Have you ever witnessed what a stroke looks like firsthand (like my unlucky/lucky British colleagues)?
Over 2400 years ago, the wise ole father of our medical world, Hippocrates, identified stroke (then called apoplexy) as the sudden onset of paralysis. Nowadays, there are a range of symptoms for such an acquired brain injury, which occurs when the blood supply to part of the brain is suddenly interrupted or a blood vessel bursts, spilling blood into the spaces surrounding the brain cells (visual alert!). Because the brain cells are not receiving oxygen and nutrients from the blood, the brain and its cells consequently start to die. Many people presume they would notice if someone had acquired a brain injury whilst in their company, but the fact remains that I was left to sleep it off for hours in a sickbay at my work party after my first stroke in July 2012 because initially, not one person (and we're talking educated people of all ages and backgrounds here) identified my classic stroke symptoms. In particular, one fierce headache that suddenly popped in and just wouldn't budge, looking pretty dodgy (hard to imagine! Heh - my concerned colleagues took many shots of the stroke inflicted Kitty - they later aptly called it their Stroke Diary. Always love a photo opportunity - even when it entails experiencing a severe brain injury!), an inability to do the most simple requests (i.e.: be merry, have a few drinks and party/after-party/after-after-party with my darling British colleagues at our highly anticipated end of school year celebrations) and a strong, unyielding desire to sleep early in the evening, despite the cause for (six-week holiday) celebrations (however, due to awareness and education, immediate medical help was administered post Stroke #2 in October 2012. Such prompt treatment undoubtedly saved my life. Boom!).
Being an Aussie Battler, I shall not dwell on our ignorance, only learn from and raise awareness about strokes (also known as Cerebrovascular Accidents - CBA) and be grateful that (for your sake, of course) this Special K is still kicking. If my colleagues and I were stroke smart in mid-2012, the vast range of effects (that are still lingering - some may just be permanent - time will soon tell) from Stroke #1 may not have been as severe as they were/are. Our lack of awareness has now made me feel quite passionate about spreading the word about acquired brain injuries and their symptoms, as well as reducing our risks.
Signs of Stroke
*Difficulty in communication (simple language comprehension and its formulation through slurring of words ala Serene Branson's piece below) and swallowing - known as aphasia
*Memory loss and general cognition deficits
*Vision and perception difficulties (i.e.: seeing flickering spots, sensitivity to light)
*Incontinence
*Sudden and strong desire to sleep
*Loss of vision
*Sudden onset of severe headache
If you are unfamiliar with just how a person who is experiencing a stroke may look and act like as they are acquiring and suffering from significant brain damage (please note: many people think they know, but they actually in fact, have no idea! My educated colleagues are evidence of this), the below link shows a young news reporter (who - undoubtedly - would also get the blokes) providing such intriguing insight when she recently had a stroke whilst in the midst of presenting a news piece live on American television (our strokes surely like to pop in at the most opportune times - such attention seekers! I don't know who they take after. Perhaps my little sister!).
News Reporter Has A Stroke Live On Air
Despite every stroke being unique, there can be similarities between symptoms
Like Serene's own experience (shown via link, above) in 2011, I too had a sudden onset of one incredibly intense headache, difficulty with balance and trouble effectively forming words as well as effectively expressing my thoughts (through verbal and non-verbal communication) - I just felt strange (yep, similar to that heatstroke strange feeling you may have experienced firsthand - perhaps not the best comparison for my sun-deficient English counterparts to use, but sun-loving Australians would surely know that out of body 'eerie' sensation). Furthermore, a former Kitty manfriend's sister also showed typical stroke symptoms (that could have so easily been *and was* regarded/dismissed as an 'inebriated state') when she acquired such a nasty brain injury a few years ago (that required immediate life-saving brain surgery - she's one phenomenal stroke survivor. Thank goodness for the people in her company immediately recognising her classic stroke symptoms and Acting FAST).
Can you imagine trying to seek help when you can't effectively communicate because a concerning amount of your brain cells are dying every single second?
Luckily for Serene Branson (stroke smart people watching her broadcast identified her behaviour as symptoms of a stroke and so did others on the scene due to their own direct dealings with strokes and awareness of such brain injuries), as well as a fellow young stroke survivor that I know personally, my little Mother Duck (a stroke whilst pregnant with my older sibling, nonetheless - the pregnancy aspect makes her stroke not connected to mine whatsoever. We blame my father's genetics for my brain woes, naturally) and myself (to name just a few), medical assistance was administered promptly and we are now proud to be stroke survivors, fighting on, damaged brain and all.
It may seem a tad crazy to you to be grateful to merely be alive when my life and its quality has suffered greatly as a result, but like fellow stroke sufferer Charles Dickens once said -
"Suffering has been stronger than all other teaching and has taught me to understand what your heart used to be. I have been bent and broken, but - I hope - into better shape."
