Give it a read....

[fredjacksonsan]

OK we've all got parents or some relative that may one day be affected by this, so have a read:

STROKE: Remember the Three Letters Plus the Tongue.

STROKE IDENTIFICATION:

My friend sent this to me and encouraged me to post it and spread the word, I agreed. If everyone can remember something this simple, we could save some folks. Seriously . please read:

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 afternoon. Ingrid's husband called later saying that his wife had been taken to the hospital and 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 stroke victims 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 three hours he can totally reverse the effects of a stroke . . . totally. He said the trick was having a stroke recognized, diagnosed and then getting the patient medically cared for within three hours, which is tough.

RECOGNIZING A STROKE:

Thank God for the sense to remember the "3" steps.

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.

A cardiologist says if everyone who gets this e-mail sends it to ten people, you can bet at least one life will be saved.

[soapsuds22]

This is great information to know. I worry about strokes with my parents. I am only 23 but my parents are both in their late sixties. I even moved from NJ to Florida to be closer to them.

[vinnym86]

its good to be informed

[imtheoneandonlyD]

Originally Posted by vinnym86

its good to be informed

I agree, my grandpa had a stroke when i was really little and has a permanent limp from it.

[vinnym86]

yup, my grandpa had a stroke just about 2 years ago. he's never quite recovered, but he looks healthy again.

[speediva]

As my parents get older, I worry about this kind of stuff. Both are in less-than-stellar health. Thanks for the info.

[Igovert500]

Great stuff to know

[Rally Sport]

Nice to know.. simple as hell too.

[Damien]

i thought this was like CPR, pretty much everyone knew it. Hm...

then again, not everyone knows CPR properly which is quite a bad thing.

[TexasF355F1]

Originally Posted by vinnym86

yup, my grandpa had a stroke just about 2 years ago. he's never quite recovered, but he looks healthy again.

My grandma has a massive stroke way back in 1994. Keep in mind I was only 12 years old, I am almost now 25! She's still alive, but for the past 12.5 years she has not been able to talk, and paralyzed on her entire right side. She can eat without help. The most crazy thing is she can understand Polish than she can English. She was not from Poland, but was fluent in it.

It's been extremely hard on my mom and uncles. I hate going to the nursing home. It brings me down too low. I only go when I'm forced.

[FlippiN.af]

Thanks for the info.

Props to you.

Edited for your viewing peasure.

[TerminalVelocity]

awesome!

Thanks for this info, I think I heard it a few years back but totally forgot it.

[kicker1_solo]

good info, I'll be sure to repost it

[crayzayjay]

Originally Posted by fredjacksonsan

A neurologist says that if he can get to a stroke victim within three hours he can totally reverse the effects of a stroke . . . totally. He said the trick was having a stroke recognized, diagnosed and then getting the patient medically cared for within three hours, which is tough.

I wonder if that's accurate... My grandmother passed away from a stroke in December, i don't know if anything more could have been done to save her.

Anyway, good information. Thanks for posting.

[speediva]

I checked the info out on Snopes, and they said the whole Smile, talk, reach thing they said was good. They discredited the "tongue" thing b/c it's a very subjective measure. There was no mention about the doctor seeing the patient within 3 hours, though.