Having a Stroke

Do you know how to recognize a stroke? Here are the early warning signs:

Sudden numbness or weakness on one side of the body or the face, arm or leg

Sudden confusion or difficulty speaking and understanding

Trouble seeing in one or both eyes

Trouble walking, dizziness, or lack of balance

Sudden severe headache

“When I was born there was nothing physically wrong with me,” Beating Heart quoted Eli Abarbanel-Wolff. When he was 1 1/2 years old, the doctors found a hole in his heart which needed to be fixed. He had his operation in 1979, right before his second birthday. The operation was good, but four days later he had a stroke. A stroke is a sudden loss of sensation and motion in your body that is caused by a break in blood flow to the brain.

Eli had to stay in the hospital for a few extra days and spend his birthday in the hospital. When he got home, he couldn’t walk or sit. He had a huge scare from his surgery, and his whole left side was paralyzed. Ten days later he was walking again and the doctors thought he would be okay, but his left arm was still weak. In medical terms, his arm would be referred to as spastic. When he got tired, his leg would limp a bit and that is how it is now.

Now just imagine what it would be like to be Eli. He has been physically disabled his entire life. In middle school, he still couldn’t tie his shoes very well. Even today as an adult, he still gets stared at for having a leg with a limp. Next time you see somebody with a disability, don’t point and stare or even laugh inside your head. Just think it is another person, because it really is.

Credits

Websites

American Heart Association. "American Stroke Association" 2004. at http://www.strokeassociation.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=1200037 (January, 2004).

Images

Image of heart from "Microsoft ClipArt Gallery Online"<http://office.microsoft.com/clipart/default.aspx?cag=1>
(January, 2004)