Two weeks ago, I woke up to an urgent phone call from my brother. My father had suffered a stroke. The good news was that he was alive and his speech and cognition were intact. The bad news was that he had only limited movement of his arms and legs.
Within a few hours, I was in Nashville, at my father’s bedside. He was weak and delirious, but happy to have his family close by. And over the next several days, he began to regain control of his hands and feet, and later his arms and legs. 

Five days after he was admitted, my father walked out of the hospital under his own power. And while he was barely able to hold a fork or shave with his dominant hand that first week, he wrote me a note before I left with barely any change in his handwriting. Even his doctors expressed amazement at his recovery. 

I attribute his remarkable recovery to three things: (1) As a former nurse, my stepmother recognized the symptoms immediately. (2) He was transported to the hospital rapidly and within a short time after the stroke occurred. And (3) he received first-class emergency medical care.

The symptoms of my father’s stroke were obvious: He couldn’t move his arms or legs. But would you be able to recognize less severe, but no less dangerous, stroke symptoms? Someday, you might have to. Here are the most common warning signs:

• Sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg, especially on one side of the body
• Sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding
• Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes
• Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination
• Sudden, severe headache with no known cause

When a stroke occurs, every second counts. Time lost is brain tissue lost. So if you (or someone you know) have any of these symptoms, call 911 immediately. It could very well mean the difference between a full recovery and permanent disability, or even death.