Last
night a 59 yr old man comes in having a stroke. He had just finished dinner and
was talking with his wife and friends when he suddenly stopped making any
sense. He was talking but his words were all jumbled. He was the picture of health. He worked out
twice a day and kept a journal of what he ate.
His wife waited 20 minutes before calling 911.
First
lesson, time is cells, time is muscle.
Never, ever wait if you think someone is having a stroke. The faster you can get them to help, the
faster interventions can be taken. Those 20 minutes could have cost him his
life. Fortunately, his symptoms resolved
and his speech returned to normal, but this is not always the case. I work at a Stroke Center so we are all
trained on the protocols for stroke. If
your nearest hospital is not a Stroke Center, then they will have to transfer
you to one, which takes time. The longer
you wait to get in, the less likely it will be that the medical staff will get
you to help in time.
Second
lesson, never believe you are doing everything you can. There will always be room for improvement as
new information is found about health and what promotes it. Keep your mind open to things even when they
may seem strange because they could mean the difference between illness and
health. Don’t get so settled into a diet
routine that you develop tunnel vision.
After
speaking with him about what he felt was the “perfect” diet, I found that he
was eating white rice and white potatoes almost every day. He was eating very few leafy greens or various
colored veggies because he believed that lots of meat protein and carbs were
the answer. He was taking commercial
protein powders in large amounts. He had
no idea that his diet had created the environment for the clot that broke free
and caused his stroke. He also thought
the medications he was on for high cholesterol and high blood pressure were
protecting him, which leads me to the third lesson.
Third
lesson, medication IS NOT A CURE!
Medication is only and always will be a treatment…like putting a
band-aid on a cut. The band-aid does not
heal the cut. It only covers it up. Medications treat symptoms but do not correct
the problems that led to the disease.
You must do your part to create health.
Very few doctors will do what is necessary to cure you. They will do everything to treat you. Treating you keeps you coming back for
follow-up visits and medication refills.
Curing you is bad for business.
