The signs of a stroke

[robby]

I received this email and I thought I would post it for everyone:

I wish I knew this several years ago when a friend was having a stroke at a clubhouse function and I didn't recognize it; just that something was wrong and did get a resident doctor in the hall and made other people aware, but unfortunately her husband listened to her and didn't get her to the hospital for a couple hours.

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:

*Ask the individual to smile.

*Ask him or her to raise both arms.

*Ask the person to speak a simple sentence.

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 nonmedical 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 last February. Widespread use of this test could result in prompt diagnosis and treatment of the stroke and prevent brain damage.

[Momtwo]

This is invaluable info Robby. Thanks for posting.

[SammieGrl]

My husband had a stroke. He was only 41. We were up north in our camper deer hunting, and had both taken a nap. When we woke up he said something to me, and it sounded like he was drunk. His words were slurred. He does not drink. I said, what the heck is wrong hun. He didnt notice anything. And then his speech went back to normal. I knew NOTHING about strokes. Well everything seemed fine. later that eve, we were driving home, and he kept swerving off the road a little. I asked again, why do you keep doing that? He said doing what? I said going off the road. He said oh, Im just looking for at the countryside for deer. He stopped doing it, we got home safe, and everything appeared normal. He acted normal. The next day he started yelling and I mean angry yelling at the kids for no good reason, I didnt understand why he was so upset but told him to stop, and he did. After that he seemed perfectly normal all day. Next morning he comes up to me and says, damn, I went to brush my teeth and missed my mouth. He said it in kind of a joking way, but when he told me this something BWAMMED off in my brain, remembering all the little weird small things that he had done the past 3 days, and I just stared at him, and said OMG hun I have to call your doc. I think your having a stroke! He got mad, said NO WAY. I didnt know if he really was having a stroke, but said I dont care what u say Im calling. When I did and explained the little things, the Doctor said, Get him to EMERGENCY ROOM STAT! Well he WAS having a stroke. I thought when a person had a stroke it would be obvious. They might have pain, or some major tell tale symptom, but whats so scarey is how sneaky they are., and the person having them does not feel anything. Mini strokes. They progress without treatment, and keep doing more damage. We were very very lucky, and I thank my higher power because I know I was completely ( duh ) clueless about signs of stroke so something/someone had to of whacked me in the head with a clue.

sorry this is so long, and not even sure if I should post it, but please feel free to remove this if its not right for the board or anything. I just hope people know how sneaky & quietly a stroke can creep on a person.