Spotting a Stroke

Oralia Martinez, who suffered a stroke in 2022, works with her therapist to regain her mobility.

Oralia Martinez was ready to head to lunch while working at Ampla Health in Orland. She stood up, and her legs felt like Jell-O.

“I thought, ‘What’s happening to me?’” she recalled. She sat down and tried again. Her legs felt the same. “I decided to leave the room in case it was serious. I thought, ‘No one will find me here.’”

Martinez struggled her way to a nursing station, letting a nurse know she didn’t feel well. “She grabbed me and sat me on a chair then yelled, ‘She’s having a stroke.’ That’s all I remember.”

Then 65 years old, Martinez woke up in a hospital room and spent a month at Enloe Medical Center. Her experience is all too common. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, someone in the United States has a stroke every 40 seconds and dies from one about every 3 minutes. Strokes are also a leading cause of serious long-term disability.

Luckily, Martinez’s stroke left the mother of four unable to walk, talk and swallow for just a few days.

Strokes Explained

Strokes can happen two ways, said Navin Varma, M.D., a neurologist and Medical Director of Enloe’s Stroke Program.

“With ‘bland’ strokes, an artery is plugged, commonly by clots. That results in the loss of blood supply to that area of the brain, resulting in cell death,” he said. “With bleeding strokes, one of those arteries tears, and this sends blood under high pressure through the substance of the brain. With both kinds of strokes, the damage is reflected by a sudden loss of function.”

The lost function depends on the location of the brain damage. Usually, people experience loss of balance, facial weakness, arm or leg weakness or numbness, or vision or speech changes.

Are You at Risk?

Stroke risk increases with age, but anyone can have one, including babies and children, Varma said.

Most strokes in children are due to inherited disorders, clotting issues and trauma. In adults, high blood pressure, diabetes, cholesterol, smoking, excessive alcohol and drug use increases the risk, he said.

Martinez takes high blood pressure medication. But she never thought she would have a stroke, despite her mother and brother having one. “A light should have turned on in my head, but it didn’t,” she said. “I didn’t know the signs of stroke or what puts you at risk.”

She encourages people to learn their family history and talk to their doctor. “It’s important to pay attention,” she said. “It doesn’t cost us anything, and anyone can have a stroke at any time.”

Now, almost a year after her stroke, Martinez has relearned to eat and talk with the help of occupational and physical therapy. She’s still in therapy three to four times a week.

She relies on a wheelchair to get around, but she’s feeling good and regaining independence, said her daughter, Silvia. An avid cook before the incident, Martinez can now chop up vegetables in the kitchen to help prepare family meals and do some household chores. Silvia, 31, who cares for her mom, advises families who are facing a similar situation to ask for help.

“There is no way to prepare if something like this happens, but if something like this does happen, use your resources,” she said. “Enloe provided so many different resources. Everybody is willing to help. You just have to accept it, and ask questions.”

Do You Know the Signs of Stroke?

Memorizing the acronym “be fast” can help:

• “B” stands for balance. Do you notice a sudden loss of coordination?
• “E” stands for eyes. Is there a sudden change in vision?
• “F” stands for face. Does a person’s face look uneven?
• “A” stands for arms. Does one arm drift down?
• “S” stands for speech. Does the person’s speech sound strange?
• “T” stands for time. If you observe any of these signs, call 911 immediately.

“Enloe has a nationally recognized stroke team,” Dr. Varma said. “Our people are trained in recognizing and responding to a stroke rapidly.”