Most of you know that my first job was in the hospital setting. I loved those patients. Each day was different and each patient presented with different struggles, even if they had the same diagnosis. A large majority of the patients I worked with were stroke survivors. I just returned from a state-wide convention for speech-language pathologists. At our convention, the keynote speaker was a woman (a neuroanatomist) who experienced a massive stroke in her mid-thirties. Did you read that? Mid-thirties. Not seventy, not eighty. This woman was young, healthy, and in the prime of her career. Not a person you would expect to have a stroke, right? She lost her ability to talk, walk, and basically participate in life. It took her multiple years to fully recover, but she did. The reason I'm sharing all of this is because so many people have little awareness what the signs of a stroke are (don't tell me if you're one of them!). Now, put down whatever you are doing and pay attention.
Dr. Bolte-Taylor shares this acronym to remind people the signs of a stroke:
STROKE
S - speech or language problems
T - tingling or numbness in your body
R - remember/problems with memory
O - off balance/problems with coordination
K - killer headache
E - eyes/problems with vision
Another way we learned in grad school to be aware of a stroke was to do three things:
1. Raise your arms.
2. Smile.
3. Say "No ifs, ands, or buts." (Or anything really)
If you have trouble with any of those, you need to call for help.
Strokes can happen to anyone at any time. Be aware of the signs! Now, go love your brain :-)
P.S. Can you believe I went an entire post without mentioning how fabulous Lyla is?! I know, I'm so proud of myself. Even though she is incredibly fabulous.
Dr. Bolte-Taylor shares this acronym to remind people the signs of a stroke:
STROKE
S - speech or language problems
T - tingling or numbness in your body
R - remember/problems with memory
O - off balance/problems with coordination
K - killer headache
E - eyes/problems with vision
Another way we learned in grad school to be aware of a stroke was to do three things:
1. Raise your arms.
2. Smile.
3. Say "No ifs, ands, or buts." (Or anything really)
If you have trouble with any of those, you need to call for help.
Strokes can happen to anyone at any time. Be aware of the signs! Now, go love your brain :-)
P.S. Can you believe I went an entire post without mentioning how fabulous Lyla is?! I know, I'm so proud of myself. Even though she is incredibly fabulous.
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