Scary Knit Night

We had an incident a couple of weeks ago at Knit Night that was a wake up call to renew my CPR/First Aid skills. One of the ladies came in more than a little disoriented and we were afraid that she was having a stroke. I remembered some of the things to do to 'test' and see if it's a stroke. I got her to smile-both sides of her mouth were level, she repeated phrases with no slurring or forgotten words, no signs of muscle weakness or 'drooping' in her face. I had seen TIA's many times with an elderly grandparent and I was sure it was something like that. We decided that calling 911  wasn't needed, but we did call her husband who came and took her to the Emergency Room. Many test later, they determined that it wasn't a TIA, but some sort of a stress-related lapse and she is A-OK but she doesn't remember anything that happened during the incident.

It really scared ALL of us and reminded me that it has been several years since I renewed my CPR/First Aid training. I think the last time I did it was the year they rolled out the 'not breathing/only chest compressions to the beat of 'Staying Alive' by the Bee Gees. I'm signing up the next time the Red Cross offers it at my work later this spring. You just never know...

I was surprised that I had the presence of mind to remember some things about strokes. You don't have to take a First Aid class to remember these two bits of information.

If you’re with someone and you notice a sudden change in appearance or behavior, make sure it’s not a stroke. Ask them to do these three simple things:

1. Smile - Is it the smile you know and love? Or is one corner of the mouth drooping down?
2. Close your eyes and raise your arms - Are the arms held high together, or is one drifting back down to the side?
3. Repeat a simple phrase - Why not make it funny? If the person is fine, you can laugh about it later. Try “If at first you don't succeed, skydiving is not for you.” Listen for slurred words and unusual sounding speech. 

The American Stroke Association developed another easy-to-remember way to spot a stroke. It's called F.A.S.T. Here's how it helps you identify a stroke in yourself or another person. :

F – Face drooping. Is one side of the person’s face drooping or numb? When he or she smiles, is the smile uneven?
A – Arm weakness. Is the person experiencing weakness or numbness in one arm? Have the person raise both arms. Does one of the arms drift downward?
S – Speech difficulty. Is the person’s speech suddenly slurred or hard to understand? Is he or she unable to speak? Ask the person to repeat a simple sentence. Can he or she repeat it back?
T – Time to call 9-1-1. If any of these symptoms are present, dial 9-1-1 immediately. Check the time so you can report when the symptoms began.

I lifted this highlighted verbiage directly from the interwebs...but they are trying to spread this info so I don't think I'm in a lot of trouble. No more than usual anyway.  I hope you never need it, but if you do, I hope it turns out at well as our incident did! It ended up to be just a reminder to be informed and trained in case someone needs you in an emergency!