Even remotely, St. Luke’s supervisor helps save team member’s life after stroke

At St. Luke’s, the word “care” can mean so many things, from hospitals and clinics to the well-being of communities at large.

It also means looking out for one another, even miles apart.

That took on a special meaning Sept. 18 for two St. Luke’s pharmacy team members, when a bond spurred life-saving action despite not seeing one another face-to-face.

Monica Lopez, a medication access team leader, noticed that Mandy Thueson, an education trainer and “jack of all trades” on the infusion authorization team, had left a meeting but her camera remained on.

After getting no response, she eventually contacted Thueson’s husband, Jason, who found her on the floor. She had suffered a stroke.

“Monica is amazing,” Thueson said. “If she hadn’t called Jason, I can’t really think about what would’ve happened, the outcome could’ve been a lot different. Some of the doctors I saw said I probably wouldn’t be here if not for what she did.”

Thueson has worked for 16 years at St. Luke’s and has been a major part of the team Lopez helps oversee.

“Whenever I need to get out of my head … if there’s some big change, I go to her, she’ll always tell me, ‘We’ll get through it, we will be fine, we always do, we’re a team,’” Lopez said. “She’s always that peacemaker, a calming presence, always steps up to help.”

And Lopez returned that team-first mindset and willingness to help on that fateful day.

During a weekly team huddle on Microsoft Teams, a day in which most of the team was working remotely, Thueson was set to present early. But, in a twist of irony, there were many “safety moments” the dozen or so people on the meeting wanted to discuss, so Thueson wanted to make way for that discussion.

By the time it was her turn to present, Thueson wasn’t there. Her camera was on, but there was no one to see. Lopez messaged her, then tried her cell phone. Nothing.

“That was unlike her, so I started to get a little worried, but at the same time, what if something came up, and she just didn’t have the time to let me know?” Lopez said.

After trying a few more times, she pulled up Thueson’s emergency contact, Jason. He was there at home with Mandy, but he worked nights, so he was asleep upstairs.

“Luckily, he heard his phone or woke up and happened to see it lit up,” Thueson said.

Before he answered, Lopez considered driving a half-hour from her house to Thueson’s to check on her if there was no answer. When Jason checked on Mandy, Lopez was on the line.

“The way he said her name, my heart just dropped, I instantly knew something was wrong,” Lopez said, adding that after Jason called 9-1-1 she spoke to paramedics about what happened.

Thueson has Turner Syndrome, a genetic condition in females that is associated with shorter stature (she is 4-foot-9) and kidney, thyroid and heart issues, including hypertension, which increases stroke risk. But until that day, she had never experienced any major health issues.

“I felt really weird, stepped away, then I threw up and fell down on the floor,” Thueson said. “I was in the hospital for about a week and I still only remember the last few days, even then it’s a bit foggy.”

During Thueson’s recovery, Lopez kept in touch and even got to visit her twice, both times bearing plenty of gifts from the team.

And rehab has gone as well as anyone could have hoped. Working with the team at St. Luke’s Rehabilitation Hospital, Thueson has passed occupational and speech therapy, getting back to work on a part-time basis for now on Dec. 15. She is hoping to be cleared to drive again by year’s end.

“I was so happy to have her back,” Lopez said. “I was so worried for her (when the stroke occurred), but she’s been so awesome getting back to her normal self.”

Back with her team, Thueson is eager to get back into the groove and doing what she enjoys most about her job.

“I love helping patients,” she said. “I don’t get to hear from them too often, as we work with insurance — but sometimes I do get to talk to patients and they’re crying on the phone like, ‘I needed this.’ It’s awesome. What we do matters.”