Love Your Brain...

We just returned from a state-wide convention for speech-language pathologists. At our convention, the keynote speaker was a woman (a neuroanatomist) who experienced a massive stroke in her mid-thirties. Did you read that? Mid-thirties. Not seventy, not eighty. This woman was young, healthy, and in the prime of her career. Not a person you would expect to have a stroke, right?

She lost her ability to talk, walk, and basically participate in life. It took her multiple years to fully recover, but she did (thanks to many therapies - including speech!). The reason I'm sharing all of this is because so many people have little awareness what the signs of a stroke are (don't tell me if you're one of them!). Now, put down whatever you are doing and pay attention.

Dr. Bolte-Taylor shares this acronym to remind people the signs of a stroke:

STROKE
S - speech or language problems
T - tingling or numbness in your body
R - remember/problems with memory
O - off balance/problems with coordination
K - killer headache
E - eyes/problems with vision

Another way we learned in grad school to be aware of a stroke was to do three things:

1. Raise your arms.
2. Smile.
3. Say "No ifs, ands, or buts." (Or anything really)

A stroke is a BRAIN ATTACK! Just like a Heart Attack --> if you have trouble with any of those, you need to call for help.

Strokes can happen to anyone at any time. Be aware of the signs! Now, go love your brain :-)

Hi Marissa! (thanks for writing this, and Lyla does have skillz!)
Hi Crystal! (thanks for coming!)
Hi Amanda! (thanks for rounding the crew up!)
Hi Autumn! (thanks for wearing red heels and making us dress up!)
Hi Jen, Jen, Erin (and Kasey!) -- (thanks for Cyclones and spandex rompers!)
Hi Jaci! -- (have that baby and come next time!)