Dr. Harper the 'Missing Piece of the Puzzle' for Stacey Blankartz

Posted 11/20/24 (Wed)

On a Friday morning after a painful, sleepless night, Stacey Blankartz was doubled over her desk in tears when one of her coworkers stopped by to visit. Her coworker convinced her to go to the ER, and once she was admitted, the ER team ordered an X-ray and a CT scan with IV contrast. "Afterward, I went back to my room where they did bloodwork, started IVs and gave me some pain medicine," recalls Blankartz, "From the beginning, everyone took good care of me." After an initial review of the test results, it didn't look like a bowel obstruction. "It was like trying to figure out a puzzle without having all the pieces," explains Blankartz.

Temporarily stuck, Stacey's medical team decided to consult with Dr. Clay Harper, the new surgeon at Mobridge Regional Hospital. With over 20 years of experience at a facility in Alabama, Dr. Harper, along with his wife Jennifer, recently moved to Mobridge after years of enjoyable trips pheasant hunting in the area. It was his first week on the job.

"Dr. Harper reviewed my chart and noticed that I had previously had stomach surgery. He asked my ER team to have me drink the contrast and do another CT scan." Despite Stacey struggling to keep much of the contrast down, Dr. Harper remained optimistic about the second scan. "After seeing the results, Dr. Harper came to see me and my husband. He explained that what he was seeing was a twist, blockage or narrowing in my intestine. He had seen a lot of these in Alabama, especially in patients with prior stomach surgeries."

Despite being thankful for a diagnosis, Stacey was in pain and frustrated. It was the day before her nephew's wedding and she and her husband were supposed to host. "I told Dr. Harper I wanted to wait to do the surgery until after my nephew's wedding, but he urged me to reconsider and explained the risks of waiting." Without surgery, Stacey's intestine was at risk of rupturing. "He was very honest, very upfront with me. He even drew a diagram on the back of my chart to show us what was going on inside me. He explained the possibilities, what the recovery time would be for each one, and assured me he would know how to handle any of the three scenarios."

When Dr. Harper stepped out to give Stacey and her husband, Don, privacy to discuss their options, Don suggested they go back to Bismarck where her previous surgery had been done. "I disagreed," remembers Blankartz, "Maybe it was his Alabama accent or his calm demeanor, but when he came in and talked to us, there was just something about him that gave me a sense that I was going to be okay and that he was going to take care of me."

When Dr. Harper returned, the couple told him they wanted to move forward with surgery. "It was a little overwhelming. I don't think people understand-when you go into an ER situation, you don't think you're going to end up on an operating table. Everything started happening so fast," Stacey said, recalling her anxiety after the decision had been made. But lying on the operating table, she looked at Dr. Harper. "I remember taking a deep breath because I felt so relieved that he had figured it out. I was praying that everything would be okay afterwards," says Blankartz.

"Preston Huber was sitting up beside my head talking to me. Lavon and Lindsay were in there too, and everyone was asking me how my grandbaby was because I think they knew I was nervous. I remember Preston saying, 'Take a deep breath.'" Stacey woke up in the recovery room and the first person she saw was Dr. Harper. "He was standing there waiting for me to wake up! I've been in other facilities, other hospitals, and I've never had another surgeon stand there and wait for me to wake up. He asked me how I was doing, how I felt, how the pain was."

Afterwards, Stacey was taken to her patient room. "All the nurses-Holly, Tonia, Katie-everyone from the ER to the OR to the patient floor, everyone took such good care of me. I know it's their job, but you could tell that they were sincere," she shares. Dr. Harper came to check on Blankartz before he went to the football game that night and stopped in again afterwards to check on Blankartz before heading home for the night.

"Nowhere have I ever had a surgeon come in and check on me that many times," Stacey comments, "He went above and beyond what a surgeon and doctor does. For him to come in as many times as he did and be the first one I saw when I woke up, you don't get that in those bigger facilities. Dr. Harper is an amazing surgeon, and he took very good care of me."

The Saturday morning after Stacey's surgery, she was discharged. "As I waited for my husband to come get me, it struck me that Dr. Harper was the missing piece of the puzzle we needed to figure out what was wrong with me. I'm very, very thankful that he was there that day."

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