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STROKENET Newsletter
March 12, 2001 Issue #4
Linda Wisman , Editor, LWisman@strokenetwork.org
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By subscription only! Welcome to your next
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"STROKENET".
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IN THIS ISSUE
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=>
Sponsorship Notice
=>
Organization Highlights
=>
Editor's Message
=>
Slipping the Ice Fantastic
=>
Stroke Organizations in New Zealand
=>
Website Review
=>
Subscribe/Unsubscribe information
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SPONSORSHIP NOTICE
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If you would like to be a
sponsor of this newsletter, please
contact me at LWisman@strokenetwork.org
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ORGANIZATION HIGHLIGHTS, By Lin Wisman
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As many of you may have
noticed there was no newsletter in
February, and March is very
late. We are very sorry for this.
Our editor, Steve Mallory,
has been forced by health problems
to take a leave of absence.
We hope all goes well for him and
look forward to his return.
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EDITOR'S MESSAGE, By Lin Wisman
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Please take note of the
article “Stroke Organisations in New
Zealand” by David G Ray. We
are very pleased to add David to
our list of contributors.
Also in this issue is proof
again that humor is good medicine
as Rhonda Petersen shares
with us her emergency room experience.
Read on and once again
Barbara Layne introduces us to a website.
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Stroke Organisations in New
Zealand, by David G Ray
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The mission of the Stroke
Foundation of New Zealand is to
Reduce the incidence of
stroke and gain and provide the
Greatest Benefits for the
stroke-affected community and to
improve their quality of
life.
Since it began in 1980, the
Stroke Foundation has created
a network of over 40 Field
Officers and 100 Stroke Clubs
throughout New Zealand. This network provides information,
understanding, care, support
and rehabilitation to help people
with a stroke, their
families and caregivers to regain the best
quality of life they
can. The Stroke Foundation promotes
research into the causes of
stroke, improvements in
rehabilitation and stroke
support needs in the community. The
Foundation also works to
reduce the incidence of stroke through
stroke prevention
information. It is a non-profit organization.
It relies on community
support, donations and sponsorships to
provide its services. It has
about 3,000 members throughout
the country.
I belong to the Lower Hutt
Stroke Club. Lower Hutt is a city
close to Wellington, the
capital city of New Zealand. It is
situated at the southern tip
of the North Island. The club has
about 40 members in addition
to partners and helpers. The
objective of the club is to
provide aid to one another,
instruction regarding the
nature of stroke and the means of
overcoming their handicaps
and to give hope to new and old
stroke persons. To this end programmes are devised to help
and entertain stroke
persons. For example for the first six
months of 2001 we will visit
gardens, have interesting general
topic talks including health
professionals and games such as
indoor bowls.
Hopefully it will be a full
and interesting year for stroke
victims of Lower Hutt.
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Slipping the Ice Fantastic
by Rhonda Petersen
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Warning: Any duplication of
this incident may be hazardous to
your health. Do not try this
at home ...or outside or any
other place.
As I limped into the
Emergency Room, I thought, Get me a
pencil and paper, stat! I
feel a laugh attack coming on and due
to this obvious black and
blue bruise, appearing like a bad
Van Gogh painting, I’ll have
to write it down or I’ll forget
the humor of this incident.
Earlier that afternoon, while
stepping out of my car, I hit a
patch of ice and valiantly
tried to save myself by attempting
to perform a triple axle
like Tara Lapinski. My right leg did
a perfect arabesque while my
left leg flipped out From under
me and I was airborne. Of
course, what goes up eventually must
come down, and my derriere
landed against the car doorframe.
It wasn’t a pretty sight,
but I think I received an eight in
artistic interpretation from
other parking lot patrons!
“Did you hurt yourself?”
Asked the ER doctor who appeared
younger than Doogie Howser.
I took a deep breath, not for the
sake of his lung-checking
stethoscope, but because I knew I
had to fill him in on my
entire medical history.
“Obviously! That’s why I’m
here. I’m sure you’d like to start
with my medical history and
since I’ve memorized most of it,
where would you like me to
begin?”
