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Telemedicine Used For Last Goodbye

Harris Hanson didn’t know that Wednesday, April 3, 2002 would be the last time he would see his wife, Elaine. He also didn’t know the last time he saw her it would be over a television monitor, with the help of St. Joseph’s Hospital and Health Center in Dickinson and the Telehealth Department at St. Alexius Medical Center in Bismarck.

Harris and Elaine Hanson were married 42 years ago on February 23, in Mott, ND. Harris worked as a heavy

construction operator for many years, and together they had lived in numerous areas throughout the United States, including North Dakota. Elaine was a homemaker for most of their married life and also a previous employee of St. Joseph’s Hospital and Health Center in Dickinson.

In the year 2000, Harris was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. He was successfully treated and fortunately the cancer went into remission. Together, Harris and Elaine rejoiced in his good health. In the latter part of 2001, Elaine was diagnosed with lung cancer and treated with chemotherapy, but unfortunately the disease was progressing.

On Wednesday, April 3, Harris’ and Elaine’s lives took a turn for the worst when they were both admitted to different hospitals for medical emergencies. Harris was seen in the emergency room at St. Joseph’s Hospital and Health Center in Dickinson, ND, for swelling in his left leg that was increasing rapidly. He was quickly transferred to St. Alexius Medical Center in Bismarck, ND for radiation treatment that could not be done immediately in Dickinson. At the same time Elaine was admitted to St. Joseph’s Hospital and Health Center in Dickinson. She was deteriorating rapidly and needed acute care and pain management for her cancer.

At St. Alexius, a blood clot was diagnosed in Harris’s left leg so he could not travel to Dickinson to be with Elaine, for what Harris believed could be her last days. One of his physicians, Dr. Glen Hyland, a radiation oncologist from the Bismarck Cancer Center, said Harris was weeping and becoming emotionally distraught knowing his wife might not live through the night. With a heavy heart, Dr. Hyland tried to think of a way for the two of them to see each other.

He contacted the St. Alexius Telehealth Department and asked if a telemedicine connection could be made with St. Joseph’s Hospital and Health Center so Harris and Elaine could see each other that day. “In caring for the patient we always look at how to diagnosis and treat the patient, but occasionally we also have to meet a more serious need, the psycho-social well being of the patient,” said Dr. Hyland, and he knew that telemedicine could do just that. St. Alexius Telehealth Coordinator, Andie Eberle, also concurred, “This is an example that shows how telemedicine is not only available for the doctor-patient and education connection, but it is also there for the emotional connection.”

Andie contacted the telehealth coordinator at St. Joseph’s Hospital and Health Center, Becky Elkins, who took care of contacting Elaine, her physician and the St. Joseph’s nursing staff. According to Andie and Becky, coordinating the visit went very smoothly. All parties involved were very eager to make this connection happen as quickly as possible.

In the afternoon Harris was brought to the Telehealth Department at St. Alexius in a specialized chair that allowed him to lie flat during the transfer from his hospital room. Simultaneously, Elaine was taken on a hospital bed to the Emergency Room at St. Joseph’s where the telemedicine equipment is located. The reunion was short but very emotional, not only for Harris and Elaine, but for the staff who participated in the reunion via interactive video. After they both said their goodbyes, Harris asked to have another telemedicine connection on Friday, with the hope that he could return to Dickinson on the weekend to be with her.
Unfortunately that visit never happened. Elaine passed away Friday morning, just hours before the next telemedicine connection was to occur. At that time, Harris remarked that the last visit with Elaine meant the world to him, and he was thankful telemedicine was available.

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