(CD *it'll catch on* may have written many more than the tales of 'just' two cities *pun intended* if his own stroke occurred in the 21st Century, as with early detection and swift medical treatment, Dickens would have been more likely to survive post acquiring brain damage, which unfortunately and ultimately claimed his life at just 58 years old).
Too right, Mr D.
This Special K definitely will.
After a stroke attacks, why is time of the essence?
A stroke occurs when a vessel that carries blood around the brain is blocked, ruptured and/or inflamed (the latter for this Special K), causing a loss of function in the affected tissues (reflected in a person's actions, abilities, thoughts and/or appearance). There are two types of stroke - Haemorrhagic Stroke (bleed in the brain) and Ischemic Stroke (block in the brain - 80% of all strokes). There are also mini-strokes (...and not 'mini' as in 'cute' like a Mini Cooper) known as Transient Ischaemic Attacks (TIA) which show the same signs as a stroke and can last from a few minutes to days, but generally go away within a few days.
The Stroke Foundation states that about 20% of people who have a TIA will have a major stroke within the next 3 months.
Time is Brain emphasises the urgency - in first - promptly recognising such a brain attack that rapidly loses human nervous tissue as it progresses, its urgent need for emergency assistance, evaluation and therapy in reducing brain damage (for you and/or someone in your company), as well as the vast range of debilitating (at times, fatal) effects caused by acquired brain injuries (strokes are the leading cause of disability among adults and top 5 leading cause of death).
After a stroke occurs, a typical person loses 1.9 million neurons each minute that's past before seeking medical help.
Due to recent advances in quantitative neurostereology as well as stroke neuroimaging, the pros are now able to calculate the amount of brain that is lost for each minute that goes by without medical treatment (i.e.: blood thinners like aspirin to restore blood flow, thrombolytic drugs to dissolve blood clots, tubes to help breathe, brain surgery - hemicraniectomy in particular - to reduce brain swelling) for an acute ischemic stroke. One of the biggest challenges is that aforementioned drugs have to be given within four and a half hours of acquiring a brain injury (luckily I didn't need this drug because 4.5 hours definitely went by post Stroke #1 before medical intervention and medical intervention that was administered within minutes of Stroke #2 was not appropriate for what was happening to my brain :() and some people will die as a result of these drugs (the benefits outweigh the fatalities, but you still have to sign a confronting waiver acknowleding the risk of death before they are administered - unique times for a 26 year old!). If a stroke was caused by bleeding in the brain, immediate surgery is required to repair the broken blood vessel and remove excess blood pooled in the brain (this would not only be giving you a nasty visual of what a stroke looks like from the inside, but you would also be realising the vast range of strokes out there).
Time Lost Is Brain Lost
So what does that loss of neurons value mean?
"We found that on average, the human brain has 86 billion neurons. And not one (of the brains) that we looked at so far has reached the 100 billion (neuron count). Even though it may sound like a small difference, the 14 billion neurons amount to pretty much the number of neurons that a baboon brain has or almost half the number of neurons in the gorilla brain. So that's a pretty large difference actually."
- Brazilian researcher Dr Suzana Herculano-Houze
Kitty Stroke #1 and #2 Net Neurons Lost = Billions of Neurons
(at least a baboon's worth! Hence why I no longer feel like Homer Simpson
(at least a baboon's worth! Hence why I no longer feel like Homer Simpson
*Lisa did say he's a baboon after all!*)
Kitty hanging with her lost baboon neurons.
My goodness, I have missed you cuties (evidently)!
Think of your brain as a room full of inflated balloons (which are the figurative neurons that make up your thinking/being organ) where the moment you have a stroke, the balloons are actively being popped, squashed, obliterated, totally wiped out of your little room (brain). If you let such a 'party' go on for too long before seeking medical help (i.e.: blood thinners), you could have, say, all the green balloons popped, losing your ability to balance and walk. If you have popped 50% of the red balloons, your peripheral vision is wiped (in both eyes) and so is your continence - just for good measure. Start popping the blue balloons and there goes your ability to use language to speak, read and write (this is known as aphasia). Your sacred short term memory animal-shaped spotty balloons are totally obliterated in the midst of this so-called party.
It is not until you seek medical treatment (i.e.: blood thinners, emergent evaluation and therapy to minimise complications and thus, brain damage) that the 'balloon popping party' is over and the alarming rate at which one loses human nervous tissue after a stroke, concludes.
Time Is Brain.
Letting the 'popping party' continue in your brain without medical intervention, will mean neurons will continue to die and you could very well die and/or have a permanent disability (statistics show that many stroke survivors, upon reflection of their acquired disabilities, would have preferred to die from their strokes. It doesn't have to be that way).
