OT-MAY IS NATIONAL STROKE AWARENESS MONTH

[Guest guest]

Hi Folks....

Back on 12/27/07, I had a clot type stroke in the cortico-spinal

area of my brain....I was left with a paralyzed right side, a vague

awareness of what was going on, and a face out of a B-rated Horror

Movie.... Because of the extent of the paralysis, I was told I faced

the prospect of assisted living...

That scared me more than anything....

Today, I am existing independently, though I need a brace and cane to

get around.....My right hand (the prior dominant one) has maybe 20%

function, with no fine motor control to speak of...Everything is

harder to do, essentially one handed, and I do get tired easily....

I'm not griping....I'm glad to be alive, and an independent

Survivor....My cognition was essentially unaffected....My face is

normal, as is my speech....I'm one of the luckier survivors.....

The thing is....had I recognized what was happening to me, I might

have none of these affects.... For a clot type stroke, there's a 3-4

hour window when it can be reversed.....I got to the hospital too

late to reverse it, but soon enough so I lived...

How common is stroke? It's the third most common cause of death in

the US.....Eighty percent of all strokes are the clot type....There

are over *6 million* stroke survivors in the US alone....

How to ID a stroke.......S....T....R.......

*REMEMBER* the 1st Three Letters.... S...T...R...

S.....Ask the individual to SMILE.

T.....Ask the person to TALK and SPEAK A SIMPLE SENTENCE

(Coherently). Example....It is sunny outside today....

R.....Ask him or her to RAISE BOTH ARMS.

If the person (or you), have a problem with any of these tasks, it's

time to call 911...

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.

They've recently extended the window to 4 hours in some cases...

NOTE: Another 'sign' of a stroke is this: Ask the person to 'stick'

out their tongue.. If the tongue is 'crooked', if it goes to one side

or the other, that is also an indication of a stroke.

Hopefully this bit of knowledge will help some folks in the

future.......

Surviving a stroke takes a lot out of a person, both physically and

mentally.....

How successful one is depends a lot on the support they have, and

believe me, I can personally attest to the need for that

support...And thank the folks that provided it to me, from the bottom

of my heart...

I found a great online resource for Stroke Support.....It's a free

site, started, run by, and for, Stroke Survivors and Caregivers....If

you are a Stroke Survivor, or Caregiver, or know someone who is, give

them this link.....

I suspect they'll thank you....It puts you on the Forum discussion

page, and you will meet folks who are walking the talk......As a

guest, you can read the posts, to get a feel for what the site is

about....

http://www.strokeboard.net/

***

F.A.S.T.

Another Anagram is F.A.S.T (Face, Arms, Speech, Time) If they have

trouble smiling or something is not " right " with their *Face* (F), if

they are unable to hold their *Arms*(A) out in front of themselves at

equal height, if their *Speech*(S) is affected or if the words come out

Slurred(S), then you need *Time*(T) to be on your side by responding

quickly. Don't hesitate. It's better to be wrong than sorry.

***

Care to All....

--

W. Bourbonais

L'Hermite Aromatique

A.J.P. (GIA)

[Guest guest]

> Hi ,

> What a frightening ordeal for you to have gone through. You seem to be such a

> wonderful, supportive and helpful member of this group and it therefore comes

as

> no surprise that you're posting this very informative and important

information.

> Thank you for bringing awareness to this and also for sharing your story.

>

> xo

>

I totally second that. Thank you, , for sharing this essential information

with all of us. I remember you posting something similar last year, and I for

one, appreciate the reminder and recap of how to detect the symptoms of stroke.

Take care,

Shauna