STROKE:  Remember The 1st Three  Letters...S.T.R.   
             
                              STROKE  IDENTIFICATION:  
During  a BBQ, a friend stumbled and took a little fall - she assured  everyone that she was fine (they offered to call paramedics) and  that she had just tripped over a brick because of her new  shoes. They got her cleaned up and got her a new plate of  food.  While she appeared a bit shaken up, Ingrid went about  enjoying herself the rest of the evening. Ingrid's husband called later telling  everyone that his wife had been taken to the hospital - (at 6:00  pm, Ingrid passed away.) She had suffered a stroke at the BBQ. Had  they known how to identify the signs of a stroke, perhaps Ingrid  would be with us today. Some don't die. They end up in a helpless,  hopeless condition instead.  
  It  only takes a minute to read this...
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 . Read and  Learn!  
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.     If  he or she has trouble with ANY ONE of these tasks, call 911  immediately !! and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher.  

A  cardiologist says if everyone who gets this e-mail sends it  to 10 people;  you can bet that at least one life will  be saved.