Information on how to tell if someone has a stroke

eldragon said:

My nursing instructor forwarded this to me and all her former students. It's good information:
[FONT=&quot]STROKE IDENTIFICATION:[/FONT][FONT=&quot]During a BBQ, a friend stumbled and took a little fall,
she assured everyone that she was fine (they offered
to call paramedics) .....she said she had 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 pm Ingrid
passed away.) She had suffered a stroke at the BBQ.
Had they known how to identify the signs of a stroke,
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...[/FONT][FONT=&quot]

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.[/FONT][FONT=&quot]

RECOGNIZING A STROKE[/FONT][FONT=&quot]Thank God for the sense to remember the
"3" steps, STR . Read and Learn!

Sometimes symptoms of a stroke are difficult to identify.
Unfortunately, the lack of awareness spells disaster. The
stroke victim may suffer severe brain damage when
people nearby fail to recognize the symptoms of a stroke [/FONT][FONT=&quot].[/FONT][FONT=&quot]Now doctors say a bystander can recognize a stroke
by asking three simple questions: [/FONT][FONT=&quot]S[/FONT][FONT=&quot] * [/FONT][FONT=&quot]Ask the individual to [/FONT][FONT=&quot]SMILE.[/FONT][FONT=&quot]T[/FONT][FONT=&quot] * [/FONT][FONT=&quot]Ask the person to [/FONT][FONT=&quot]TALK and SPEAK A SIMPLE SENTENCE[/FONT][FONT=&quot]
(Coherently) i.e. It is sunny out today)[/FONT][FONT=&quot]R [/FONT][FONT=&quot]* [/FONT][FONT=&quot]

Ask him or her to [/FONT][FONT=&quot]

RAISE BOTH ARMS[/FONT][FONT=&quot].[/FONT][FONT=&quot]If he or she has trouble with[/FONT][FONT=&quot]ANY ONE of these tasks,
call 999/911 immediately and describe the[/FONT][FONT=&quot]symptoms to the dispatcher.[/FONT][FONT=&quot]

New Sign of a Stroke ------- [/FONT][FONT=&quot]Stick out Your Tongue[/FONT][FONT=&quot]NOTE: Another 'sign' of a stroke is this: Ask the person
to 'stick' out his tongue.. If the tongue is 'crooked',
if it goes to one side or the other [/FONT][FONT=&quot], [/FONT][FONT=&quot]that is also an
indication of a stroke.
[/FONT][FONT=&quot]
A cardiologist says if everyone who gets this
e-mail sends it to[/FONT][FONT=&quot]10 people; you can bet that
at least one life will be saved.[/FONT]

Click to expand...

Thank you for posting this. My husband lost sight in one eye permanently due to my ignorance.

I have stroke disease. Not so nice, but oh, well. Anyway, I've raised both arms, tried to repeat a simple sentence, stuck out my tongue, smiled (sort of) and all of the above. Fortunately, I've not suffered any real damage, at least when it comes to mobility, speech, etc. After each incident (or accident as the medical community refers to them) something's gone. I'm a little slower. I have a little more trouble with weakness on my left side. I list to port, to employ seaman terms. One thing I noticed that went unmentioned is blurred vision. I can't see clearly during and immediately after one of my "accidents." Keep that in mind.

I recently had a stroke, and the symptoms were rather mild.
My right hand became partially numb, but I thought it was a pinched nerve in my neck.
My hand is now permanently dysfunctional.
Then I had trouble speaking clearly; the words just didn't want to come out, but I thought it was due to tiredness. It was aphasia.
When I noticed my right eyelid was sort of droopy, I realized there was a problem and took myself to the emergency room.
That was two days after I first noticed the symptoms.
I was lucky.
But I should have gone to the emergency room right away.

Thanks.
I see you are a fan of 'tuxedo' kitties, too.

tuxedo cat story

so of all the allies along the beach to get home to my house my brother picks this particular one. sits down to have a beer and see something, thinks it's an old boot.

turns out it's a dying cat. virtually starving, flea infested, can't even lift its head. brings it to my house, we didn't think it would make it through the night. must've been trapped, as it had splinters in it and sun-bleached where apparently part of it was exposed.

all bones, thin skin, much debate as to have it put to sleep but we figurd we'd give her a chance at life. we somehow knew that cat wanted to live.


anyway, 6 months later she is alive and well, my tuxedo cat. we named her splinters. still walks a bit funny from not using muscles but a happy cat.

such a rewarding experience to actually save a life. she follows me around and just looks at me with absolute adoration.