Act F.A.S.T.

Last Monday was a little foggy. Let me explain.

My wife and I have a morning routine. I get up first, brew the coffee, feed the dogs, fix her coffee and take it to her just the way she likes it. Then I settle into my chair in the bedroom and I read a portion of scripture to her from the BIBLE app that we both have on our phones. We read according to one of the prescribed reading plans that will take us through the entire Bible in a year. It’s a great way to pace yourself to read the Bible in a year; Bess and I have done it several times.

But last Monday was different. My mind is usually crystal clear, but not last Monday. It started out “foggy” and remained that way for much of the day. I told my wife about it but it didn’t seem urgent enough to do anything about it just then. At the end of the day, I called my doctor and explained what I had just told you. They suggested I either go to the ER at the hospital or to an Urgent Care office; I opted for the latter. In describing the symptoms to them, I mentioned the possibility of a TIA (Transient Ischemic Attack). They said, “If that’s what you suspect, you’ll need to go to the ER for a scan”. At that point in time, with no physical symptoms whatsoever, I decided just to go back home and rest.

A Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA), often called a mini-stroke, is a temporary blockage of blood flow to the brain that causes stroke-like symptoms, which usually last for a few minutes to 24 hours. While TIAs do not cause permanent damage, they are often serious warning signs. This whole episode reminded me of when my father-in-law had an episode while the whole family was gathered in a fancy private dining room on Hilton Head Island to help him celebrate his 89th birthday.

Our joyous celebration was suddenly interrupted because, in the middle of our celebration, he was speechless; not because of the celebration, but because something was happening to him… that something was a stroke! And we knew we had to act F.A.S.T. because every year, more than 795,000 people in the United States have a stroke and every 3 minutes and 14 seconds, someone dies of stroke in this country.  

How F.A.S.T. is fast enough?

F.A.S.T. is an acronym from the National Stroke Association to help us remember the classic symptoms of stroke and what to do. If you think someone may be having a stroke, do this simple test:

FACE: Ask the person to smile. Does one side of the face droop?

ARMS: Ask the person to raise both arms. Does one arm drift downward?

SPEECH: Ask the person to repeat a simple sentence. Are the words slurred?  Can they repeat the sentence correctly?

TIME: If the person shows any of these symptoms, time is essential. Call 911 or get to the hospital as quickly as possible. Brain cells are dying.

Because we recognized the symptoms immediately and took F.A.S.T. action by calling 911, the EMTs arrived in less than five minutes, and he was on his way to the hospital, where he could get the care he needed to save his life.

And that’s exactly what happened. His life was spared, and we enjoyed his incredible, humor-filled life for another five years.

I suppose you could justifiably accuse me of not following my own advice last Monday when I was experiencing a “foggy mind,” but I just didn’t, and still don’t, feel the symptoms warranted an ER visit. These things always require judgment calls, and after all, a “foggy mind” isn’t one of the primary symptoms listed above, but it was all I could think of as a causal factor. But it was at least enough of a wake-up call to bring the TIA/Stroke symptoms and responses to my attention again and to share them with you.

Thanks for reading All About Seniors… see you next week!

Bill Milby is a Director of Visiting Angels® of Central Georgia, a non-medical, living assistance service for seniors. If you have questions or comments about this column you can reach him at william.mercylink@gmail.com or search for us at facebook.com/VisitingAngelsofCentralGA