If you notice someone (or even yourself - some people, brain willing, diagnose their own strokes) displaying the below stroke signs, do the tests and swiftly seek medical help.
Hold onto those sacred neuron-balloons by identifying signs of strokes
(sometimes known as a brain attack).
(sometimes known as a brain attack).
Shower those neuron-balloons with kisses - they make you, you!
Everyone - even if you think you won't ever experience a stroke personally (one in six of us will indeed have a stroke with approximately 1/4 of stroke survivors having more than one ala Special K) - needs to be aware of the simple signs and Act FAST, for yourself and/or others. Despite losing millions of neurons from my own brain injuries, we don't all have to. The positive to my situation is I now love my surviving neurons more than ever (pretty certain Carly Simon wrote You're so Vain about myself - mystery solved!) and so do my dear Klubbers!
Are you stroke smart?
Do you know the simple, yet effective, FAST Stroke Test?
It is imperative that you become familiar with the easy-to-remember FAST Stroke Test as it is an effective and reliable mnemonic (created by Stroke Foundation) to help detect and enhance responsiveness to stroke victim's needs, after all - time is brain. All strokes are unique to the individual experiencing it and the location/extent of injury (not even renowned neurologists I've met during my journeys knew what to expect of my brain prior to meeting, extensively testing and interacting with myself), but there are indeed similarities (listed throughout this blog). If the FAST (and fast) Stroke Test was promptly performed on myself at my work's end of school year party in July 2012 by any of the numerous people (some even from the medical field) I came into contact with (I, myself, desperately wanted to sleep - it was all I could think of doing, while at a end-of-school-year staff party! - after experiencing an intense headache - a common desire by someone experiencing a stroke, hence the need for stroke smart people to initiate the tests) before medical staff at the hospital eventually took my state seriously hours later (who also initially ignored my obvious symptoms), many neuron-balloons would have been saved (as I would have failed such an otherwise simple, fast test) and my brain damage, with its range of effects and deficits, may not have been as severe as it was/is.
Check out Stroke Heroes Act Fast!
This educational piece (above) is such a goodie! I'll definitely be showing it to students (friends/family/person sitting nearby at a cafe`). Amazing (+ catchy! Even for this brain-damaged memory-lacking soul).
This educational piece (above) is such a goodie! I'll definitely be showing it to students (friends/family/person sitting nearby at a cafe`). Amazing (+ catchy! Even for this brain-damaged memory-lacking soul).
Additionally, there is another lesser known Stroke Test if ever you suspect someone is suffering a stroke -
The Tongue Deviation Test
The Tongue Deviation Test
Stick out your tongue
and do a few tricks for us!
and do a few tricks for us!
If one of your strongest muscles (the tongue…relax - mine is grossly big simply because I 'work out' so much!) leans to one side, it could be an indication of the effects of a stroke.
If you can do the above vertical tongue trick (performed by Jack Attack) with ease (as well as simply poking it out and relaxing the muscle straight), your brain should be in working order!
Boom!
Boom!
Unsurprisingly, most people do not know all of the stroke risk factors (do spread 'em). It pleases me to no end that the supporters in my corner now know such factors, as well as the various FAST stroke signs, tests and catchy songs (as shown above) and what to do in a stroke emergency (someone experiencing a stroke does not need cookies ala 20th Century Seinfeld Stroke Stylin' below). Furthermore, we all now know that sleep is one of the worst actions you could take once the brain injury has occurred (ala Kitty's Stroke #1) as the brain neurons will only continue to obliterate as time goes by without you and the people in your company realising the drastic (and obvious) loss of such because of your unconscious state.
Seinfeld is a TV show about something after all!
Seinfeld's Season Three episode, The Alternate Side, delves into how little we are all educated about strokes.
Elaine is on a date (Kopy Kitty Kat!) when the man she is dating suddenly loses his balance, so she rushes into the nearby home of Jerry with the older bloke who is quickly losing consciousness. Being confused, they wrongly presume he is a diabetic, so try to feed him (the man who is losing consciousness) cookies (to raise his sugar levels) before knowledgeable paramedics eventually arrives (who rightly lecture them on shoving cookies in his mouth).
Unique and educational TV show - not so much 'a show about nothing' afterall!
Let's reduce ignorance by having a little education mixed with humour (and blogs). The enlightening and confronting Seinfeld scene from Season Three seriously hits the nail on the head with our lack of stroke awareness and it's now 20 years old.
When will our stroke intelligence grow?!
Take this stroke quiz to test you own Stroke Intelligence.
Take it from me, it'll get the blokes (and especially all the lovely ladies)!
