It’s hard for Pat Strehle to remember all the people she wants to thank for saving her life early one morning in June of 2011. It’s not only because she was in and out of consciousness for several hours, but because of the sheer number of people who collaborated to take care of her.
From the Crete volunteer rescue squad members who rushed her to Crete Area Medical Center (CAMC), to the CAMC doctors who kept her alive for the life flight to BryanLGH Heart Institute, to the doctors, nurses and specialists who kept watch over her for the next 10 days, all played a crucial role in saving her life and making sure she returned to her home in Crete.
“I wonder how many of us appreciate what Crete has to offer in health care?” Pat asked in a July letter-to-the-editor in the Crete News. “Recently, I was hospitalized twice in three weeks time and found the staff at Crete Area Medical center to be outstanding in treatment and care. Their professionalism and compassion were very much appreciated. The last time I needed their service, we called the Crete Rescue and found them to be at our side in minutes. They handled the situation with such confidence, it made me feel more at ease.Éthough I was air lifted to Bryan Heart Institute, had they not done their job, I would more than likely not be here. It is so wonderful we have the connection with BryanLGH hospital. It broadens our care immensely...”
Pat, now 80, put her health in the hands of CAMC and BryanLGH long before 2011. When she entered her retirement years, numerous health issues emerged, including arthritis that resulted in five artificial joints, and heart and kidney problems. She received a heart stent three years ago at the BryanLGH Heart Institute and completed heart rehabilitation therapy at CAMC.
When she woke up at 4:30 a.m. on June 8, the problem was much more serious than a stent could fix. She couldn’t breathe; couldn’t stop coughing.
“I knew I was in trouble. I knew something was seriously wrong.”
The rescue squad seemed to arrive only a moment after her partner, Evan, called 911. The volunteers’ familiar faces and the oxygen they immediately gave her were the first things she was thankful for in the next critical hours.
“At CAMC, Dr. Troy Miller asked if I had a living will...the next thing I remember was the helicopter landing.”
In addition to atrial fibrillation, Pat had congestive heart failure and was bleeding internally. Later, doctors would explain that the upper part of her heart had stiffened, causing the bottom portion of the heart to work harder. Blood was backing into other organs. Her kidneys shut down. Her lungs were filling with fluid. Because of the swelling, her children didn’t recognize her when they met her at Bryan.
The medical team stopped the hemorrhaging, drained fluid, put her on temporary dialysis and adjusted medications. Pat slowly recovered, spending eight days in Bryan’s care and then transferring to Crete’s medial center for two more.
“I was very ill, but my stay was wonderful at both places. When I came back to Crete, Dr. Kate Hesser walked in and sat there beside my bed and talked with me like we had been friends for many years. She made me so comfortable.”
Faith in your physician is huge when you are living with a chronic heart condition. Though not hospitalized since returning home, she has made numerous trips for medical care when her heart was giving her cause for worry. The collaboration between the two facilities makes her health journey so much smoother, she said, and easier for her caretakers. CAMC has been part of the BryanLGH Health System since 2003. Through this system, patients have access to 98 percent of their health care needs without ever leaving southeast Nebraska. From preventative services to trauma care, the system works together provide the best possible continuum of care right here in Nebraska.
“I’m so appreciative of that collaboration and the fact that they [CAMC] are affiliated with BryanLGH. If Lincoln wants a blood test I can have it done here and they fax it to my doctor.”
Her arthritis makes travel stressful and painful, so she appreciates every time she can travel a few blocks for medical care rather than 25 miles; every time a specialist makes the trip instead of her.
Pat, who lost her husband LeRoy to leukemia, has never taken medical care for granted. She and LeRoy moved to Crete in the 60s. They operated a shoe store downtown and watched their five children attend Crete High School. They serve on the Crete Area Health Care Foundation’s Care and Share group.
Accessible medical care was never more appreciated than June 8.
“I wouldn’t have made it if I had to travel out of town on my own to get to a hospital that night. And everyone along the way knew it was serious. I think sometimes patients get an instinct when something is really wrong and the entire medical team knew it and believed it.”
