Surviving a Stroke (thanks, Anne).

Anne Bradshaw over at Not Entirely British posted this and encouraged everyone to pass it on. It's good information. Thanks, Anne!




STROKE IDENTIFICATION:

During a BBQ, a friend stumbled and took a little fall - she assured everyone she was fine (they offered to call paramedics) and just tripped over a brick because of her new shoes. They got her cleaned up and got her a new plate of food - while she appeared a bit shaken up, Ingrid went about enjoying herself the rest of the evening. Ingrid's husband called later telling everyone that his wife had been taken to the hospital. At 6:00 P.M., Ingrid passed away. She had suffered a stroke at the BBQ. Had they known how to identify the signs, perhaps Ingrid would be with us today. Some don't die. They end up in a helpless, hopeless condition instead.

It only takes a minute to read this . . .

A neurologist says that if he can get to a stroke victim within 3 hours he can totally reverse the effects of a stroke . . . totally. He said the trick was getting a stroke recognized, diagnosed, and then getting the patient medically cared for within 3 hours, which is tough.

RECOGNIZING A STROKE

Sometimes symptoms of a stroke are difficult to identify. Unfortunately, lack of awareness spells disaster. The stroke victim may suffer severe brain damage when people nearby fail to recognize the symptoms.

Now doctors say a bystander can recognize a stroke by asking three simple questions:


S * Ask the individual to SMILE.

T * Ask the person to TALK--TO SAY A SIMPLE SENTENCE coherently (i.e. “It’s sunny today”)

R * Ask him or her to RAISE BOTH ARMS.


NOTE: Another sign of a stroke is this: Ask the person to stick out their tongue. If the tongue is crooked, or if it goes to one side or the other, that also indicates a stroke. If he or she has trouble with ANY ONE of these tasks, call 911 immediately!! And describe the Symptoms to the dispatcher.

A cardiologist says if everyone who gets this message sends it to 10 people; you can bet that at least one life will be saved. If we all blog and email about it, think what that can achieve.