About eight weeks ago, my sister, Diane, and my mom were watching television. All of a sudden, my mom’s speech became slurred. My sister looked over and Mom’s face was drooping on one side. She immediately knew Mom was having a stroke.
Luckily Diane’s company, RoyOMartin in Alexandria, La., is a major supporter of preventive health care. Earlier this year, employees created a video highlighting the signs of a stroke using the acronym F.A.S.T.
F.A.S.T. stands for the three major signs of a stroke – facial drooping, arm weakness, speech difficulties and, last but most importantly, time.
Diane said when she saw Mom’s difficulty in speaking, the video flashed through her mind. She immediately got Mom to a nearby emergency room.
In less than five minutes, Mom was receiving the proper medical treatment. Luckily, she only had a TIA, commonly called a mini-stroke; and because of my sister’s quick thinking and knowledge about what to do in case of a stroke, Mom went home the next day.
Six weeks later, Mom suffered a stroke and, once again, because my brother, Joey, and his wife knew what to look for, Mom was immediately taken to the hospital with a mild stroke and received the right care.
Two weeks after the stroke, she was dismissed from the rehabilitation center and threatening to start driving again.
While we’re all relieved about Mom’s amazing recovery, we know that knowledge and quick thinking are the two paths that probably saved her life.
So often we brush off minor aches and pains when we’re younger, thinking we’re made of steel and nothing can keep us down. That’s true to an extent – the young human body is capable of amazing regenerative capability.
When we hit our 40s, that regeneration takes a bit longer, but we still think we’re somewhat invincible.
But we become a little more careful, pass on that extra scoop of vanilla ice cream and promise ourselves we’re going to start exercising and eating better.
But past 50, it’s time to take things a little more seriously. After 60, we’d better be paying attention to all that advice because we’re not Superman or Wonder Woman any more. But accepting our mortality is a little harder.
I went to dinner with friends not too long ago, and the conversation turned to bone density. Two friends’ mothers had problems with brittle bones, so my friends all had their calcium levels checked.
For 10 minutes, the conversation revolved around bone density levels, medications they were taking and upcoming diagnostic tests.
Finally, I’d heard enough.
“We sound like a bunch of old people,” I said. “When we were young, we used to make fun of people who got together and only talked about their aches and pains. Now listen to us – we’ve turned into them.”
They laughed and agreed. We were quiet for a minute, and then one said “So what’s your LDL levels?”
Sigh.
We can’t avoid getting older, so the least we can do is be knowledgeable about what to do when the unexpected happens.
Education is key to living a healthy, long life, and I credit my siblings with knowing what to look for and what to do for Mom when an emergency came up.
They acted immediately and with knowledge to get the proper medical care for Mom, and that’s the reason she’s up, moving around and resuming her daily activities.
I’m glad my siblings knew what to do in an emergency because the life they saved was our mother’s. Learn the facts because the life you save may be your own.
This column was originally published in The Fort Bend Herald.