During a barbeque, a friend stumbled and took a little fall - she assured everyone that she was fine (they offered to
call paramedics) and that 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 BarBQ. 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) (i.e. . 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 the person has trouble with ANY ONE of these tasks, call 911 immediately and
describe the symptoms to the dispatcher.
