FAST

kaiser715

kaiser715

Doing hard time
Joined
Jun 1, 2006
Location
7, Pocket, NC
No, not your internet speed.

My PSA for the day:

F.A.S.T. -- the acronym you need to remember if you suspect a stroke.

My mother in law has had two strokes. The last, three years ago, put her in a skilled care facility. She could be there just another year, or 10 or 15 years.

My wife had an incident in March. Not sure if it was a stroke or not. CAT scan and MRI showed no damages, but she had the signs.

A good friend spent yesterday and today in the hospital. Stroke, some damage showed up on the MRI. Right side control and weakness issues may go away, may not.

If you or someone you are with, young or old shows any signs, remember FAST:

F -- face (one side droops or is numb)
A -- arm (one arm weak or numb)
S -- speech (difficulty, slurred, hard to understand)
T -- time to call 911

https://www.heart.org/idc/groups/heart-public/@wcm/@fdr/documents/downloadable/ucm_467905.pdf

It's doesn't happen to just old folks. We have friends that run a stroke support group, and have been to some meetings. You would be surprised at the number of 1) under 40's that have had a stroke and 2) the number or stroke victims whose spouse or family waited hours or days before seeking medical help when the above symptoms were present.
 
Back when I lived in Charlotte, 1 evening my neighbor lady called my phone. They knew I was a Fireman, but it Still surprised me! Her husband wasn't acting right. They were both around 62. I asked If she had called 911; she hadn't, so I told her to Call, while I hustled over next door. John was sitting in a chair, kind of in a stupor, & wasn't speaking. Within 3-4 minutes we heard Medic coming. I told her to grab all his medications, as I'd been through similar with my Dad. {hospital info}. He had a blood clot from a previous operation. Sadly, he didn't make it.
 
The first hour or two is absolutely critical for the later outcome, depending on the root cause. Do not screw around. Getting the right treatment early can make the diference between a few days vs months to years of therapy/recovery time.
 
Not being a smart ass. We are trying to figure out Tanker with the left arm gone,scar tissues all over,TBM. His migraines make him sound like a drunk. Now he's started shaking,not bad yet. Doctors say when his left arm is numb and drooping. What if he has no left arm? Then its well we dont know. Not looking for sympathy just seeing if any body has had something like it. Trying to learn to keep oll grumpy around longer.
 
FAST is a great tool. But I will say seek emergency medical care immediately for ANY sudden new onset neurological problems. Stumbling when you walk? Tripping over minor things? Call 911. Having trouble finding words? Call 911. Dropping things? Call 911. Eyes don’t seem to be working right? Call 911.

It is not just the massive strokes with the classical symptoms that can be life altering. Minor strokes can create problems for the rest of your life that will be life altering. The windows for treatment are narrow, time is of the utmost importance. Depending on where you go it can be as little as 3 hours, 4.5 hours, some times longer or shorter. It all depends on which version of the flow sheet they follow and co-morbities you or your loved one have How long will it take to get an Ambulance to you? How long will it take to get to the emergency room? How long will it take to have a CT performed?

Thinking of driving yourself or your family member to the hospital? Think hard about doing that. We can get an IV started enroute to the ED saving m minutes. We can activate the stroke team saving (10’s) minutes. We can run emergency traffic legally and safely saving (10’s) minutes. We will skip the entire triage process saving (10’s) of minutes. We also perform a 12-lead ECG looking for a heart attack, which is a semi-common co-occurrence.

We paramedics and EMTs are health care professionals. We see these things on a monthly if not weekly basis. We know what to look for. Do not be afraid to call us. Just because we arrive does not mean you have to go with us. And in most of, if not all places it does not cost you a dime to have EMS arrive.

Source. I cared for 3 people today who had strokes. 2 of which waited way too damn long to seek treatment and will live will speech, memory, and dominate hand deficits. (Just realized I spelled that wrong in all of my reports).

Now my opinion, not to be taken as advice. Seek out your health care professional to see how you should care for you and your family: Go to a comprehensive stroke facility for a CVA. They are better equipped, have the staff on site, and deal with this day in and day out. But do not place excessive delays doing so.

Take your health SERIOUSLY. I hear the phrase WAY TO F***ING OFTEN, “I thought I could just tough it out.” These things can kill you. And (in my opinion) even worse they can leave you so debilitated that you will never do the things you love again and will require full time care in some way or another. Do not ignore your body. DO NOT wait. Seek care. For the love of god seek care.
 
Futbalfantic said:
Stumbling when you walk? Tripping over minor things? Call 911. Having trouble finding words? Call 911. Dropping things? Call 911. Eyes don’t seem to be working right? Call 911
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You whippersnappers have no idea what its like to get old!
 
I have a friend that has had three strokes and never had the typical signs. He is very fortunate as he has not had too many lasting issues. If you didn't know him you couldn't tell he has had a stroke.


I learned that you can have a stroke and show no signs of a stroke..
 
kaiser715 said:
Yeah....I would have already called 911 four times today by that standard.

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Same, I was thinking oh call 911 because it's morning?

All kidding aside, thanks for the reminder and the info.
 
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