Three years ago in September, I almost lost my dad, my role model, and one of my best friends. I remember it like it was yesterday. I remember my mom calling me downstairs. I remember seeing my father and thinking it was over. As I called 911 as fast as I could, I could not help but think "today is the day I am losing him." He had a stroke. I never knew anything about strokes, besides it was a blood clot in the brain. Man, if I had known what I know now.

Strokes are something everyone should know the symptoms of. They are not always the most obvious, but they can be very severe if not caught in time. In my particular case, I am so thankful that my mom just happened to be going into work late that day. If that was not the case, and she would not have been there the turn out would probably be a lot different. If my mom would not have told me he was having a stroke, I would not have had any idea. I just remember seeing my dad downstairs on the couch; half of his body completely paralyzed. Not able to talk, not able to move. I would have known something was up, but I would not have known the severity of it which means help would not have gotten there as fast as it did.

A common belief about strokes is that they only happen to old, unhealthy people. That is far from true. My father was not all that old, and by no means was he unhealthy. A stroke can happen to anyone at any time. Believe it or not, one in every twenty deaths is caused by a stroke. Statistically, someone dies from a stroke every four minutes. That is a lot of strokes, and a lot of deaths. Being that it is the fifth highest cause of death in the United States, it is a big issue that not a lot of people know about.

The thing about strokes is if it is caught early, it can be taken care of. If someone is given the medicine to break up the clot fast enough, they can have a full recovery. Unfortunately, not all are lucky enough to have that. All the time, researchers and doctors are coming up with new medicines and treatment options to help. My father for example was given the Ischemic Stroke Treatment. This was a fluid they gave him through an IV that goes directly to the brain and breaks up the blood clot. This treatment is what saved his life, and I am so thankful.

For anyone and everyone, please learn the symptoms of strokes. Please know if someone has slurred speech and half of their face is completely paralyzed, call 911. Please know that if someone has a really bad headache and cannot use one side of their body, call 911. Even if the symptoms are minor, strokes can still kill. They are a deadly so-called "brain attack." This can happen to anyone, so please know the symptoms and watch out for them.