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The Jeffrey Carman Family
You folks make a great team.
Thanks! Yeah, we seem to have the luck where we run across this stuff all the time! The first time was on our honeymoon...how romantic dealing with a bicycle rider who crashed hard on his bike. He bled all over Jeff and all over a new blanket and pillow we had been given as a wedding gift. (we moved from Portland to San Diego for our honeymoon) It was crazy! Jeff did most everything then, because my certification had just expired.
The second time was all on me as a guy went into a diabetic episode in the reception office where I worked. Really, no big event. Just call 911 and let the paid professionals do their job. All I really did was make sure he wasn't having a stroke or heart attack. That is easy!!!
Speaking of...how to tell if they are having a stroke:
Ask them to smile - most stroke patients cannot smile with both sides of their mouths. Doing this allows you to see what sort of face muscle function they have. If they only smile with half a mouth, or have a hard time smiling...bad sign.
Ask them to say an easy sentence like, "Today the sun is shining!" - If they are slurring their words, then you can tell with this. That is also a sign of a stroke.
Ask them to raise both arms above their head - If they can only raise one, we have a problem.
Never assume that a person is drunk or playing along. If they are acting fine one minute and then crazy the next...something isn't right. Remember with a stroke that time saved is brain saved. If you think someone is having a stroke, right down the time the symptoms started. Doctors can only give clot busters after a certain amount of time. If they don't know when symptoms started or it has been too long - they cannot give the meds. (we learned WAY more about strokes than we ever wanted to when our best friend had one at 30. Because the person called 911 and she was in the ER within 30 minutes, you cannot tell she ever had a stroke!)
As for heart attack - heavy sweating, pain in the chest radiating down the arm, problems breathing, nausea are the classic signs of a heart attack. However, these aren't all of the signs.
And remember, classes are offered by the Red Cross in the areas of first aid, CPR and Defib. I am a firm believer that everyone should take these classes!!!
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