"Whatsoever thine hand... - Czech Republic (Winter 2001)

...do it with all thy might." Perhaps close inspection of this picture will lead you to an understanding of what I mean by my title and first sentence.

At any rate, something that's been on my mind a lot recently (through no fault of my own) is the subject of the cerebrovascular accident (CVA), more commonly called the "stroke" or "brain attack." My neurology II class has been largely concerned with the rehabilitation of stroke patients, so I've gained a bit of knowledge on the subject.

One interesting statistic you might not know is that only half of Americans can recognize even one warning sign of a stroke. Given that my readership is largely composed of Americans, perhaps there is something I can do to help change that statistic.

Now, I've seen a chain email floating around that also deals with this subject, but in case the information in that email differs from what I present here, go with what I present, as it's taken directly from my textbook on neurological rehabilitation. You may even wish to venture into the world of starting your own chain emails (my favorite is the "if you don't send this to everybody on the face of the planet, you hate Jesus"), and this is the perfect medium to get your foot in the door with. I even recommend attaching the "you hate Jesus" clause to it, as that seems to do a very good job convincing the many sheep in our midst to pass along bland and rather fake sounding stories about unfortunate Nigerian millionaire princes...

Anyway, the early warning signs of stroke (pay attention) are:

1. Sudden, severe headaches with no known cause.
2. Sudden weakness or numbness of the face, arm or leg on one side of the body.
3. Loss of speech, or trouble talking or understanding speech.
4. Sudden dimness or loss of vision, particularly in only one eye.
5. Unexplained dizziness, unsteadiness, or sudden falls, especially along with any of the previous symptoms.
   
   If you or anyone you know presents with these symptoms, get them to a hospital immediately. Fast treatment is the key to a good outcome.