Question, answer, question,
answer; the interrogation proceeded
under the bright lights of
the examination room. After reciting
a long oral dissertationthat
seemed more like the opening
arguments in the O.J.
Simpson hearings than that of the high
and low points of my
illustrious medical record, I rested
my case. I ended before the
scribing physician needed wrist
splints for writer’s cramp.
“One final question, Ms
Peterson. What medications are you
currently taking and are you
allergic to anything?” I began
to feel great empathy for
the documenting doctor.
“That’s two questions! I
have a list of my medications and
dosages in my purse and I seem
to go into anaphylactic shock
every time I receive medical
bills, but other than that I have
no allergies.”
“We’ll get some x-rays to
see if you broke anything,” he answered.
As I lay on a stretcher in
the assigned cubicle, I reflected on
the events that led me to
seek medical attention. The fall on
the ice, the immediate
feeling that something was wrong after
experiencing difficulty
walking, sitting, or standing, and
finally the call to the
“Nurse on Line” at the emergency room.
Of course, as a former
nurse, I should have known better
than to assume that hospital
staff can diagnose over the
telephone wire. Instead,
Florence Nightingale frightened me
out of my wits by stating
that bruises can cause internal
bleeding and may lead to
another stroke. She had unwittingly
planted the seed of the most
dreaded fear of all - the
possibility of having
another stroke!
Trying to calm my
apprehensions, I considered taking a warm
bath to soak my aching
muscles. But I was afraid of being
unable to get back out of
the tub. I envisioned having to call
an ambulance from my trusty
cordless phone I always keep in
the bathroom for such
emergencies. Of course the paramedics
would have to break down my
locked front door as I live alone
and always lock the front
door when I take a bath. Regional
news headlines flashed
before my eyes. “On a medical note,
this afternoon the fire
department and rescue squad was called
to the residence of Rhonda
Peterson. They found the naked woman
in the bathtub complaining of
an injured ego and sore bum.Duluth
Hoist and Derrick was
summoned to assist her out of the tub.”
I’d forgo the bath and
consider driving to the Emergency Room
myself. However, the idea of
sitting in the car while driving
did not appeal to my painful
backside and the hospital had
dispensed with ER valet
parking due to medical cutbacks. I’d
have to drive, park, and
walk…no, this would never do.
Get your medical cards and
cash ready; you’re going for a cab
ride.
Cab’s here. Now, how do I
get in it? I’ll lay prone across
the backseat.
After riding over every
pothole in the city of Duluth, without
adequate shock absorbers, we
arrived at the hospital.
“I don’t need a wheelchair,”
I commented to the attendant.
“Although, I could use the
Jaws of Life to pry me out of
this cab!”
Stationed at the entrance of
the Emergency Room was the
admitting clerk dutifully
positioned behind her computer,
“Name, birth date, and
insurance, please,” she asked.
“Here’s my cards. Give them right
back to me. They’re manna
in this place,” I answered.
Within minutes, I met the
Doberman Pincer guard dog of the
ER- the triage nurse. She’s
the one who decides whether a
patient goes to the 24-hour
clinic or does not pass go, pays
more than $200.00, and goes
directly to the Emergency Room.
“What seems to be the
problem?” she asked.
“I slipped on some ice and
fell,” I answered.
“Let’s take your
temperature.”
“But I don’t have a fever,
I’m in…” I responded as she stuck
a sheath covered piece of
metal under my tongue and waited
for the beep.
“Perfectly normal. Now, sit
over here and we’ll take your
blood pressure.”
“I can’t sit. You don’t
understand! I slipped on the ice and
fell on my…”
“Well, I can’t take your
blood pressure while your standing!”
“You can’t? I have complete
confidence in your abilities as
a professional and I believe
you can!” I quipped.
“Why are you walking so
funny?” asked the talented triage
nurse.
“I don’t think this is one
bit funny. Read my lips, I-fell-
down-hurt-myself.”
“We have to get your vital
signs,” she commanded.
