For 20 years I taught classes at a local fitness club and every single year, I took CPR training. I always said that if you had to have a major health issue, the place to do it was in our club. EVERYbody was trained, looking for signs and symptoms – and we had a direct line to 911.
When I worked at the club, there was one deadly factor that we could not control: denial. Despite all of our training, equipment, and readiness, there was nothing we could do if the person denied that anything was wrong.
One of the things we learned in those CPR trainings, was how to recognize when someone is having a stroke. We were taught to look for
one side of the face drooping
an unevenness in strength in the arms
slurred speech
uncoordinated movement
mental confusion
(These days, it’s abbreviated to BEFAST: Balance, Eyes, Face, Arms, Speech, Time.)
BOOM. Got it.
And then a few months ago, Beth Riddle came to class and told me that she’d had a stroke – and had exhibited NONE of those signs and symptoms.
Beth herself was in nursing, and she thought she knew what a stroke looked like. So, when she experienced numbness and tingling in her fingers, then her hand and arm, she thought it was a pinched nerve.
But when she woke up with the numbness now in her face (no drooping, just numbness), she went straight to the ER.
Thank goodness she did since she was, in fact, having a stroke. She got the treatment she needed and is now doing fine.
Just an hour after Beth told me about this, an acquaintance said she was feeling strange. She described numbness and tingling in one hand and arm and into her face. I ran through all the classic stroke symptom tests, and she passed them just fine. But given the conversation I’d just had with Beth; we decided to call 911.
Knowing Beth’s story gave me confidence to call for help right away. For stroke treatment, acting quickly is the most important thing we can do.
In that spirit, Beth generously joined me for a short conversation about her experience and what we should all know when it comes to stroke symptoms. Bottom line: it doesn’t always look like we think it’s going to look.
You can watch our conversation here.
I asked Beth what she wanted everyone to know after her experience. She encouraged all of us to listen to our bodies, to listen to our intuition, to notice when things feel off. Especially for women, who may present with different symptoms than men and/or might feel reluctant to make a “fuss.”
You are not a fuss. You are too precious and important not to get any unusual symptoms checked out. Take your gut feeling and intuition seriously. There is nothing more deadly than denial. When in doubt, call 911.
And please do share this with your people. You never know who it could save.
NOTE: In our conversation, Beth talks about the importance of taking good care of ourselves by eating well, moving often, reducing stress and sleeping as best we can in the chaotic days. She also mentions building balance which is a skill that can be developed just like any muscle. If you’re looking for guidance on how to do that, here is information on the Balance Course I created for Insight Timer.