Letter to the Editor: Time is of the essence with strokes

Dear Editor,

I’m no spring chicken myself so I took special interest in Dennis Renner’s stroke tale recently featured in the Progress. It sounds like Renner exhibited some classic stroke symptoms like pain in his arm and slurring speech. It was lucky that his neighbor was there to put it all into perspective for him as Renner evidently didn’t initially grasp the seriousness of his situation.

While Renner’s adventure ended relatively happily, he would have probably been better served had his neighbor just called 9-1-1. Then Renner could have been whisked directly to a local hospital in an ambulance with O’Fallon’s well trained and equipped EMTs there to administer to him enroute.

Renner was pretty macho to jump in his car and drive to his doctor’s office. Had his condition worsened enroute that could have made for a far different ending to his saga. The thought of a ticking medical time bomb driving down the streets of our fair city is pretty scary.

We all need to get smart on stroke danger signs just in case. The acronym F-A-S-T might be helpful. F – Face drooping or numb; A – Arm weakness or numbness; S – Speech difficulty…unable to speak or slurring; T – Time to call 9-1-1 for immediate transport to the hospital. Other symptoms might include numbness of other body parts on one side, confusion, trouble seeing, trouble walking, and a severe headache. Time is of the essence with strokes. Some stroke treatments must begin within the first few hours of symptoms. Early treatment can often help prevent fatal or disabling stroke consequences from occurring. Renner was lucky to have a Good Samaritan neighbor like Dennis Vogel. You never know when you’ll get your chance to play a key role in saving yourself, a family member or friend, or even a complete stranger, from a stroke emergency.

Like Roman emperor Nero’s tutor and advisor, Seneca, once said, “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.”

Bill Malec, O’Fallon

This story was originally published April 11, 2016 at 11:17 AM with the headline "Letter to the Editor: Time is of the essence with strokes."