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

I have been in a lot of pain and not able to sleep tonight, therefore going through some old e-mails and deleting them. I came across this one and thought that I would share this with everyone, because it is very important and could never hurt to know this information. Hopefully we will never need it, but better safe than sorry!!! Shelia 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 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 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 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. 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 he or she has trouble with ANY ONE of these tasks, call 911 immediately and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher.

Shelia, Thanks I printed this out and I am going to put it on the frig and show it to Howard, I am always stumbling and falling and it would be good for us to know what to look for at our age it is good to know these things, now if there was as simple a way to tell heart attacts. Thanks hugs & Lee Lee

Sheila, I had a stroke in December of 2005. It was a "minor" one, as if a stroke is every minor! One reason it was not nearly as bad as it could be was because I recognized the signs and went straight to the er. I was driving and suddenly had a blinding headache and felt as if my head was literally exploding...it was like the most intense migraine I have ever had times 100. I was seeing spots and blind spots and knew something major was wrong. Thank god I was close to a hospital! We all owe it to ourselves to know the signs as that can be the only difference between life an death...thanks for posting this and reminding us all of how to better take care of ourselves!