A word about STROKES

Since I wrote and published my first novel in 2005, I have heard about many women young and old who have suffered a Stroke. Each time I've listened to stories of what has happened to these women, my mind goes directly to my novel, "STROKE OF LOVE".


Have you read it? It's a story about a mid-aged woman, a farm woman to be exact who suffers a severe stroke one morning while doing the thing she loves the most, which in her case is baking. At first it is not known if she will even survive the stroke. Her husband of many years fears that she may not survive it, and her grown daughter, a nurse, who lives hundreds of miles away, rushes home to be with her parents, not knowing if she will ever see her mother alive or not.


If you'd like to read the book, it is available on Amazon.com
"SROKE OF LOVE"
ISBN-10:1413758622
ISBN-13:1413758627

When I wrote this story, I did so using knowledge I had acquired during my nursing years. I based Millie's experience on cases I'd worked on over the years.
What scares me now, is just how little has changed over the years in respect to this disease.
I haven't nursed in years, and still this killer is striking men and women of all ages, all over the globe.

The latest story I heard is of a young woman under 50 yrs old. She just dropped, and even with the life saving drug that can be given early after the stroke, she is now struggling for her life. If she lives, she will have no speech, she will be paralyzed, and have months of months of rehabilitaion to regain some, if any normal body function... just like Millie....

Life becomes fiction then becomes life.... over and over again.

My mother in law, whom I've written about here before, suffered a stroke a little over a year ago, and I personally think she may have had a few smaller ones prior to the big one. The last stroke altered her and her daughters lives forever.

Do you know the signs of stroke? If someone beside you was having a stroke, would you recognize it as such? It can be as illusive as a feeling of confusion, and as evident as a total collapse. Perhaps it would be to all our benefits to learn more about this disease that despite medical technology, continues to be on the rise.

Here is a helpful little email that I received a while ago. One of those chain emails that we tend to want to delete before we read it.

Doctors say a bystander can recognize a stroke by asking three simple questions:
Using the first 3 letters of the word STROKE:

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

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

Simple steps that could save a life, or more.