HOT PURSUIT

Over the years I’ve always prided myself in taking fairly good care of myself and not having any real health concerns. But my luck, I guess if you want to call it that, ran out a few months ago.

In early August, I began having some early morning attacks of sudden, severe pain in the abdomen. It was enough to jolt me out of bed. Just like the show, ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas, I sprang from my bed to see what was the matter, and I went right to the bathroom. And I was greeted with some unpleasantries like vomiting and nausea.

It also didn’t help that I had trouble getting comfortable in bed. I tossed and turned endlessly wondering what on earth was going on.

After a few hours, the pain subsided, and I went on just as nothing had happened. Of course, I tried to tie it to perhaps something I ate or drank. No luck. It was nothing out of the ordinary that I hadn’t had before.

This same drill went on for about six times over the course of the next month. One of those episodes came after a day at the Minnesota State Fair where you know what I did—indulged in foods I probably shouldn’t have even touched.

Luckily, I had a routine physical scheduled for early September. That’s when I came into contact for the first time with a man who made all the difference for me. He is Ethan DeKam, a physician assistant with Park Nicollet Health Services in Burnsville. If he sounds familiar to you, he should. He grew up in Owatonna and was involved in school activities, including football and basketball. He played under Huskies’ legendary Coach Jeff Williams. Ethan was the homecoming king at OHS in 2016.

Besides school, DeKam was also involved in church at Trinity Lutheran in Owatonna. In fact, I took a front-page photograph of him portraying Jesus Christ during the Good Friday service at Trinity in 2017.

His father, Kyle DeKam, was a popular educator and principal in Owatonna Schools for many years before losing his battle to cancer in 2012 when Ethan was 14. Ethan said he chose to become a clinician to give back in honor of the clinicians who cared for his father during his cancer journey.

In his role as a physician assistant, DeKam suggested a couple specific diet changes to head off the attacks I was having. I took his advice but had no luck. The attacks persisted with really no common denominator identified.

Once I reached back to DeKam, he didn’t waste any time in suggesting I needed to get scheduled for a CT scan. DeKam quickly found the culprit of what was upsetting my abdomen: gallstones. They are hardened deposits of digestive fluid that can form in your gallbladder. 

DeKam promptly referred me to a surgeon, who also didn’t waste any time in recommending that my gallbladder be removed. On Nov. 6, my first ever surgery took place amid some fears of the unknown for me. I have been recovering at home mostly since then.

I found DeKam to be a guardian angel during an uncertain time in my life. I am incredibly grateful for what he has done for me in performing early detection before things spiraled too much out of control.

He shares that patients can expect honesty, transparency, shared decision making and his best effort in their care. DeKam knocked it out of the water with all of that and more during my care. I’m especially thankful for someone of DeKam’s caliber to offer the help when I needed it most.

It also makes me proud to know that the Owatonna community played a hand in developing such a wonderful young man who has a bright future ahead of himself. They really don’t get any better than Ethan DeKam. He is a true medical professional eager to make the quality of life better for others.

For me, I may have one organ less in my body, but I haven’t had any attacks since. There’s also no doubt in my mind Ethan DeKam is a guardian angel in hot pursuit of helping during life’s uncertainties.