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 referred to as the Greek term for stroke/to strike, apoplexy) as the sudden onset of paralysis. Nowadays, there are a range of symptoms for such an acquired brain injury (just ask this Special K!), 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!). Being an avid researcher of stroke (& brains, in general) these days, it basically means the brain cells are not receiving oxygen & nutrients from the blood so the brain and its cells consequently start to die. Many people presume they would notice if another person 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 our end-of-school-year work party after the first stroke in July 2012 because initially, not one person (we're talking tertiary-educated people of all ages + backgrounds here) identified the classic stroke symptoms I was suffering for hours. 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 photos of a stroke-inflicted Kitty - they later aptly called it their 'stroke diary'), an inability to do the most simple requests (i.e.: be merry, have a few drinks and party/after-party/after-after-party with British colleagues at our highly-anticipated end-of-school-year celebrations) & a strong, unyielding desire to sleep early in the evening, despite the cause for (six-week-holiday) celebration (however, due to awareness and education, immediate medical help was administered post Stroke #2 in October 2012. Such prompt treatment - despite it being somewhat inaccurate for what I was actually suffering due to initial virus misdiagnosis - undoubtedly saved my life. Boom!).
Being an Aussie battler, I shall not dwell on the particular ignorance surrounding both 2012 strokes, only learn from and raise awareness about such cruel fires in the brain (also known as cerebrovascular accidents - CBA) & be grateful that this Special K is still kicking. If my colleagues & I (plus even the so-called medical experts once at hospital who ignored my deteriorating state for hours) were more aware/stroke smart in mid-2012, the vast range of harsh effects (that are still lingering - some may just be permanent - time will tell) from Stroke #1 may not have been as severe as they were/still are. Our initial lack of awareness as a whole (of all ages + backgrounds) has now made me feel quite passionate about spreading the word about acquired brain injuries and their symptoms to ensure others act FAST in a stroke emergency as well as ways to proactively try to reduce our risks + highlighting that stroke survivors certainly are still here and are still worthy.
Signs of Stroke
*Difficulty in communication
(simple language comprehension and its formulation through slurring of words ala Serene Branson's piece below)
& 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/suffering from significant brain damage (please note: Many people think they know, but they actually in fact, have no idea! My educated colleagues and even medical staff at both hospitals' emergency ward 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!).
Below: A stroke live in action, do become familiar with the various symptoms one may experience when a stroke strikes -
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 simple balance as well as trouble effectively forming words (a mild form of not being able to find the right words) and also effectively expressing my thoughts (through verbal and non-verbal communication). To be it simply, 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 Australian sorts 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 - & was - dismissed by some as instead an inebriated state) when she acquired such a nasty brain injury a few years ago (that required immediate life-saving brain surgery. Thank goodness for the particular people in her company immediately recognising her classic stroke symptoms & acting FAST).
Can you imagine trying to seek help when you can't effectively communicate because a concerning amount of your brain cells are swiftly dying every single second?
Luckily for Serene Branson (stroke-smart people watching the broadcast identified her behaviour as symptoms of a stroke and so did others at 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 strong Mother Duck (a stroke that struck Mummy whilst pregnant with an older sibling in her 20s, nonetheless - the pregnancy aspect makes the stroke she experienced not connected to mine whatsoever. We blame Daddy Laird's genetics for the brain woes, naturally) and I to some extent (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 (& renowned novelist), 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 tales of 'just' two cities *pun intended* if the stroke that ended his life at 58 years of age instead occurred in the 21st century, as with early detection + swift medical treatment, Dickens would have been more likely to survive post acquiring brain damage).
Too right, Mr D.
This Special K definitely will.
A stroke occurs when a vessel that carries blood around the brain is blocked, ruptured and/or inflamed (the latter for my brain's compromised blood vessels in 2012), 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 (aka bleed in the brain) & 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 tend to show the same signs as a stroke & can last from a few minutes to days, but generally go away within a few days.
Australia's Stroke Foundation states that about 20% of people who have a TIA will have a major stroke within the following three months.
Time is brain emphasises the urgency - in first - promptly recognising such a brain attack that rapidly loses human nervous tissue as it progresses without intervention, 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. Tragically, strokes are THE leading cause of disability among adults + second cause of death only after heart disease.
After a stroke occurs, a typical person loses 1.9 million neuron EACH minute that's past before seeking medical help.
Due to modern advances in quantitative neurostereology as well as stroke neuro-imaging, 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 help restore blood flow, thrombolytic drugs to assist in dissolving blood clots, long, flexible tubes to help remove clots + ones to breathe too, brain surgery - hemicraniectomy, in particular - to try reduce brain swelling) for an acute ischemic stroke. One of the biggest challenges is that aforementioned thrombolytic drugs have to be given within 4.5 hours of acquiring a brain injury (luckily I didn't need this particular drug because 4.5 hours definitely went by post Stroke #1 before medical intervention & while medical help was sought within minutes of Stroke #2, it transpired to be inappropriate/ineffective treatment for what was particularly happening to my tender brain :() & some people will die as a result of these drugs (the benefits outweigh the fatalities, but you still have to sign a confronting waiver acknowledging the bleak risk of death before they're 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 + 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 may 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
Net neurons lost from Stroke #1 & #2
= billions of neurons
(at least a 'baboon's worth'!)
(at least a 'baboon's worth'!)
Kitty hanging with her lost 'baboon neurons'.
