STROKES: Know the danger signs
May is National Stroke Awareness Month. Stroke is no joke. Every 40 seconds in the United States someone is stricken by stroke, the chief cause of adult disability and the third leading cause of death.
Stroke can happen at any age, not only to the elderly. Fetuses, toddlers, children, teens, young adults on up. Please be aware and know the signs: Facial droop on one side; slurred speech, garbled speech or inability to talk; loss of control on one side of the body; unsteady gait. Call 911 immediately even if only one symptom is present. You could save a life, even your own.
Families often don’t survive as a unit when a spouse suffers a stroke due to lack of sufficient education as to what care-giving entails. “Through sickness and in health” and “’Til death do us part” suddenly take on a new and unexpected turn, especially when stroke affects a young couple. The demands of care-giving can and do take a terrible toll on a relationship. It is a seemingly thankless job. Survivors often are confused for extended periods of time and don’t think to communicate the appreciation they feel. Patience is everyone’s best ally.
Hundreds of thousands of people are acquainted with, related to or are good friends with someone (like me), who has suffered at least one stroke that left them dead or disabled with drastically changed lives. But this isn’t about me. It’s about folks understanding that stroke is a brain injury; its signs and symptoms, and about getting ER personnel everywhere in the USA to understand the importance of fast diagnosis and treatment in this life-changing event. Too often ER diagnoses and treatment are delayed over ER staff assuming slurred speech, inability to walk straight, falling, etc., is due to drugs or drinking. Demand that CT scans or MRIs or both be done *immediately* in the ER. Better a scan to rule out stroke than sentencing someone to a life of unnecessary disability or death just because a person “looks drunk” or “on drugs!”
Never feel strange or uneasy around a stroke survivor, like you don’t know how to treat them or what to say to them. All you need to do is accept them and respect them as human beings. Help a survivor if they want help, but most of all, “be there.” You’ll feel good about yourself for having helped someone in such a small way and for doing such a selfless thing. Please do not refer to us as victims. We are survivors! Join us, don’t desert us. Celebrate life with us!
Remember: No one is immune to stroke. Not even YOU!
PAT QUINN
Coeur d’Alene