Saved By Her Friends and Colleagues

Essentia Health-Ada Nurse Receives Lifesaving Care from Her Colleagues

On the morning of April 26, 2023, Carla Wilebski, a licensed practical nurse at Essentia Health-Ada, took an over-the-counter supplement that made her throat tingle. Recognizing the allergic reaction, she took Benadryl and Zyrtec with the hopes of getting better.

“The reaction quickly worsened. I realized I was in over my head, and I had to get help,” said Carla. “I started to drive myself to the hospital, and I called 911 on the way."

Carla had to pull over a half mile later to vomit. She then started to go limp in her car seat. The 911 dispatcher talked with Carla to keep her awake while she waited for the ambulance to arrive.

“I had an impending sense of doom; you feel like you’re going to die,” remembered Carla. “I couldn’t move my arms or legs or talk, just make grunting noises or say one word between wheezes. I was waiting alone on the side of the road and I thought, ‘This is it.’ When the paramedics showed up, I was a grayish-blue color. It was the scariest thing I’ve ever experienced.”

The Essentia Health-Ada care teams, Carla’s colleagues and friends, were ready when she arrived at the hospital. Thanks to telehealth, providers in Ada were able to connect with team members at Essentia Health-Fargo to collaborate and prompt intubation—a tube that would be placed down Carla’s lungs to assist her with breathing. Once Carla was stabilized at our Ada hospital, LifeLink transferred her to the Fargo hospital for observation.

Essentia Health is an integrated health system dedicated to helping each patient throughout their entire care journey. Carla’s story is just one example of how multidisciplinary teams—from dispatch, paramedics and nurses to telehealth, technologists and physicians—work together to provide the very best care from incident to recovery.

Carla is now on the other side of her terrifying experience, and she’s incredibly grateful for the diverse team of experts who cared for her every step of the way.

“How do you thank someone for saving your life?” said Carla. “I want to say thank you, but it doesn’t feel like enough. I am deeply indebted to each and every one of them. Working in health care is more than just a job—you’re saving someone’s life. I want the teams to be recognized for how stellar they are. I’m really proud to be a part of this special team. Without these people, I wouldn’t be here.”

At Essentia Health-Ada, we’re dedicated to ensuring our Norman County community members have access to high-quality care close to home. Thanks to generous donors, the Essentia-Health Ada Foundation has helped fund emergency medical services, like the ones that saved Carla’s life. Coupled with other leading-edge technology, including power cots, we can safely care for and transport patients when every second counts.

To learn more about how you can help expand exceptional care throughout our rural community, please contact Sue Omdalen, Executive Director, Essentia Health Foundation-West, at [email protected] or (701) 364-7784.