What started as a shared moment between a grandfather and grandson in February 2024 quickly took a turn for the worse. For the Lautenslager family, access to close-to-home care made all the difference in the outcome.
The previous Christmas, Mitch Lautenslager had received an ice auger as a gift. He and his 12-year-old grandson, Philip, headed out to the lake and decided to try it out one winter day.
“We got down there on the ice, and I drilled a hole. We were both excited with how it worked, and then I handed him the auger,” Mitch says. “The next thing I know, I’m lying on the ground, and he’s looking at me and saying, ‘Papa, are you all right?’”
Getting up after his fall, Mitch made it into the house and headed to the basement to put on dry clothes but soon realized he had no idea how he’d gotten there.
“I knew where I was, but I didn’t know why I was there,” recalls Mitch, who serves as Department Chair of Management Development at Fox Valley Technical College.
Joy, Mitch’s wife, came downstairs to find her husband wandering and confused. A retired nurse, she knew right away that Mitch needed to go to the emergency department. The trio headed to ThedaCare Medical Center-Waupaca.
‘Made Us a Priority’
After registering at the front desk and settling in to the waiting area, the family heard an intercom announcement about an emergency situation. They braced for a long wait.
“I have a medical background, and I could tell there was a lot going on that day,” Joy says. “But the next thing I knew, a nurse came out, called my husband’s name, put him in a wheelchair and took him back.”
Space was at a premium that day, but that didn’t stop the team from providing exceptional care.
“Within seconds, there had to be at least five people there, including a doctor,” Joy says.
“We were very busy that day,” confirms Dr. Nathan Larsen, the Emergency Medicine Physician who treated Mitch that day. “Every patient is a priority, and I knew we were going to find a way to provide exceptional care for each person, including Mitch.”
Soon, the team placed a neck brace on Mitch, took his vitals, asked questions and prepared him for a CT scan. The speedy, attentive care was a relief to Joy, who was worried her husband might suffer a brain bleed due to the blood thinners he took.
Compassionate Care
For Joy, the situation was overwhelming. Mitch was disoriented and asking the same questions repeatedly: “What’s going on? Why am I here?” As Joy sought to reassure him, she also worried for Philip.
“My grandson was with me, and he was all of 12 years old. I could tell he was really upset,” Joy says.
As the team took care of Mitch, they also tended to Joy and Philip. They brought grandmother and grandson to a room, offered snacks and kept them informed.
Dr. Larsen provided updates and assured Joy they wouldn’t release her husband until they were certain he didn’t have any bleeds stemming from the concussion he’d sustained.
“I felt like we were their priority, and they were going to do everything to make sure that my husband was safe and treated well,” says Joy, who worked as a nurse in oncology, home care and senior care before retiring. “I never felt anything was dismissed or that we were ignored,”
Dr. Larsen says that’s the level of care people can expect to receive in Waupaca and at all ThedaCare critical access hospitals.
“Making sure that every patient is cared for … epitomizes the team for sure,” he says. “I want to make sure that families are taken care of and understand that we’re here for them.”
Close to Home
Today, Mitch is fully recovered from his concussion and back to enjoying life and time with family. He jokes about his takeaway from the ordeal: “The major follow-up was that I sold all my ice-fishing gear.”
Mitch and Joy moved to Waupaca from the Fox Cities seven years ago. The couple say they’re astounded with the care they receive in the community.
Joy had suffered her own traumatic brain injury after falling on the ice a few years before Mitch’s accident, and she received a similar level of care.
“I would say that the story Joy shared about the care and concern that was there for me, was there for Joy as well when she had her head injury,” Mitch says.
Comprehensive Services
Joy and Mitch say they appreciate the comprehensive care they receive in Waupaca, from primary care to specialty care to physical therapy. The way teams deliver care also stands out, Joy says. At every encounter, team members ask her if she’s had all her questions answered and if there’s anything else they can do.
Reflecting on it all, Joy says she’s grateful and impressed.
“I think people think if you’re not in an urban area with a huge hospital, you’re not going to get the same care. That’s not true,” she says. “I don’t think we could have gotten better care anywhere else.”
