even with those remarkable improvements, the Scaletta family knows that Aubrey still has a long recovery ahead of her. After the initial surgery, one of Aubrey's lungs collapsed and she developed pneumonia. Doctors anticipate that she will have to undergo at least 10 or 15 more surgeries in the coming months and years to restore full function. She is already scheduled for a skin-graft procedure on June 9. It is unclear when she will be discharged from the hospital.

For now, the family is just taking everything one day at a time. "The surgery team’s goal is to have her walking with braces, walkers and things by Christmas," Lauren Scaletta said. "While we realize these things are not a guarantee, it was nice to hear what could be."

"Aubrey is one tough cookie and we are following her lead as best we can," Lauren continued. "My princess monster is such a warrior."

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