When Cody W. Wendlandt, MD, FAAFP, offered to return to our Emergency Department (ED) to help our team during a particularly busy shift, he never imagined he would become a patient.
In November 2022, Dr. Wendlandt was heading home after completing a 14-hour overnight shift. Before leaving, he told ED nurse Natalie Stuewe, RN, that if they needed an additional emergency room physician that day, they could call him.
“I knew we’d been very busy lately, so I wanted them to know I was available to help if they needed me,” said Dr. Wendlandt. “It was very fortunate for me that I ended up back at the hospital that day.”
That afternoon, Dr. Wendlandt was called in to help with high volumes in the ED – however, just as he was pulling into the hospital parking lot, he began to experience extreme dizziness and a resulting nausea. After parking and sitting still for a moment, Dr. Wendlandt got out of his car and realized he couldn’t stand up straight.
“I was swaggering almost five feet off to the side, and I felt terrible,” said Dr. Wendlandt. “I knew something wasn’t right, and I felt so nauseous that I knew I needed to get to the provider call room.”
He made his way to the provider call room, a space where providers typically sleep while on-call. Instead of seeking a space to rest, Dr. Wendlandt’s symptoms worsened, and he began to vomit. His dizziness continued to increase.
“The whole room was spinning,” said Dr. Wendlandt. “I didn’t know which way was up. I knew I had to lay down because I was feeling so weak.”
He threw up again and realized he could no longer stand up. His left side began to lose feeling.
“At that point, I knew I was having a stroke and that I needed help,” said Dr. Wendlandt.
To get help, he knew he needed to call our ED team – but doing so was no easy task due to his dizziness and the numb immobility spreading across the left side of his body.
“I used every ounce of will in my body to move that arm, and it took me a whole minute just to go through the motions of grabbing my phone,” said Dr. Wendlandt.
After finally managing to retrieve his phone, he called the ED. His speech had now begun to slur, but after making out the words, “Cody,” “call room,” and “I need help,” our team understood he was in trouble.
KSTP Coverage of Dr. Wendlandt’s Story
“I knew right away that there was something wrong,” said ED physician Joseph Dundee, MD, who talked with Dr. Wendlandt on the phone. “He did not sound like himself – he was slurring his words and extremely hard to understand.”
Dr. Dundee rushed to the call room with a wheelchair and other members of the GRH team, who found Dr. Wendlandt on the floor. He’d lost all control of his left arm and leg, was unable to speak, his face was drooping, and he couldn’t keep his eyes open due to the extreme dizziness.
“Even though my body wasn’t fully-functioning, my brain was. I was aware of everything that was happening to me,” said Dr. Wendlandt. “Even now it feels surreal, how debilitated I was. To remember that feeling, and how bad it could have been – I feel fortunate that things turned out how they did. If I hadn’t been called back to the hospital, I would have slept through my stroke, and when I woke up it would have been too late. I would have been dead, or had significant deficits for life.”
Our team quickly called a stroke code, alerting more staff that help was needed.
“At that point, it was all hands on deck,” said Dr. Dundee. “It was intense, but our training kicked in, and we started doing what we always do when we see a stroke here – we get our patients the care they need. When everyone works together, you can really turn a scary situation into something with a good outcome.”
The team initiated the process to connect with Allina Health’s TeleStroke equipment, which connects our team to stroke experts in the Twin Cities. Dr. Wendlandt was brought straight to our Medical Imaging department, where they performed a non-contrast CT scan to rule out a bleeding stroke, and then performed a contrast CT.
After the CT scans, Dr. Wendlandt was brought to the ED, where Allina Health vascular neurologist Ganesh Asaithambi, MD, was waiting on our TeleStroke equipment’s video call.
Dr. Asaithambi, a colleague Dr. Wendlandt had worked with many times before as a physician, evaluated the CT scan and confirmed that Dr. Wendlandt had suffered a stroke. Our team gave Dr. Wendlandt a clot-busting medication and arranged for an ambulance to bring him to the United Hospital Stroke Center.
“It was the same ambulance crew I’ve worked with many, many times in the past as a physician, and they were very respectful, nice, and friendly as they worked with me this time as a patient,” said Dr. Wendlandt.
It wasn’t just the ambulance crew or Dr. Asaithambi that were familiar to Dr. Wendlandt – the same team he works with during each shift in our ED were the same team helping him during his stroke.
“The care they provided me with was like the care we provide in the ED every day – quick, professional, and state-of-the-art,” said Dr. Wendlandt.
Dr. Wendlandt is grateful he made the offer to return to the ED after his shift that day, and that our nursing staff took him up on it.
“It was divine intervention,” said Dr. Wendlandt. “Honestly, Glencoe Regional Health saved my life.”
FOX9 Coverage of Dr. Wendlandt’s Story
KSTP Coverage of Dr. Wendlandt’s Story
A Smooth Recovery
At United Hospital, Dr. Wendlandt was placed on neurological checks every 15 minutes, where they tested his mobility and asked him to answer questions, such as what his name is and where he was. Within four hours, his symptoms resolved.
Dr. Wendlandt spent a few days in the ICU, and is now following up with GRH family medicine provider Jake Traxler, MD, to ensure his healing process remains on-track.
The cause of Dr. Wendlandt’s stroke was a vertebral artery dissection, where a split occurs in one of the main vessels that runs through the neck, and which supplies the brain with blood. The crack in the vessel wall doesn’t leak with blood, but fills with clots. These clots are what traveled to Dr. Wendlandt’s brain, causing the stroke. Dr. Wendlandt has been placed on a blood thinner to prevent new clots while the vessel heals.
After initially suffering from headache and fatigue, Dr. Wendlandt is back to his usual self with no lasting side effects.
“My recovery was a-typical,” said Dr. Wendlandt. “I regained full function fairly quickly. You have up to four and a half hours at most for clot-busting medication in cases of blockage strokes, and because I was at the hospital, I was treated within twenty minutes.”
Spot a Stroke – and BE FAST
Dr. Wendlandt hopes that his experience will encourage others to take stroke symptoms and preventive measures seriously.
“When most people think of strokes, they typically think of older people,” said Dr. Wendlandt. “That’s not me – I’m 38. Anyone can experience a stroke – and symptoms of stroke shouldn’t be brushed off.”
Time is brain – the quicker you can respond to a stroke, the better outcomes you’ll have and the higher chance you have at regaining full function. If you or a loved one are experiencing symptoms of stroke, call 9-1-1 to receive emergency care.
You can remember the symptoms of stroke by recalling the acronym: BE FAST.
B – Balance. Headache, dizziness, or loss of balance.
E – Eyes. Blurred vision.
F – Face. One side of the face may be drooping.
A – Arms. A numbness or weakness of the arms or legs.
S – Speech. Difficulty speaking or slurred speech.
T – Time. If experiencing these symptoms, it’s time to call 9-1-1 for an ambulance immediately.
When should you seek emergency care? Hear from GRH emergency physicians Dr. Wendlandt and Dr. Jessen by clicking here.
