My grandfather was the type of guy who at 86 years old expected his doctor to write him the note he needed to renew his drivers’ license despite being told that it was probably time he stopped driving. Even when he hit his 90’s he had no intention of slowing down and would repeatedly justify his need to drive because he was a businessman and driving was an important part of his “business life”.
For us, it was a little funny and the doctor would often chuckle after a visit with him that was predominantly spent telling my grandfather why he could not write the note.
I do not talk about him much here but much of who I am and the opportunities I have has in this country is because of him.
He is a man of strong countenance, a little stubborn with a ton of confidence regarding every aspect of his life. He is kind and wildly defensive of our family and one of my very favorite people.
I tell you all of this because my grandpa suffered a stroke a few years ago that has left him bedridden which has been hard for us all to get used to or to even at times understand. As a family, we have had to wrap our minds around it but at the same time remaining present and ensuring that he has the very best care at this point in his life.
With that said, stroke awareness is near and dear to my heart and with national stroke day, October 29th, just around the corner, I decided to work with the American Stroke Association to bring awareness to the broader community by ensuring that we know that strokes can happen to anyone and at any age.
I have teamed up with them to ensure that the message is spread throughout our own community and that we are able to recognize the signs of stroke and get help early.
To help with this, The American Stroke Associaton licensed the song Y.M.C.A. by The Village People to create a F.A.S.T. parody song and music video that raises awareness of the warning signs of stroke. F.A.S.T is an acronym for the following signs:
F- Face Drooping
A-Arm Weakness
S-Speech Difficulty
T-Time to Call 911
If you notice any of these signs it is imperative that you call 911 immediately so that you can be treated early and recover faster.
Here are a few statistics to be aware of:
1. one in six people will have a stroke in their lifetime
2. Strokes are treatable
3. Someone has a stroke every 2 seconds.
With my grandfather, everything happened so fast but we were still able to get him treated in time to save his life. Awareness is so important, take some time to watch the below Parody:
For more information about strokes please visit strokeassociaton.org as well as share this post with your family and friends.
This post was sponsored by American Stroke Association in conjunction with Blog Meets Brand.
