RECOGNIZING A STROKE: S,T,R,Tongue

This was a story emailed to me (Georgie Campbell) by my cousin about someone she knew, and I felt it important enough to share with all our members.

During a BBQ, a friend stumbled and took a little fall. She assured everyone that she was fine. They offered to call paramedics, but she declined. She said she just tripped over a brick because of her new shoes. They got her cleaned up and she went about enjoying herself the rest of the evening. Later, her husband called telling everyone that she had been taken to the hospital, and at 6 p.m., she passed away. She had a stroke at the BBQ! Had anyone at the BBQ known how to identify a stroke, perhaps she would have survived.

Neurologists say that if they can get to a stroke victim within 3 hours they can reverse the effects of a stroke…totally. The trick is getting a stroke recognized, diagnosed, and then getting the patient medically cared for within 3 hours, which is tough.

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.

Ask these 4 simple questions to a potential stroke victim:

S* Ask the individual to SMILE. Look for a symmetrical smile.

T* Ask the person to TALK and SPEAK A SIMPLE SENTENCE- must be coherent and a complete sentence with no slurred speech; for example, “It is sunny out today”.

R* Ask the person to RAISE BOTH ARMS. The arms should be relatively the same height.

TONGUE* is a new sign of a stroke. STICK OUT YOUR TONGUE STRAIGHT OUT. If the tongue is crooked, goes to one side or the other, that is also an indication of a stroke.

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

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UWC Member Mieko Akima, Outfitted in NASA Astronaut Gear at the Kennedy Space Center

UWC Member Mieko Akima

In January of 2009, Mieko Akima attended one of NASA’s 50 year anniversary celebrations at the Kennedy Space Center.  Mieko’s late husband, Dr. Hiroshi Akima, was a researcher for the National Bureau of Standards (renamed NIST), and was invited by the government to the United States 50 years ago to continue his research here.  Last year, he was invited (posthumously) to the prestigious NASA anniversary event, and Mieko represented her husband.  For 2010, NASA will continue to celebrate 50 years of scientific and technological excellence in the field of space exploration.

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Ghost Road Press of Denver has recently released board member Kathy Randall’s daughter Jessy Randall’s young adult fiction book The Wandora Unit.  Jessy’s poetry collection, A Day in Boyland was a finalist for the Colorado Book Award for Poetry in 2007. 

Her books are available at the Boulder Library and Amazon.

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