When he arrived at Jamestown Regional Medical Center (JRMC) in November, Mitch Amundson had lost 80% of his blood and was in critical condition. Teams moved him to surgery and stabilized him as much as possible.
“I remember thinking ‘I don’t want to die,’ and ‘I don’t want to be paralyzed,’” he said.
Mitch Amundson thanked area medical teams Friday, making the 100-mile trip to JRMC after a gunshot wound nearly claimed his life.
A Thanksgiving hunting accident almost killed the Dilworth, Minn. man. The 26-year-old survived thanks in part to Jamestown Area Ambulance and JRMC.
“Hey – it’s me again except I’m doing a little bit better this time,” he said, greeting his care teams on Friday, April 21.
JRMC and the ambulance team kept her son alive until he helicoptered to Fargo, said Mitch’s mother, Deanna Amundson.
“We are so grateful,” she said to the teams in the JRMC Emergency Department. “We are so glad you all were here. He wouldn’t be here without you.”
Emergency Physician Dr. Ben Muscha was one of the first to treat Mitch when he arrived at JRMC.
“It’s good to see you,” Dr. Muscha said. “Glad to see you are doing well.”
MIRACLE MITCH
Amundson’s gunshot wound occurred during a 24-hour coyote-hunting contest. He and his friends hunted near Buchanan, N.D.
Jamestown Area Ambulance (JAA) received the call at 11:32 p.m., said JRMC Registered Nurse and Trauma Coordinator Andrea Bonderud. The ambulance crew – Mathew Bergeron, Tova Bergeron and Jeff Juliuson – traveled the 16 miles to Buchanan where they located Mitch in a field. They carried him 300 yards via soft stretcher through the snow from the site of the accident back to the ambulance.
The JAA crew arrived at JRMC at 12:21 a.m. and surgery began at 1:07 a.m., Bonderud said.
Teams operated and stabilized Mitch enough that a helicopter from Sanford AirMed departed JRMC at 2:38 a.m.
From the time of the initial 911 call to lift off was about three hours.
“That is an incredibly quick turnaround for how many interventions he needed,” she said, saying even during surgery, medical teams performed CPR multiple times. “We credit the statewide trauma system and Mitch’s will to live for his recovery.”
Before putting Mitch to sleep for surgery, Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist Andy Schott said he remembers talking to Mitch.
“I said to you, ‘do you want a minute before we do this? If I put you to sleep, you might not wake up.’ You took a few seconds, said ‘I’m ready’ and then we moved forward.”
The fast work of Jamestown Ambulance and JRMC means more birthdays, holidays and special moments with family. Without their care, Amundson’s family would have celebrated Christmas, New Years and Easter without him.
“I told him, ‘You better help every old lady across the street,” Deanna said. “This boy has a reason to be here and some karma to pay back.”
‘EVERYONE HERE WAS WORRIED’
As a Level IV Trauma Center, JRMC can offer the highest quality of care in the region.
“Our teams have the tools, training and resources we need to care for people in situations like this,” Bonderud said. “JRMC and Jamestown Ambulance are prepared to help people like Mitch. We have an incredible team.”
In fact, at the review of trauma cases, the team requested an additional tool – a patient warmer for in the ambulance. Called a Bair Paws Warming System, JRMC has already ordered three and expects delivery next month.
“JRMC ensures we have the tools and equipment we need to offer very good care,” she said.
The Level IV designation means JRMC always has an advanced-trauma life support-certified (ATLS) physician, general surgeon and nursing team available. Every year, the emergency department cares for about 10,000 cases. Those can range from sniffles and sore throats to accidents, burns, overdoses and gunshot wounds like Amundson. The emergency team cares for more than 250 trauma cases each year.
Those cases also rely on the teamwork of other departments including lab, radiology and anesthesia.
“I know I wouldn’t be here without you guys,” Amundson said.
General Surgeon Dr. Mark Goss said he remembers that day – and how he worried about Mitch after. Dr. Goss even called the care teams in Fargo that night, to check on their shared patient. Dr. Goss and the surgery team did “damage control” to his abdomen, bowel, bladder and artery.
“We’d given him all the blood we had,” Dr. Goss said. “He coded two times. We knew we’d need to transfer him. This was outstanding teamwork on everyone’s part – ambulance, emergency, surgery and the care flight team.”
In these emergent situations, the team focuses on doing their jobs. Worry comes after, he said.
“We all cared about him,” Dr. Goss said. “The team was really concerned. We were so pleased to hear he did well and made it through. We worried about it.”
Marco Moser manages the certified registered nurse anesthetist team. While he wasn’t working that night, or on call, when he received a phone call from Schott, asking for help, Moser responded immediately.
“He doesn’t call unless it’s dire and it was,” Moser said. “We’re so glad you’re doing well because we didn’t know what to expect. It was an honor taking care of you.”
Today, Mitch is back at work and back to doing when he loves. Already, he is hunting again with friends and family.
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