I don't mean to be such a downer but I this helps one person it's worth it.

Subject: Blood Clots/Stroke - They Now Have a Fourth Indicator, the Tongue

INFORMATION EVERYONE SHOULD KNOW........................

I will continue to forward this every time it comes around!

STROKE: Remember the 1st Three Letters....S.T.R.

My nurse friend sent this and encouraged me to post it and spread the word.

I agree.

If everyone can remember something this simple, we could save some folks.

Seriously..

Please read:

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) she said she 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 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 and SPEAK A SIMPLE SENTENCE (Coherently) (e.g. It is sunny out today)

R * Ask him or her to RAISE BOTH ARMS.

If he or she has trouble with ANY ONE of these tasks, call emergency number immediately and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher.

New Sign of a Stroke -------- Stick out Your Tongue

NOTE: Another 'sign' of a stroke is this: Ask the person to
stick out his tongue.. If the tongue is 'crooked', if it goes to one side or the other, that is also an indication of a stroke.

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.

I did my part. Will you?

...'Appreciate that Doug. I dragged this onto a "Word" document and saved it as a "pdf" for easy forwarding. I have a friend (one of my Stang drivers) who was recently saved!

Thanks!

That`s great information Doug! Thanks!

...Here's a transferrable file of Doug's info...

Thanks Doug & Tim. I made a copy to post on our bulletin board here @ the airport.

Neil

Sent my share out to friends and family.

Thanks

Great information, as a emergency medicine physician assistant I all too often hear that mom/dad started "acting funny" 5 or 6 hours ago or last night. It is true that if the patient is seen/diagnosed within that 3 hour window there is a CHANCE that the symptoms can be improved or reversed. The treatment is risky and does not always result in complete reversal of the symptoms but in the right patient and the right situation most folks would elect to take the chance of at least some improvement. Regardless this information is vital to get out to as many people as you can because it could definitely save yours or someone's life.

Bring in the witness who last saw the victim "normal". 3 hours within the onset of symptoms to verify the type of stroke, hemorrhagic or fibrinolytic per CT/MRI, bleeds are pretty much "you're done", but clot busters such as tPA/alteplase can be life saving & reverse effect of a throbus related stroke. Risks are incredibly high, and certain guidlines must be met (ie no warfarin, heart attacks, CPR recently, etc). But it is ESSENTIAL to have loved ones checked out in a timely manner. You'd rather be embarrased than dead or debilatated.

Says the NIHSS certified stroke ER RN

Sent this out to a few of the Supt's that work for me and one took it to their monthly crew meeting and presented it to the whole crew. We recently had an employee have a stroke, has not fully recovered yet. Great info and they appreciated it, thanks again.

Cory