Ceremony connects MT teen heart surgery survivor with former hospital staff

St. Vincent Regional Hospital held a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024, as a celebration for its newly expanded pediatric clinic.

For kids like Weston Sondeno, this new expansion is a big deal.

Sondeno, from Big Timber, has been coming to St. Vincent since he was an infant, and he's now 18 years old.

"There's things that you will be able to get through with a positive mindset, and the people that are around you, that love and support you," he said.

Sondeno went through his childhood as a normal kid. He had great grades, loved his cattle and chickens, and participated in the Future Farmers of America (FFA).

But, his life flipped upside down when he learned he would need open-heart surgery at only 17 years old.

Sondeno family

"My whole life I had been told that maybe I would have had a heart replacement at 50 or 60, down the road," said Sondeno.

Sondeno underwent the procedure at a St. Vincent sister hospital in Salt Lake City. With the support of his family and friends, he returned to high school only nine days later.

"With genuine love and support from friends, family, and teachers, it has truly, truly, made my recovery a lot quicker, and I fully attribute that support to them," he said.

Mack Carmack, MTN News

As inspirational as Weston's story is, many kids have similar experiences.

"We have a lot of really neat, special patients here. Weston's obviously an example of that," said Dustin Strandell, the chief operating officer of St. Vincent.

Strandell has worked at the hospital for about 16 years and has noticed a 20% influx of pediatric patients in the last few years.

"(Performing care with construction) did create some challenges. But, the team was great. It went without a hitch," said Strandell.

The ribbon cutting celebrated the final of three hospital expansions in only six months. Overall, it ended up being $1.4 million with donations from the Mary Alive Fortin Foundation and the Otto Bremer Trust.

Mack Carmack, MTN News

Overall, the facility now has eight new rooms, more nurse workstations, a therapy center, a new ECHO and ultrasound room, and a "child-friendly" waiting room, according to a press release from St. Vincent.

Due to his perseverance and long history with the hospital, Weston was a part of the ribbon cutting.

"It's definitely been very inspiring and very cool to see these changes happening for the better, and that there are kids that are going to be able to have the same thing done as me, and pursue their dreams," said Sondeno.

In the next few weeks, Sondeno plans on starting his freshman year at Montana State University in Bozeman, studying veterinarian science, hopefully spreading positivity to his own future patients.