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 6:00 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). (e.g., "It is sunny out today.")

R: Ask him or her to RAISE both arms.

In short: Smile, Talk, Raise.

(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 of these tasks, call 9-1-1 immediately and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher.

Remember: this could save someone's life.