Look Who it Was Random video

Reading the Stroke Signs

4,218 views · Published 1 March 2015 · 1:47 · Indexed 26 October 2026

Channel: Lee Health · 2015 · Science & Technology

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“I have enough strength in my arms that I can push myself up now,” says Rachel Abraham. 

Despite being in the hospital, Abraham considers herself fortunate. She suffered a stroke and lived to talk about it. 

“I wanted to get up and I couldn’t. I didn’t have the strength or I didn’t have the legs,” says Abraham. 

She did have the clarity to get help.

“I said, ‘please call the ambulance,’” says Abraham. 

“If a patient waits 3 hours, 4 hours, 6 hours, to come to the hospital, that’s all lost time and lost opportunity,” says Dr. Adam Heller, who is a neurologist on the medical staff of Lee Memorial Health System. 

A quick response gives doctors time to administer clot-busting drugs or perform interventional procedures to stop a stroke. It save lives and reduces disability. Problem is, many people wait or fail to read the stroke signs.

“TIAs, or what’s commonly referred to as mini-strokes, are actually precursors to strokes in many occasions,” says Dr. Heller. 

It's more common than you might think. A stroke seems to come on suddenly, when in reality there were risk factors and warning signs that went unrecognized.

“If they have any sudden change of strength or sensation, one side of the body or the other, and change of their speech pattern, either slurring of their speech or difficulty getting words out, sudden visual changes, those would be the most common and integral signs and symptoms to recognize to get to the hospital for that rapid assessment,” says Dr. Heller. 

While more people survive strokes, it is still a top cause of disability.  Rachel is headed to inpatient rehab once she leaves here. She expects to make a full recovery, and realizes how lucky she is.

“Now, having had it, I realized I had two mini-strokes before,” says Abraham. 

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Lee Memorial Health System in Fort Myers, FL is the largest network of medical care facilities in Southwest Florida and is highly respected for its expertise, innovation and quality of care. For nearly a century, we’ve been providing our community with everything from primary care treatment to highly specialized care services and robotic assisted surgeries.

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