[Dancinglite]

Just thought I would pass this along as many are not aware that this can be recognized early if you are aware of the symptoms...........

Stroke recognition

During a BBQ a friend stumbled and took a little fall - she assured everyone that 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 6:00pm, 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.

It only takes a minute to read this.

Recognizing a Stroke

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 getting to the patient within 3 hours which is tough. Thank God for the sense to remember the "3 steps".

Read and Learn!

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

Now doctors say a bystander can recognize a stroke by asking three simple questions:
1. *Ask the individual to SMILE.
2. *Ask him or her to RAISE BOTH ARMS.
3. *Ask the person to SPEAK A SIMPLE SENTENCE (Coherently) (eg. . ."It is sunny out today") If he or she has trouble with any of these tasks, call 9-1-1 immediately and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher.

After discovering that a group of non-medical volunteers could identify facial weakness, arm weakness and speech problems, researchers urged the general public to learn the three questions. They presented their conclusions at the American Stroke Association's annual meeting. Widespread use of this test could result in prompt diagnosis and treatment of the stroke and prevent brain damage.

[tish]

Now I know why people keep asking me to smile and say goofy things with my arms raised. Thanks for posting this Dancinglite.

(I am serious about the thanks part,good information)

[schnerd0]

My condolences to you and your friend.
I think this is excellent information.
There are many signs of head injuries that go unnoticed with equestrians, that these signs could be useful to many people in other situations. I have suffered 2 major head injuries and neither was treated immediately. I am fortunately alive (thanks to my helmets), but suffer the long term effects. My neurologist is still after me to stop riding. Last October a bump to the head knocked me out. It is cumulative.

[minnie_mouse]

thank you for this DL. this is VERY important i think. my friend nearly died last year from a stroke. (he was 15 at the time)
he woke up not being able to feel his right thumb....he ignored it, and it got worse and worse....his arm was numb when he started complaining. he was rushed to hospital...and didnt come out for a LOOONG time. he still regually goes in for tests. its horrible.

[Xena_n_joss]

I posted about this awhile ago, but in regards to being able to reverse the stroke. You can reverse it within 2 hours with a special pill that they have come out with. It is very effective. It is not in every hospital yet, but they are on their way to getting it.

[2000-Flash-2000]

my teacher read the same thing to our class about 2 weeks ago...how scary. I wrote all of them down on a piece of paper so i could remeber them.