Submitted Photo Janel Buchholtz, left, is shown with three of her children, Cole, 16, at right, and twins Kasie and Lane, 14.

BISMARCK — The combination of fast thinking, good fortune and prompt medical care at CHI St. Alexius Health all combined to turn what could have been a tragic day into a favorable outcome for Janel Buchholtz of Bismarck.

On Jan. 16, Buchholtz was drying her hair and getting ready for what initially appeared to be a “normal” day. However, when she repeatedly kept dropping her hairbrush, the 51-year-old mother of five knew something was amiss.

Still, Buchholtz continued trying to push through. Eventually, Buchholtz’s son saw her struggling to keep her balance as she walked down the hallway and told Buchholtz’s husband, Mike, as soon as he returned home from a dentist appointment.

“My husband came into the bedroom, looked at me and realized right away that I was having a stroke,” Buchholtz said. “I didn’t want him to at first, but he called 911 and, luckily, we have a neighbor from the fire department who lives right across the street, so we have somebody here almost immediately.

“The ambulance came shortly after that, so it was just a case where they were able to get me to the hospital so quickly that was really a big part of why I don’t have any residual symptoms,” she said.

Upon arriving at the St. Alexius Emergency Department, Buchholtz was unable to move her left arm or leg, had a left facial droop and was gazing toward her right. Her NIH Stroke Scale reading was an 11, which determines how severe her symptoms were on a scale of 0-42 with 42 being the most serious reading.

Once it was determined Buchholtz didn’t have a bleed in her brain, the telespecialists ordered the use of the clot-busting drug tenecteplase (TNK), which was administered within 20 minutes of arrival time. An interventional radiologist was consulted and saw Buchholtz during her CT scan and approved a thrombectomy – surgery to remove a blood clot – which occurred 59 minutes after Buchholtz arrived at St. Alexius.

A stroke occurs when a blood vessel that carries oxygen and nutrients to the brain is either blocked by a clot or bursts. When that happens, part of the brain cannot get the blood and oxygen it needs, so brain cells die.

The interventional radiologist physician was able to remove a clot and restore blood flow to Buchholtz’s brain. She was closely monitored for 24 hours and a reassessment showed Buchholtz was back to normal with a NIHSS reading of zero.

“Janel had only some minor deficits immediately after and it was amazing,” said Brannigan Hamrick, Stroke Program coordinator at St. Alexius. “Her story is remarkable and she is so lucky things fell into place the way they did.

Stroke is the No. 5 cause of death and a leading cause of disability in the U.S. Early stroke detection and treatment are key to improving survival, minimizing disability and accelerating recovery times.

CHI St. Alexius received the American Heart Association’s Get With the Guidelines-Stroke Gold Plus quality achievement award for its commitment to ensuring stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment. Get With the Guidelines puts the expertise of the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association to work for hospitals nationwide, helping ensure patient care is aligned with the latest research- and evidence-based guidelines.

St. Alexius also received the American Heart Association’s Target: Stroke Elite Honor Roll award for meeting specific criteria that reduce the time between an eligible patient’s arrival at the hospital and treatment with the clot-buster alteplase. It received the American Heart Association’s Target: Type 2 Honor Roll award for efforts to ensure patients with Type 2 diabetes, who might be at higher risk for complications, receive the most up-to-date, evidence-based care when hospitalized due to stroke.

Buchholtz stayed in the hospital for five days, including three in the Intensive Coronary Care Unit, and had a leadless pacemaker implanted before her dismissal. While she continued to deal with some fatigue and struggles in occasionally finding the words she wants to say, she said she hasn’t had any other major physical issues.

“I feel just extremely blessed,” she said.