Stroke Before 50? Is It Possible?

We certainly stereo-type stroke to be an event that occurs to 'older' people - someone in their fifth decade of life or older.  The article below identifies an atypical stroke patient - a 22 year old college student.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/11/health/oneill-stroke-anniversary/index.html?hpt=hp_bn10

I selected this story as athletic trainers as the population in which we work with are a seemingly healthy population and we assist them once they have become injured.  This story reminds us that no matter the age of an individual, as a health care provider we need to be ready for what comes our way with regard to our patients.  The care we provide can range from something fairly simple and not so stressful to a life-threatening or life-altering situation.  In the case of this article stroke/CVA is a pathology we need to be aware of, be able to recognize the signs and symptoms and be able to provide first aid.  The National Stroke Association has created a public service announcement in which they use the acronym FAST-

• Face - does one side droop - can they smile?
• Arm - can they raise both arms?
• Speech - is their speech slurred?
• Time - if you see these signs/symptoms call 9-1-1 immediately

http://www.stroke.org/site/PageServer?pagename=symp

Child Taken Away From Parents Due to Excess Weight

Wow - can this really happen?  There has been prior discussion related to obese children and how to handle to safety and welfare of those children.  One directive that was considered was to legally separate the child from the household/care givers/parents in which they reside.  The notion behind this action is to place the blame on the parents for 'allowing' their child to become obese and by taking away the child from the house, they would learn healthier eating habits.  Although in the past this was only at the discussion level, it seems that in one community this, in fact was the case.

  http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/health/obese-elementary-school-student-parent-home-report-article- 


While I do not hold the answers to the childhood obesity problem we suffer in the US, separating a child from their respective family is a questionable practice at best.  Changing behaviors is difficult to do - think of yourself trying to do something different.  Take a look at all of the New Year's Resolutions that occur each year, and how many people actually meet the goal of their resolution.  There are so many issues tied into obesity - where one lives, the cost of food, types of food being offered in their store, education level, ability to make healthy meals at home, stores available in the area, access to the stores, access to a safe place to exercise, access to parks, time to be able to exercise - these are only a few issues that may contribute to the obesity issues the US seems to be suffering from.  I would like to believe that we will identify a better way to manage childhood obesity, but I fear that we will not.  I am a firm believer that we must involve many more individuals within the community to begin to create change, and do believe that 'it takes a village' to raise a child.  Further, I do not believe there is one approach that can 'fix' all communities, but rather, each community will need to address their own needs and design programs that will be successful within their respective community.

Athletic trainers have a 'community' within their respective work places.  Perhaps we have the ability to help to create a change by creating programs that could be used within our respective work places.  Education alone, has already shown to not be successful.  We know we should be eating healthier, and yet we choose not to.  Therefore, a varied approach needs to be taken into consideration.  I do believe, however, that separating children from parents is not the solution.



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