Health Care 'Angels' Save Bird Island Man’s Life During Cardiac Arrest in Menard's Parking Lot

On a typical fall Sunday, 59-year-old Dan Wolff of Bird Island set out to tackle a few house projects and enjoy some pheasant hunting. But his day took an unexpected turn, ending not in the fields, but in a bed at CentraCare St. Cloud Hospital — grateful to be alive and thankful for the heroes who helped save his life.

"A little before 9 a.m. I went pheasant hunting with my dog," Dan said. "I started to get a little tired, so my dog and I sat down for a break. I decided that was enough hunting, so I headed to Menards in Willmar to get a two-by-six and some nails."

The next thing Dan remembers is waking up in a hospital bed in St. Cloud.

Swift Action

Dan was told that that he collapsed in the Menards parking lot. An older couple saw it happen and reported it to the store's staff. Despite a group of bystanders witnessing it all unfold, Dan wasn't getting the lifesaving help he desperately needed.

Melissa Hoff, a diagnostic medical sonographer, overheard the conversation and went outside to see if she could help.

"Melissa told me when she looked down at me, I was white, purple and blue," Dan recalled. "She yelled for someone to get an AED and checked for a pulse and couldn't find one."

An automated external defibrillator (AED) is a portable device that can help save someone's life during sudden cardiac arrest, giving electric shocks to the heart to restore its natural rhythm.

That was when Hannah Hanson, a registered nurse at CentraCare - Benson Hospital, came over to the scene. Hannah was on a shopping trip to Menards with her significant other, Justin, and had noticed the man lying on the ground on their way into the parking lot.

"When I reached the scene, I saw the man was unconscious, and a woman was already on the phone with dispatch."

Hannah introduced herself as a nurse and asked how she could help. "I noticed that he was having agonal breaths (labored breathing). The woman on the phone, Melissa, was checking his pulse when I arrived."

Hannah started CPR until the police arrived with an AED.

"I did chest compressions," Hannah said. "The police arrived, and an officer put on the AED. Another bystander helped the police officer to bag him."

The AED analyzed the rhythm of Dan's heart and let first responders know that they needed to give him a shock. They resumed chest compressions. Then the ambulance with CentraCare's EMS crew arrived.

"The ambulance crew got out of the rig, and I asked them for the LUCAS," Hannah explained. "The AED was analyzing his rhythm again, and this time it stated no shock was needed."

A Lund University Cardiopulmonary Assist System (LUCAS) device is a mechanical device that automatically performs chest compressions on patients in cardiac arrest.

Hannah checked for a pulse but still didn't find one. The team placed the LUCAS device on Dan and turned it on, then moved him onto the ambulance cot. By this point, he was beginning to breathe on his own, so the LUCAS was stopped. Hannah helped the EMS crew with their equipment, and the ambulance headed for CentraCare – Rice Memorial Hospital's Emergency Department.

Surgery, Recovery and Prevention

From Willmar, Dan was flown by helicopter to CentraCare - St. Cloud Hospital where he immediately underwent surgery for his heart, getting two stents placed. Stents are tiny tubes that keep blocked arteries open to help restore blood flow.

"I had two main arteries that were 100% blocked," Dan said.

Despite showing some signs of heart trouble, Dan shared he hadn't seen a doctor for it. "Sometimes my lungs would burn, and I could not catch my breath. I just thought I was old and out-of-shape. And heart issues run in my family… I know now I possibly could have avoided this if I would have gone in for a check-up."

Somehow, Dan came out feeling better than he had in a long time. "After surgery, the doctors told me because of Melissa and Hannah's immediate actions, I came in with the best-case scenario — zero heart muscle damage."

Dan had bypass surgery in December. "I am doing great. I am taking it easy and following the doctor's orders. It was an eye opener."

Dan said his physicians, CentraCare Cardiologist Jamie Pelzel, MD, and CentraCare Cardiovascular Surgeon Daren Danielson, MD, along with the nurses at CentraCare Heart & Vascular Center, are "a wonderful group of people."

"I have nothing bad to say — even the food wasn't that bad! I'm known as the ‘Menards guy' there."

Meeting Dan's "Angels"

On that fall Sunday, Dan's sister decided she needed to connect with the two angels (as Dan refers to them) to let them know he was doing well.

While working the night shift at CentraCare - Benson Hospital, Hannah received an unexpected phone call from Dan's sister.

"She asked me if I was the person who administered CPR, and when I responded 'yes,' she shared that Dan was alive and doing well. The doctors told her that if we hadn't done CPR, he would not be here," said Hannah. "She thanked me for everything I had done and asked for my phone number so we could meet in person someday."

That someday was one evening in late January.

"It was awesome…so emotional," Dan said of the meeting. "They never wanted to make a big deal out of what they did, they just wanted to make sure I was OK," said Dan, who brought both women a bouquet of flowers. "All I could say was 'Thank you so much…you're the reason I'm alive!'"

Dan's sister also thanked them. "Because of you, I get to tell my brother 'hello' today, instead of having to say goodbye."

Dan is grateful to the people who contributed to saving his life.

"They gave me one more chance. It's a true miracle they were there. Now I get to watch my grandson (who was born 10 days before my heart attack) grow up."