An avalanche of various
inappropriate ‘vital signs’ tumbled
through my brain, but I took
the path of least resistance and
decided on decorum. Knowing
my blood pressure was rising from
this conversation, I simply
said, “I am not sick. I hurt!”
“Get a gurney and take her
into the ER,” she finally conceded
to her assistants.
I’m ever so obliged. I owe
you one, Nurse Cratchet.
Her entourage plopped me
onto a gurney and a candy stripper
attendant wheeled me through
the double doors into the
hospital’s nerve center-the
ER.
Immediately, I noticed that
it was nothing like the television
series of the same name.
There were no crowds of medical staff
or gurneys bursting through
the doors with cute Dr. Green
performing CPR astride a
patient’s chest. Instead, silence
entombed the place like a
mausoleum.
Sabrina the Teenage Hospital
Volunteer pushed my cart against
the wall of the arena like
room and said, “Someone will be
with you soon,” pivoted, and
sauntered out the door as the
word ‘soon, sooon, soooon,’
echoed off the antiseptic-white
tiled walls. I felt as if I
had just entered the Twilight Zone!
Within the white sterile
environment, I became as adept as
an owl searching for
prey. My head swiveled and my eyes
bulged
in an attempt to locate
other life forms. But all I could smell
was isopropyl alcohol and
cleaning fumes.
“Oh, there you are!” I
commented as a nurse eventually approached.
“Could I have your name, birth
date, and insurance information
please?” she queried.
“They already have that
information.”
“Who does?” She asked
“The other nurses!”
“What other nurses? Are you
saying you don’t have your
insurance information?”
“They’ve got it! I told them
to give it back to me but they
didn’t…”
“Calm down, lady! We’ll get
this figured out.” As she walked
away I heard her whisper to
another nurse, “I think she’s the
one scheduled for the
psychological work-up.”
“Ms Peterson! You forgot your
hospital band,” a cheery voice
exclaimed.
“Yes, tag me quickly! And
give me back my insurance cards!
I’m feeling much better. I
think I’ll just be moseying along…”
“You’re scheduled for
x-rays. I’ll take you down to the
department. The doctor will
see you after he reads them. Now,
what was it that brought you
here? I need to take your vitals,”
and she stuck another
thermometer in my mouth.
Finally, the curtain parted
and the mighty and powerful
wizard of the ER the doctor,
returned. “Nothing is broken but
you have a nasty bruise.
It’s going to take about a week or
so before you feel
comfortable. You might want to put ice on it.”
“Am I correct in assuming
that this particular injury would have
been best treated if I had
stayed seated on the ice?”
“I suppose you’re right,” he
laughed. “But I’m not telling you
to sit on an ice rink in
sub-zero temperatures! Put an ice bag
on it for a few minutes at a
time.
You could have broken a hip
so I’m glad you had it checked.
Let me get the nurse. She
has to take your vitals, fill out
your chart, and get your
insurance information.”
Moral: Be careful outside
during winter weather. If you have
an accident make sure to get
immediate medical treatment. Keep
all medical information and insurance
information handy
(triplicate copies wouldn’t
be a bad idea!)
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Website Review, by Barbara
Layne
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Hi to Everyone!
My newsletter site is a
little different this month as it
doesn’t deal specifically
with strokes.
It is: www.findarticles.com
It contains a true wealth of
knowledge on all of our questions
and inquiries about strokes
and any other topics related to not
related to strokes. You will be able to search over 300
journals and magazines in a
variety of topics, of course
including,
Health/Fitness. It has provided me with
simple
articles pertaining to diet
and stroke and more complicated
information on specific
types of stroke as Wallenburg’s
Syndrome which I had been
diagnosed with.
I hope you find the
information you seek here!
I pray for you and your
caregivers always,
Barbara
Copyright Information
This newsletter is the
copyright of the Stroke Network and may
not be copied without the
express written permission of the
editor, Steve Mallory, Smallory@strokenetwork.org
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Copyright 2000 The Stroke
Network
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Steve Mallory
President & CEO
The Stroke Network
Stroke Awareness for Everyone