How Do You Act F.A.S.T. if You Think Your Senior Is Having a Stroke?
F.A.S.T. is an acronym to help you to remember what to look for if you suspect your senior is having a stroke. The acronym breaks down to Face, Arm, Speech, and Time to call for help. These different areas point to different parts of your senior’s brain that can be affected by a stroke. Here’s what you need to know.
Ask Your Senior to Smile
Home Care Mead, WA: Seniors and Strokes
Face drooping is a big sign of stroke, and it typically happens on one side of the face or the other. Ask your elderly family member to smile and look at her directly. If one side of her face doesn’t appear to be responding or is drooping, this is a possible sign of a stroke. Your elderly family member may feel as if she is fully smiling with both sides of her face, even if she isn’t.
Check for Arm Weakness
Next ask your elderly family member to raise both of her arms. She can raise them in front of her or at her sides. What you’re really looking for is whether she’s able to lift both arms and if one of them looks weaker than the other. If your elderly family member can’t move one of her arms and it’s on the same side as the face droop, that’s another big indication of a possible stroke.
Ask Her to Say Something
Ask your elderly family member to say something. What she says isn’t important, but you need to listen for signs of slurring, an inability to repeat the sentence you sked her to say, or anything else that seems unusual. Choose a simple sentence that is typically easy for your elderly family member to say. If she’s having problems and the other signs weren’t good either, move to the last step quickly.
Call for Emergency Help
Don’t waste too much time on these steps. You can even call 911 as you’re asking your elderly family member to try these various activities. The faster that you can get medical help there to assist your senior, the better her chances of recovery. Let the 911 operators know what you’ve already tried and what your senior’s results were.
Recovering from a stroke can be a long and painful process. Your elderly family member may need additional help with activities that used to be simple for her to handle on her own. Hiring home care providers can be immensely helpful.
If you or an aging loved-one is considering home care in Mead, WA please contact the caring staff at Angel Senior Care today at (509) 326-4357.
After watching our own family members struggle with the need for compassionate home care, we determined that we could be that caring solution and provide home care in Spokane – not just for our family, but for seniors throughout Spokane County. We like to think of our clients as our extended family, and we treat them with the same dignity and respect our own grandparents and parents would expect to receive.
Our feeling is that while all of our caregivers need to be qualified in terms of certifications and experience, our goal is to hire those that are unique in their drive to show service and respect to the elderly. We hire only those caregivers who share our purpose, passion, and commitment.
Between the two of us, we have more than 30 years’ combined experience in the health care industry and are committed to providing the best Spokane senior care. We have utilized that experience to create a care-centered business model that puts the health and well being of our clients first.
When you entrust the care of your loved one to the experience and commitment of Angel Senior Care, you can rest easy knowing they are looked after, both physically and emotionally.
Sincerely, Vaughn & Donna Young
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