Think of your brain as a room full of inflated balloons which are the (figurative) neurons that make up your thinking/being organ. The moment you have a stroke, the balloons are actively (+ hastily) being popped, squashed, obliterated, totally wiped out of your 'little room' (noble organ, the brain). If you let such a 'party' go on for too long before seeking appropriate medical help (i.e.: blood thinners, brain surgery, clot retrieval etc), you could have, say, all the green balloons popped, cruelly losing your ability to balance and walk. If half of the red balloons are popped, your peripheral vision of one side is instantly wiped (totalling 50% in both eyes) and shockingly so is your cherished 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 purple balloons are also totally obliterated in the midst of this so-called party.
It is not until you actively seek appropriate medical treatment (i.e.: blood thinners, emergent evaluation & therapy to minimise complications and thus, brain damage) that the 'balloon-popping party' is finally paused/interrupted and the alarming rate at which one drastically loses human nervous tissue after a stroke, hopefully concludes (but not necessarily forever. The aftermath of surviving a stroke is not a time to be complacent).
Letting the aggressive '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 (confronting 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 a stroke happening to themselves) displaying the below stroke symptoms, do the appropriate tests and swiftly seek medical help, time lost is brain lost.
Hold onto those sacred neuron-balloons by swiftly identifying symptoms 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 should be aware of the simple signs and act FAST, even if you think you will never 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 this Special K and 70% of those who do have more than one will die as a direct result of the brain attack, pretty bloody bleak). Being stroke smart in the likely odds yourself and/or your loved ones (stroke heroes act FAST!) will surely pay off in the long run. Despite losing millions (perhaps even billions!) of neurons from the two blasted brain injuries of 2012, we don't all have to suffer the same tragedy. The positive to my situation is I now adore my surviving neurons more than ever and so do my dear Klubbers!
Are you stroke smart?
Do you know the simple, yet effective, FAST Stroke Test? 
After my own experience including lack of awareness by those witnessing my deteriorating state, it is imperative that we all become familiar with the easy-to-remember FAST stroke test as it is an effective and reliable mnemonic (shared by Stroke Foundation) to help detect + enhance responsiveness to stroke sufferer'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 as a stroke survivor knew what to expect of my particular brain prior to meeting and extensively testing + interacting with myself), but there are indeed similarities (listed throughout this blog). If the FAST (+ 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 specifically from the medical field) I came into contact with (I just 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 quickly initiate the tests to identify any telltale signs) before medical staff at the hospital eventually took my worsening 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 the confronting 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) about stroke symptoms to look out for (in yourself and/or others in your company) is such a goodie! I'll definitely be showing it to students (friends/family/person sitting nearby at a cafe`). A splendid li'l song (+ 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 -
& do a few tricks for us!
If one of your strongest muscles 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 li'l offisder, Jack Attack) with ease (as well as simply poking it out & relaxing the muscle straight), your brain looks to be in working order!
Boom!
Boom!
Unsurprisingly, most people generally 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 symptoms, 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 Stroke #1) as the brain's neurons will only continue to obliterate as time goes by without you and the people in your company realising the drastic (+ otherwise-obvious) loss of such that is continually growing while in your unconscious state.
Above: Seinfeld is a TV show about something after all!
How not to treat someone who may be in the midst of suffering a stroke -
Seinfeld's Season Three episode, The Alternate Side, delved into how little we are all educated about strokes - and it is from last century! Sadly, we still have not progressed in our stroke awareness (just look at the extent the two strokes I suffered were both ignored when time was brain), both as they're happening & their cruel aftermath for those who manage to survive such an aggressive attack of the mind.
In Jerry's least-favourite episode of Seinfeld (because the punchline wasn't on him and his mates, rather on a stroke survivor), Elaine is on a date (kopy Kitty Kat!) when the man she is dating, Owen, 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 Owen is a diabetic, so try to feed him cookies (to help raise his sugar levels) before knowledgeable paramedics eventually arrive (who rightly lecture them on shoving cookies in his mouth).
One unique-and-educational sitcom - not so much 'a show about nothing' after all! While the joke is typically meant to be on the main characters of Seinfeld (& why it was such a hit), in this episode's instance, it is instead on Owen suffering a stroke and later, being a handicapped stroke survivor. Disappointing to see but also eye-opening and shows just how ignorant we are about strokes, then and even still now.
Let's help reduce ignorance by having a little education mixed with humour (and blogs).
The enlightening-&-confronting Seinfeld scene from the third season seriously hits the nail on the head with society's lack of stroke awareness and it's NOW 20 years old.
When will our stroke intelligence grow?!
Take this handy stroke quiz to test your own stroke intelligence.
Take it from me, it'll surely get the blokes (& especially all the ladies)!
Fresh 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 (& 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) with its significant brain damage ever-so-present, wooing 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 just skin deep is a major problem with my current challenges as some fail to accurately understand, grasp & 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 the first stroke was unpreventable (detection could/should have been far more swift to avoid losing the vast amount *billions* of neurons that fateful evening in July 2012) & the second stroke has since been labelled as also 'unpreventable'. When I was in London, my life was absolutely thriving (dream job + dream location with stimulating friends + regularly travelling overseas on wild adventures like is the norm in your 20s) & now, I instead take life as a young person incredibly simple, 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 & gloom, as the human 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 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 masters at deflecting from your own woes! Some - including lovely students from UK - still give unique handmade get-well cards & 'Hello-Kitty' well wishes/drawings/art pieces just 'because') where my independence, confidence and once-renowned thirst for life and education of our future are steadily making a welcomed return along with short-term-memory retention, spatial navigation, RHS vision, productivity, typical Kitty happy-go-lucky emotions, general cognition (<<high levels implied here hah!) 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?!) 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, Klubbers.
You are the Kitty Kat's Meow!
Be stroke smart -
Do spread the word all about strokes.
It's pretty simple -
Do spread the word all about strokes.
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