General Chat

not a joke:

This isn't a funny, but it might just save someone's life... During a BBQ a lady stumbled and took a little fall - she assured everyone thought that she was fine (they offered to call paramedics) and 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 afternoon. Ingrid's husband called later that evening telling everyone that his wife had been taken to the hospital - and at 6:00pm, Ingrid had 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. It only takes a minute to read this- Recognizing a Stroke 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 getting to the patient within 3 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 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: 1. *Ask the individual to SMILE. 2. *Ask him or her to RAISE BOTH ARMS. 3. *Ask the person to SPEAK A SIMPLE SENTENCE (Coherently) (i.e. . .It is sunny out today) If he or she has trouble with any of these tasks, call 999 immediately and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher. After discovering that a group of non-medical 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. A cardiologist says if everyone who gets this e-mail sends it to 10 people; you can bet that at least one life will be saved. BE A FRIEND AND SHARE THIS ARTICLE WITH AS MANY FRIENDS AS POSSIBLE, you could save their lives. Elaine ;-)

good advice lets hope it helps people,

My Dad had a series of strokes. The first, which mucked up his balance so he could only crawl was helpfully diagnosed as an ear infection by the local callout GP. It took two more strokes for him to be hospitalised. We thought we had lost him at one point. Fortunately he was lucky and made of tough stuff. He isn't back to normal but he has taught himself to walk, talk and partially use the affected hand again.

wow this is strange, someone only asked me the other day how do you recognise the signs and symptoms of someone having a heart attack or a stroke, i must admit i didn't know the answer to the stroke question. thanks for that, i will defo pass it on to all friends and family, also will send it through emails. cheers :-)

Thanks for that. Some very simple things to check for. Have passed it on, Carol

nudged for night crew ........ it'll be me nudging. The more people see and read this, the better. Elaine ;-)

Useful information for identifying a minor stroke that might otherwise have gone unnoticed (and led to a major one), but Id take the 'reverse all strokes if treated within 3 hours' claim with a large pinch of salt !

such an easy test, if anyone thought it was worth asking, presumably Ingrid was speaking coherently if she assured folk she was ok and only tripped because of her new shoes, which is really quite a normal thing for folk to do. Sorry it turned out to be a sad occasion.

Off-topic, but about medical conditions not being recognised - my husband helps to coach rugby for 14-year-olds. Last Sunday one of the boys got a bang on the head after he slipped over. Boy is very pale and looked a bit hang-dog as he always does. Said he felt dizzy. The other boys thought he was just play-acting. Husband called over paramedic, who thought he seemed OK, but to be on the safe side, told him to sit down and he would come back in 10 minutes and see how he was. Shortly after that, husband noticed boy had got up and was walking along the side of the pitch. Just as husband thought he must be feeling better, the boy was sick. Another coach took him to hospital and later that day his mum rang to say he was out of action for 6 weeks with concussion! nell

So sorry to hear about your friend. My dear dad died of a massive stroke 3 weeks ago now. I dont think anything could have saved him. But he did have a minor one back 4 years ago and I sensed that he wasnt well the day before because on the phone I was talking to him and he sounded slurred and wasnt responding in his normal way. I had no idea why and assumed to be honest that he had had a couple of whiskies as was his wont. It was lucky eldest boy was staying with him while he worked in London and I spoke to him and said to keep a close idea on grandad. Dad fell down the next day. Son put him in recovery position and rang 999. Dad was coming round before they even arrived. But I guess in younger people you wouldnt even suspect this would you. So good idea about the smile, arms lift and tough sentence. Will remember that.

Hi folks, Nell, A couple of years ago, my little one, then aged about 7/8, banged his head at sch, during the dinner time break. At about 1.30 I got a call from sch to say that the teachers weren't happy as he was very pale and definately not himself. I collected him within 5 minutes and took him straight to our local Minor Hospital ~ I could see something was seriously wrong with him. We spent all afternoon at the hospital, with Nurses coming into the room to check him every 5 minutes or so. At 6pm, they gave him (reluctantly) the all clear and said that because he had slept during the afternoon, they were happy for him to be observed at home. Whilst waiting for his Dad to come and collect us, he was violently sick in the room ... and the Nurse dialled 999 and had an Ambulance take us straight to the Major hospital 25 minutes away. They kept him in over night under observation .... but as ever, CJ is CJ and got up the next morning running round with a smile on his face being the centre of attention ... then the Nurses were more than happy to let us come home !... Before that day I did NOT know what Concusion was ... wish I had known BEFORE hand what to expect. Elaine ;-) Heather, Sorry for any misunderstanding ... this is an article from a magazine ... not a 'personal' story for me .... but it could be for ANY of us. (I will change the wording to reflect this) Elaine ;-)