Stroke: I will rise again!
Pedro was an entrepreneur who had spent his whole life trying to get comfortable. At 52, he made a wise investment and had a huge profit. Very excited, he told himself it was time to settle and finally enjoy the fruit of his labour. He got a car, a new house and indulged in poor eating habits and excessive alcohol consumption.
One afternoon, while in the office, he complained of a sudden, severe headache and suddenly fell to the ground. His workers rushed to the scene and tried to help him up to no avail. They took him to the hospital where he was diagnosed of having a stroke. Progressively he gained consciousness, but the stroke affected the part of his brain that controls speech and he equally had a paralysis of the right side of the body. When he got out of the coma, it dawned on him that he had no one to help him. The wealth he had worked so hard to obtain and protect suddenly meant nothing to him. Now it dawned on him that he was alone but that should not be the case.
Stroke, also called a Cerebrovascular Accident and as the name implies, occurs suddenly. It is a brain attack and a medical emergency. Cardiovascular diseases cause 17.9 million deaths yearly and 6.2 million are due to stroke. Presently, there are 80 million stroke survivors worldwide, sadly 50 million are permanently disabled. There are two types;
– Ischaemic Stroke: Caused by a block in the circulation of blood in the brain. This could be due to a clot or narrowing of an artery supplying the brain. It is the most common type of stroke.
-Haemorrhagic stroke: Caused by bleeding into the brain.
Risk factors of stroke include;
- Hypetension
- Tobacco use
- Diabetes mellitus
- Aged 55 years or older
- A personal or family history of stroke
- A sedentary lifestyle
- Heavy alcohol consumption
Signs and symptoms of stroke include;
FASTER
F—Face; uneven smile, one side of the face drops or is numb.
A—Arms; one arm drifts down when lifting both or is weaker and more numb than the other.
S—Stability; dizziness, hard time keeping balance, trouble walking and loss of coordination.
T—Talking; slurred words, unable to speak, hard time being understood or understanding speech.
E—Eyes; difficulty seeing out of one or both eyes.
Double vision.
R—React; call for help immediately or go to the nearest hospital.
What to do in the face of a stroke?
Once you experience this or you happen to be with someone when they do, it is important to go to the hospital immediately. Some people can actually survive a stroke but living with the disability is not always easy as was the case with Pedro.
Sometimes the hardest part of having a stroke is the feeling that you are alone. 80million people in the world have had a stroke. 50million stroke survivors live with some form of permanent disability. If you have had a stroke or cared for someone who has, one thing is sure – YOU ARE NOT ALONE!
#UpAgainAfterStroke is the theme for this year’s World Stroke Day which is celebrated on the 29th of October. The keyword is SUPPORT.
Support important for recovery includes;
- Receiving psychological and emotional support in a form that best meets the needs.
- Be included in all aspects of society regardless of any disability they may have.
- Be provided with hope for the best possible recovery they can have now and in the future.
- Receive support (financial or otherwise) to ensure they are cared for in the long term.
- Be supported to return to work or other activities they may choose to participate in after the stroke.
- Be connected to other stroke survivors and caregivers. This has to do with rehabilitation which include
- Speech therapy
- Physical therapy
- Occupational therapy
- Support groups
- Support from friends and family.
All these can be done for stroke survivors and those who care for them know that there is hope and that they are not alone.
This year, HERO Cameroon organised a free screening campaign for diabetes and high blood pressure which are the two most common risk factors for stroke. All ‘HEROes’ have pledged to provide support to stroke survivors. Today, make a pledge to help someone get #UpAgainAfterStroke.

L’accident vasculaire cérébral (AVC) est provoqué par l’interruption de la circulation sanguine dans une partie du cerveau. L’interruption peut être due soit à la rupture d’un vaisseau sanguin, soit à l’obstruction de celui-ci par un caillot. L’AVC est l’une des principales causes de décès dans le monde.
Les facteurs de risque incluent :
- L’obésité
- Age ≥ 55 ans
- Antécédent personnel ou familial d’AVC
- La sédentarité
- La consommation abusive d’alcool, de cigarettes ou de stupéfiants
- L’hypertension artérielle
- Le diabète sucré
Comment reconnaître les symptômes ?
V – Visage : le visage penche-t-il d’un côté ?
I – Inertie du bras : Y’a-t-il un bras plus faible que l’autre ?
T – Temps : d’agir rapidement et de solliciter une aide médicale
E – Elocution : la personne est-elle capable de parler ? Ses mots sont-ils confus ou inintelligibles ?
D’autres symptômes incluent des troubles visuels, des maux de tête, des troubles de la marche et de l’équilibre.
Lorsque vous êtes sujet à ces symptômes ou les reconnaissez chez un proche, il est important de solliciter rapidement une aide médicale. Certaines personnes peuvent survivre à un AVC, mais vivre avec les séquelles n’est pas toujours chose facile, comme cela a été le cas pour Pedro. Pedro était un riche entrepreneur de 52 ans qui avait su bâtir sa fortune, et jugeait qu’il était temps d’en profiter. De ce fait, il ne se priva pas de tous les délices et gourmandises que son argent pouvait lui offrir. Un jour, il ressentit de violents maux de tête et s’écroula. Il fut transporté à l’hôpital où le diagnostic d’AVC fut posé. Lorsqu’il revint à lui, il constata avec amertume qu’il ne pouvait plus parler de manière cohérente, et le côté droit de son corps était paralysé. Il se sentit à la fois frustré et seul, car il n’avait personne pour venir à son chevet malgré toute sa richesse.
Les personnes ayant survécu à un AVC peuvent se sentir isolées. Mais vous n’êtes pas seul ! 80 millions de personnes dans le monde ont survécu à un AVC et plus de 50 millions d’entre elles souffrent d’un handicap permanent. Comme nous le montrent les personnes ayant survécu à un AVC, il est possible de se relever UpAgainAfterStroke. Cela passe par plusieurs étapes :
- Recevoir une assistance psychologique et émotionnelle qui correspond au mieux à leurs besoins
- Etre inclus dans tous les domaines de la société, quel que soit leur handicap
- Bénéficier d’une aide financière ou autre en vue de s’assurer qu’ils reçoivent des soins sur le long terme
- Etre soutenus dans leur retour au travail et/ou à d’autres activités dans lesquelles ils pourraient vouloir s’impliquer après leur AVC
- Avoir accès à une représentation formelle et informelle qui favoriserait leur accès aux services dont ils ont besoin
- Etre en contact avec d’autres personnes ayant survécu à un AVC ainsi qu’à des aides-soignants afin de recevoir et apporter du soutien tout au long de leur rémission. La rémission inclue l’orthophonie, la kinésithérapie, les groupes de soutien, le soutien venant d’amis et de la famille.
Il nous est donc possible d’aider nos proches ayant survécu à un AVC à se relever. HERO a accepté de relever le défi, qu’en est-il de toi ?
Fozao Mbi Vanessa
Translation: Fonkou Steve and Kwawa Ines
Learned something today. Thanks HERO. I’ll keep coming. Dr Van Love u fr this
Learned something today. Thanks hero. Question: what are some characteristics of a poor eating habit??
Hi, we are glad you learned something! Some bad eating habits include eating a lot of processed food or food with a lot of salt, sugar and/or oil.
Ok thanks for the infos