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Jose Maldonado’s Story
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I am a volunteer speaker and advocate on behalf of Stroke Survivors. Some time ago the CDC asked me to participate in their Million Hearts Drive which is a national initiative to raise awareness about and prevent future heart attacks and strokes (the website has over 5 million hits so far)
I co-founded CentreTEK Solutions www.centretek.com with my best friend Jay Miller in January, 2001. Like other entrepreneurs before us, we had dreams of building our own special IT Company. (I would find out later just how “special” my little CentreTEK was going to be.)
By the end of December 2002 we were still on plan. We had about 22 IT consultants working on several federal and commercial contracts and every month seemed a little better than the previous one.
It was then, towards the end of our second year, that I suffered a devastating stroke on December 6, 2002. They took me first to Howard County General Hospital then I was immediately taken by helicopter to Johns Hopkins. At Johns Hopkins they told my wife that my stroke had been caused by an aneurism deep inside my brain and that it was inoperable. That all we could do was to hope and pray.
A Heart Attack Can Strike Anyone
Vilma Steward recalls her sudden heart attack
Early one evening in February 2009, my husband and I were watching TV, sitting comfortably in our favorite couch. I had just returned from a wonderful trip to Peru to visit family and friends and I felt very relaxed and happy. Not at all the scenario where you would expect a heart attack to happen. But all of a sudden, I started feeling a creeping pain in my upper left arm. I rubbed it and changed my position and thought nothing of it. But it quickly got worse.
The best way to describe it is like blood was pushing hard to get through. Then it turned into a burning pain engulfing my neck and jaw… very painful! At this point, I knew something was definitely wrong. I got up and told my husband, very calmly, “I think I’m having a heart attack”, and while he called 911, I walked to the kitchen and took 2 aspirins. I was surprised at how quickly paramedics arrived. I told them I had taken aspirin, and they said that was “a very smart move.” After taking my blood pressure, starting an IV and hooking me to all kinds of instruments, I was taken by ambulance to the Emergency Room where I stayed all night, my heart being very closely monitored.
The next morning I had a catheterization procedure which showed that my arteries were “as clean as a 20-year-old’s” and that the scar the heart attack had left was almost imperceptible. The cardiologist explained to me that it seemed that what had caused the heart attack was a spasm, probably brought about by the intense dental procedures I had while in Peru, which included several shots of anesthetics and atropine. After two follow-up visits with the cardiologist, fortunately I did not need any medication or further tests. Since then, however, following my doctor’s recommendation, I am taking an 81mg aspirin every night before going to bed, just to be on the safe side…
Video Interviews & Seminars
We wish to thank our interviewees for their time and comments about Circle’s programs. Here’s our latest video.
The Saturday Diabetes Group At Proyecto Salud Listens Attentively
The attached photo was taken yesterday morning (March 3rd) at Proyecto Salud. Emilia Elias is lecturing in Spanish on Diabetes, while Dorita deLemos Down presses the keys on the laptop to flip the slides and respond to questions from the group of 22 persons. This group meets the first Saturday of each month. And, they are delighted to have us, and anxiously await each first Saturday. They just stream into the conference room and are all very attentive when we arrive to deliver the power point presentation.
Emilia Elias presents a lecture on Diabetes to 22 students
Men and Depression
Are you tired and irritable all the time? Have you lost interest in our work, family, or hobbies? Are you having trouble sleeping and feeling angry or aggressive, sad or worthless? Have you been feeling like this for weeks or months?
If so, you may have depression! Continue reading
Older Adults and Depression
Do you feel very tired, helpless and hopeless? Are you sad most of the time and take no pleasure in your family, friends or hobbies? Are you having trouble working, sleeping, eating and functioning? Have you felt this way for a long time? If so, you may have depression!
The Statistics For Strokes
Each year, 780,000 Americans suffer a stroke.- 600,000 of these are new strokes.*
- Stroke is the third largest cause of death in the U.S.
- Stroke is the primary cause of permanent, long-term disability
- Blacks have almost twice the risk of first-ever stroke compared with whites*
- Hispanics and other minorities have 1-1/2 times the risk of first ever stroke as compared to whites*
- As of 2005, 89,000 Marylanders have had a stroke and almost 2500 people died of stroke**
- Eighty-seven percent of strokes are ischemic, generated by blood-clots in the brain***
- Thirteen percent of strokes are hemorrhagic, caused by bleeding in the brain***
- Uncontrolled high blood pressure increases stroke risk by a factor of four****
- The risk of ischemic stroke in smokers is about double that of non-smokers*
- Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA) is a stroke with symptoms that dissipate.
- Nearly 25% of all patients who experience TIAs will die within one year.*
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Me, My Stroke, and I
A True Story Lived and Experienced by Dorita deLemos Down
MARCH, 2005
It wasn’t early morning, on the contrary, it was about 9:30 a.m. The day looked balmy for November and I was in the process of drying myself to get dressed after the morning shower. The radio broadcast my favorite classical music, and all was well with the world. When all of a sudden! My entire left side went limp and numb. I tried to find my legs, only to have the left one buckle under me, and I was forced to sit before I fell to the floor. Immediately I discovered the droopiness of the arm, and the entire left side of my body. I tried to call out, only to discover that I could not speak because my tongue was also numb, and I could not get a single word out. To whom should I call out to since I was all alone! After a few minutes, I was, through some magic fashion, able to crawl to my phone and tried to phone my son, who responded when he realized I could not talk, :”Call 9-1-1” , after I was able to tell him I was having a Stroke. I did not call “911” due to previous negative experience, however, I gathered what little strength was available to me and was able to phone a friend, who upon hearing the tone I my voice, immediately came and carried me from my second floor to his car and to the nearest hospital’s emergency room, located about 7 minutes from my home.
Continue reading
Strokes: What To Do Next
You have had a Stroke! Now what do you do?
How to overcome the so-called consequences of having suffered a Stroke! Continue reading
