SPEECHES
Stroke Safe for Life 
by Edith
I am from a family that suffers from hypertension and high cholesterol. The cause for my father’s death was a stroke in 1978 when he was 64 years old. In year 2000, my elder brother who was just 60 had a stroke and passed away in less than 8 hours. My mother passed away in year 2002, again, a sudden stroke took her life away. My younger brother had survived from a stroke in year 2001. He was taking a business trip to Thailand and he almost lost his life there. Luckily, he is still alive but his left hand and leg were affected. Thank God now he can walk around with a stick but his left hand and leg are still not fully recovered.
Any second counts for stroke or heart attack sufferer! Do you know the indications of a stroke? I am now giving you valuable tips on recognizing a stroke: It was sent to me by a nurse, whose husband is a medical doctor. I have never heard about this advice before and did not have a clue. Perhaps you haven’t either and would like to file it away in the back of your head. 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 any bystander can recognize a stroke by asking 3 simple questions. This might be a lifesaver if you can remember these 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.
If he or she has trouble with any of these tasks, call 000 immediately and describe the symptoms to the ambulance personnel. This useful information can help the ambulance medical staff to alert the urgency of the patient as every second counts on saving life. It would be helpful if everyone knows the technique to identify facial weakness, arm weakness and speech problems. Doctors urge the general public to learn the 3 simple questions to save lives!
I have seen the Stoke Safe for Life advertisement on T.V. to alert viewer to recognize the sign of a stroke. Widespread use of this test could result in prompt diagnosis and treatment of the stroke to prevent brain damage.
Do you know How to Survive a Heart Attack Alone
Let’s make up a situation. It’s 6 p.m. in the evening and you are driving home alone, after an unusually hard day on the job. You are really tired, upset and frustrated. Suddenly, you start experiencing severe pain in your chest that starts to radiate out into your arm and up into your jaw. You are only about five miles from the hospital nearest your home. Unfortunately you don’t know if you will be able to make it that far. What can you do? You have been trained in CPR but the guy that taught the course neglected to tell you how to perform it on yourself. Since many people are alone when they suffer a heart attack, what can you do and how can you safe your own life in this situation?
As we all know, every second counts in surviving a stroke or heart attack. Without help, the person whose heart stops beating properly and who begins to feel faint, has only about 10 seconds left before losing consciousness. However, this person can help himself or herself by coughing repeated about every 2 seconds without let up, until help arrives or until the heart is felt to be beating normally again.
Deep breaths get oxygen into the lungs and coughing movements squeeze the heart and keep the blood circulating. The squeezing pressure on the heart also helps it to regain normal rhythm. In this way, heart attack victims can get to a hospital.
Remember, the person you save may be yourself, your love one or your friends. Let’s hope it never happens around you but if it does, will you remember the 3 simple questions to recognize a stroke or the 2 simple quick actions to take when suffering a heart attack alone?
Every second counts on saving life!