Friends for Life

I'm about to go visit my best friend, Sara Beth, at the hospital. As many of you probably already know, Sara Beth Stockton was diagnosed with having a mini stroke due to a blocked artery over Easter weekend. While I was away this week she had another mini stroke. Luckily, she made it to the ER in Jackson in enough time for them to shuttle her via ambulance to her doctor at the Baptist Hospital in Memphis. It turns out that the medicine called Plavix that she has been on to thin out her blood stopped working and therefore was depriving her brain of oxygen. She is my best friend since childhood (26 years!) and this has been so stressful for me, watching her patiently try to figure out what's going on. In the meantime, she's been hooked up to an IV in which they're going to take her off of today in order to see how this new strong dosage of blood thinner works. If she stays level, then the doctors just said that they will let her go home tomorrow. Yea! Please continue to pray for Sara Beth, her family, and her doctors during this difficult time.

Also, please read and learn from this e-mail forward that I received the day Sara Beth had her second mini stroke...

A neurologist says that if he can get to a stroke victim within 3 hours he can totally reverse the effects of a stroke...totally. He said the trick was getting a stroke recognized, diagnosed, and then getting the patient medically cared for within 3 hours, which is tough.

RECOGNIZING A STROKE
Thank God for the sense to remember the "3" steps, STR.
Sometimes symptoms of a stroke are difficult to identify. Unfortunately, the lack of awareness spells disaster. The stroke victim may suffer severe brain damage when people nearby fail to recognize the symptoms of a stroke.
Now doctors say a bystander can recognize a stroke by asking three simple questions:

S *Ask the individual to SMILE.
T *Ask the person to TALK...
to SPEAK A SIMPLE SENTENCE (Coherently)(i.e... It is sunny out today)
R *Ask him or her to RAISE BOTH ARMS.

NOTE: Another 'sign' of a stroke is this: Ask the person to 'stick' out their tongue! ... if the tongue is 'crooked', if it goes to one side or the other that is also an indication of a stroke - Also give the individual 2 Aspirins as they will help to thin out there blood...

If he or she has trouble with ANY ONE of these tasks, call 9-1-1 immediately and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher.