Helping save lives

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STROKE: Remember The 1st Three Letters... S.T.R.

My friend sent this to me and encouraged me to post it and spread the word. I agree.

If everyone can remember something this simple, we could save some folks.

Please read:

STROKE IDENTIFICATION:

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. 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

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.

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 SPEAK A

SIMPLE

SENTENCE (Coherently) (eg " It is sunny out 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', if it goes to one side or

the other that is also an indication of a stroke. If he or she has trouble with ANY

ONE of these tasks, call 999 immediately! ! and describe the symptoms to the

dispatcher.

A cardiologist says if everyone who gets this e-mail sends it to 10 people; you

can bet that at least one life will be saved.