how it feels to have a stroke

ilovecyprus


Joined: 08/05/2007
Posts: 2880

Message Posted:
23/09/2008 23:30

Just reading the book of Jill Bolte Taylor. She is a neuroanatomist who experienced a stroke. It's very interesting to hear how she explains the difference between the right and left brain functions.

Clearly the world would be very different if we emphasised the right brain.



If you want to be inspired then watch her video of her stroke experience. It's amazing.



http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=UyyjU8fzEYU

ajney


Joined: 30/04/2008
Posts: 40

Message Posted:
24/09/2008 00:35

Very powerful

Turbo


Joined: 24/12/2006
Posts: 833

Message Posted:
24/09/2008 01:03

Amazing video, makes you wonder and think,

I had bad anesthesia once and she described exactly what I felt and where i went.

I can relate exactly to what she is describing. brr goosepimple time.

I will pass this on.

Littlenige



Joined: 24/12/2006
Posts: 3594

Message Posted:
24/09/2008 07:59

I found this ages aso posted it on anothe board hope it hels on here.............



This is worth the read. NOT A FUNNY just something useful to keep under your belt!!!



STROKE: Remember These Three Steps



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) 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 evening. Ingrid's husband called later telling everyone that his wife had been taken to the hospital - (at 6:00pm, 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 people 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 in getting a stroke recognized, diagnosed, and then getting the patient medically cared for within 3 hours, which is tough.



RECOGNIZING A STROKE

Remember the "3" steps, “S..T..R..” 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 these three simple questions:



S *Ask the individual to SMILE.

T *Ask the person to TALK, to SPEAK A SIMPLE SENTENCE (Coherently: e.g. 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}

Groucho



Joined: 26/04/2008
Posts: 7993

Message Posted:
24/09/2008 08:10

Nige



So many drunks here would show all these symptoms at once the 112 service would be overwhelmed..



For STR you don't say what the observer would look out for.... so it's not much good...



As for the tongue bit, all dogs should be taken to the vets pronto.



However the Stroke Association advice makes it clearer...



Results from a study funded by The Stroke Association indicate that ambulance paramedics can accurately identify a stroke patient before they arrive in hospital.





It is well known that the sooner a patient is diagnosed and treated after experiencing an acute stroke the better the outcome is likely to be. However, it is often difficult for a non-stroke specialist to recognise and diagnose stroke.



The Face Arm Speech Test (FAST) has been developed as a stroke identification instrument. The test assesses 3 neurological signs of stroke:



facial weakness

arm weakness

speech disturbance



FAST has been incorporated as an integral component of ambulance paramedics training module, and is included in the rapid ambulance protocol.



Funded by The Stroke Association, Professor Gary Ford and others at the University of Newcastle Upon Tyne conducted the first and largest clinical practice study, in which the ability of ambulance paramedics to detect specific neurological signs in acute stroke patients was compared with that of stroke physicians or neurologists. The researchers demonstrated good inter-observer reliability of FAST when used in a routine clinical setting across a large number of paramedic crews. This lends further support for the use of FAST in clinical and research practice.



You will notice that this advice is for medicos NOT bystanders.