Mike Milo's Journal

You go into a room and instantly forgot why you went in there in the first place. You call someone and forget why. You’re driving and pass up your exit. You eat too much ice cream because you forget you’re on a diet. No, wait that’s probably just me… anyway, I know I am guilty of these things and so are many people I know. What’s interesting is that it just might be our food that’s doing it to us!
When I first moved to California I worked at a studio called Sierra Online which eventually became Sierra Games. While there my job was to animate characters traditionally as they were trying to get away from pixel pushing animation.
Anyway, One of the people who worked there was the sister of a man who worked for the Nutrasweet company who told her that in no way should she ever consume Nutrasweet; that it had caused brain damage and forgetfulness in testing. I confess I mostly forgot about that over the years (Aha! Nutrasweet rears it’s ugly head already!) until my wife sent me an email this morning talking about the dangers of Nutrasweet and specifically Aspartame. Granted the article below has been disputed in a number of places but then I go back to my friend’s brother’s claim. Truth or Fiction; an email verifying website mentions that David Squillacote, MD Senior Medical Advisor for Multiple Sclerosis Foundation issued a retort that the letter was unfounded and grossly inaccurate. Snopes also claims this is false but I still wonder. (more…)

Everyone knows someone who will die of a stroke they say… My mother died of a stroke so I thought it was my duty to put this up here. Besides I don’t have any drawings today.

Perhaps you can save the one you know after learning this?

STROKE: Remember The 1st Three Letters…. S.T.R.

My nurse friend sent this and encouraged me to post it and spread the word. I agree.

If everyone can remember something this simple, we could save some folks. Seriously..

Please read:

STROKE IDENTIFICATION:

During a BBQ, a friend stumbled and took a little fall – she assured everyone that she was fine (they offered to call paramedics) …..she said she had just tripped over a brick because of her new shoes.

They got her cleaned up and got her a new plate of food. While she appeared a bit shaken up, Ingrid went about enjoying herself the rest of the evening.

Ingrid’s husband called later telling everyone that his wife had been taken to the hospital – (at 6:00 PM Ingrid passed away.) She had suffered a stroke at the BBQ. Had they known how to identify the signs of a stroke, perhaps Ingrid would be with us today. Some don’t die…. they end up in a helpless, hopeless condition instead.

It only takes a minute to read this…

A neurologist says that if he can get to a stroke victim within 3 hours he can totally reverse the effects of a stroke… totally. He said the trick was getting a stroke recognized, diagnosed, and then getting the patient medically cared for within 3 hours, which is tough.

RECOGNIZING A STROKE
Thank God for the sense to remember the “3″ steps, STR . Read and Learn!

Sometimes symptoms of a stroke are difficult to identify. Unfortunately, the lack of awareness spells disaster. The stroke victim may suffer severe brain damage when people nearby fail to recognize the symptoms of a stroke .

Now doctors say a bystander can recognize a stroke by asking three simple questions:
S * Ask the individual to SMILE.
T * Ask the person to TALK and SPEAK A SIMPLE SENTENCE (Coherently)
(i.e. It is sunny out today)
R * Ask him or her to RAISE BOTH ARMS.

If he or she has trouble with ANY ONE of these tasks, call 999/911 immediately and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher.

New Sign of a Stroke ——– Stick out Your Tongue

NOTE: Another ‘sign’ of a stroke is this: Ask the person to ‘stick’ out his tongue.. If the tongue is ‘crooked’, if it goes to one side or the other , that is also an indication of a stroke.

A cardiologist says if everyone who gets this e-mail sends it to 10 people; you can bet that at least one life will be saved.