Brain Damage Lady Luring @ 2012 London Olympics' Celebrations
Exhibit A
Shoreditch, London
July 2012
Even though this photo (above) was taken just over a week post Stroke #1's (& within hours of being discharged from hospital after just one week, which was achieved through passing necessary OT/speechie tests + my insistence and persistence - I still required some assistance by mates in the 'real world' at this point) significant brain damage, wooing these wonderful women with stroke smarts was easy peasy.
You'd never tell just how messed up my brain was/is
(as expected in this superficial-loving world, having brain woes that are not skin deep is a major problem with my current challenges as some fail to understand, grasp and empathise with what has happened + its sheer extent).
Now I'm stroke smart and fortunately have a splendid support network (that unfortunately not all stroke survivors - young and old - can lay claim to), I can start to move forward in my life's chosen paths.
Boom!
Talking to my dear (mental health) Registered Nurse Mother Duck, unfortunately my first stroke was unpreventable (detection could/should have been more swift to avoid losing the vast amount *billions* of neurons which I so obviously did that fateful evening in July 2012) and my second stroke has since been labelled as 'unpreventable'. When I was in London, my life was thriving (dream job + dream location with stimulating friends + regularly travelling overseas on wild adventures) and now, I currently take life as a young person incredibly easy, living with my supportive (sometimes funny) family on the opposite side/end of the world, where I indeed require full-time care (for the time being). Basically, I'm doing the complete opposite to what I had achieved and relished in prior to strokes (I'm Bizarro Jerry stylin' or perhaps I'm just Larry David to a T! Here's hoping - he respects wood), which is indeed a challenging, newfound life for a young, vibrant person with grand plans for their existence.
Never fear - it is not all doom and gloom, as the brain is quite magical with its plastic-like rehabilitation and re-routing abilities, where due to my hard-working youthful brain's improvements and plasticity-stylin' rerouting over the past 18 months (as well as early detection and medical actions post Stroke #2 hitting), I now have been able to regularly volunteer at a supportive primary school since mid-2013 (children truly are the best at deflecting from your own woes! Some - including my lovely students from UK - still give unique handmade get well cards and 'Hello Kitty' well wishes/drawings/art pieces just 'because') where my independence, confidence and once-renowned thirst for life and education of our future is steadily making a grand comeback along with short term memory retention, spatial navigation, RHS vision, productivity, typical Kitty happy-go-lucky emotions, general cognition (<<high levels implied here!) and concentration levels expected of a young lass. Furthermore, my sacred independence (what all 20-something-year-old people crave! I'm still in my 20s right?! I mean, I thought Queen Lizzie II was no longer alive post Stroke #2 - I could now be in my 40s for all I know) is making a welcomed return, where I actively try to focus on what I now can do (still beat everyone else in Trivial Pursuit, for one. Sorry Marky C), setting goals (including ambitious ones - from offering more hours volunteering my spared teaching expertise at a supportive school to now finding my own way home, walking and with taxis - such a grown-up!) and being a positive, ambitious Kitty after a noted two-year absence. Furthermore, the dear, hilarious and supportive Klubbers are more exceptional than I previously gave them credit for (how lucky am I?!).
Never fear - it is not all doom and gloom, as the brain is quite magical with its plastic-like rehabilitation and re-routing abilities, where due to my hard-working youthful brain's improvements and plasticity-stylin' rerouting over the past 18 months (as well as early detection and medical actions post Stroke #2 hitting), I now have been able to regularly volunteer at a supportive primary school since mid-2013 (children truly are the best at deflecting from your own woes! Some - including my lovely students from UK - still give unique handmade get well cards and 'Hello Kitty' well wishes/drawings/art pieces just 'because') where my independence, confidence and once-renowned thirst for life and education of our future is steadily making a grand comeback along with short term memory retention, spatial navigation, RHS vision, productivity, typical Kitty happy-go-lucky emotions, general cognition (<<high levels implied here!) and concentration levels expected of a young lass. Furthermore, my sacred independence (what all 20-something-year-old people crave! I'm still in my 20s right?! I mean, I thought Queen Lizzie II was no longer alive post Stroke #2 - I could now be in my 40s for all I know) is making a welcomed return, where I actively try to focus on what I now can do (still beat everyone else in Trivial Pursuit, for one. Sorry Marky C), setting goals (including ambitious ones - from offering more hours volunteering my spared teaching expertise at a supportive school to now finding my own way home, walking and with taxis - such a grown-up!) and being a positive, ambitious Kitty after a noted two-year absence. Furthermore, the dear, hilarious and supportive Klubbers are more exceptional than I previously gave them credit for (how lucky am I?!).
Thank you for sticking around K-Kats.
You are the Kitty Kat's Meow!
Be Stroke Smart -
Spread The Word About Strokes.
It's Pretty Simple -
Spread The Word About Strokes.
Time is brain. Act FAST.
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