Friday I took the day off. I had a scheduled appointment for the weekend, the office was covered and we hadn't seen our friends since before Christmas. We generally get together with this couple for lunch and cards once a month. So ... we had lunch and then we started our first card game. Lunch had gone perfectly well. We generally play a game or two and then have dessert. Yesterday did NOT go as planned.
The first sign of trouble was that one of our friends who normally plays VERY well wasn't playing up to his usual level. That alone, while a little odd did not set off any alarms. Then he had a little trouble counting. His wife commented that she was going to make him a doctor appointment on Monday. After just minutes more he began to speak in a gibberish language, but you could tell from his look that he did not realize he was NOT saying actual words. That's when the three of us, (my Donald, his wife and I) all jumped to our feet and sprung into action. Donald took off with them in their car to drive straight to the ER. I did things like... make sure the stove was off, turn off lights, television, take the puppies out (about 5 minutes worth of "before you leave home" things) before I headed to the ER in our car.
At some point and I'm not really sure the exact moment it kicked in I recalled seeing some television show where a person had began speaking in the exact same manner and it was a stroke. And after a scan at the hospital that's exactly what we were told. My friend had a TIA (Transient Ischemic Attack) also called a mini stroke. This is usually a warning sign of a larger stroke. 40% of patients have that larger stroke within 48 hours.
My friend is still in the hospital and they are still running tests. I'm prayerful that everything was caught in time and he is getting the help, tests & medical care he needs. He was transferred to a larger hospital for these further tests. My point of this post is to make sure you also know of symptoms. Do you know your or your family member's risk factors?
I hope that you will take a moment to know these warning signs, risk factors and also realize from the website that you or someone can have one of these TIAs and be better in just a few moments, like it never happened, but that DOES NOT mean everything is okay. Call 911 or go immediately to the Emergency Room. It could just save a life. You also never know when it could happen to a client or customer you are working with or a co-worker. Be aware.
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