在高尔夫球场上的迅速行动导致了中风后的迅速恢复

George Richards had just hit his tee shot on the sixth hole. 他正在利兰的家附近和每周四下午见面的高尔夫球友打九洞高尔夫球, North Carolina.

这球打得相当不错，落在了距洞约120码的球道上. 理查兹用右手从包里抓起一根球杆，朝球走去，准备第二次击球.

但当理查兹试图把左手放在握把上时，他却动不了. The arm just hung there.

理查兹回想起他看过的一个项目，教残疾人只用一只手臂挥动球杆. He gave it a try.

Richards swung feebly at the ball. It rolled forward a couple inches.

Then one of his pals, Mike Davisson, 我看到理查兹的胳膊耷拉着，左半边脸耷拉着.

"Call 911," Davisson shouted. "George is having a stroke."

另一名球员把理查兹放进高尔夫球车上，朝俱乐部会所走去, keeping one arm around him so he wouldn't topple over.

"I'm fine. I'm 100%," Richards said, repeating the words like a mantra.

直到他们到达俱乐部会所后，理查兹才明白他实际上是中风了.

Of all people, he would know.

Richards and his wife, Carol, 在儿子去世后，开始为中风幸存者和家属开办教育和支持小组, David Dow, had a stroke at age 10 in 1995. 大卫的中风是由一种罕见的脑部疾病引起的，导致了严重的失语.

失语症是一种由大脑损伤引起的交流障碍，会影响说话, understanding, reading, writing and math. In 2013, the family started the nonprofit Aphasia Recovery Connection. Several members of Carol's family also have had strokes.

When Carol and George moved to Leland from Nevada in 2021, 乔治做的第一件事就是找出附近是否有认证的中风中心. He was relieved to learn that there was. That's where the first responders took him.

当时77岁的乔治一到医院，就受到了中风治疗小组的欢迎. 脑部扫描显示他的右大脑中动脉有一个血栓. He was given clot-busting medication.

A second scan showed that the clot had not dissolved. Doctors then performed a thrombectomy, a procedure in which a device is used to remove the clot, restoring blood flow. 手术是在中风症状出现后不到50分钟进行的.

卡萝尔花了很多沙巴足球体育平台在候诊室里设想最坏的情况. When she next saw George, 他想讨论一下扫描的结果，以及他是否患有失语症或额叶损伤.

Carol knew his mind was working fine. A nurse even asked if George worked in neurology.

Within a couple hours, 物理治疗师测试了乔治的认知和运动技能，并宣布他没有任何缺陷. Two days later, he was back home.

Doctors think the cause of his stroke was atrial fibrillation, or AFib, which is an irregular heartbeat. 中风发生在2022年9月，大约在他接受心脏起搏器治疗10年后. 他应该在中风后的一周例行更换仪器.

中风后，乔治和卡罗尔加大了教育他人的力度. 他们在社区组织了一场中风宣传活动，吸引了130多人参加. They plan to sponsor another event later this year. 去年，乔治还在他所在地区的一个新的神经科学研究所开幕仪式上发表了讲话, sharing how specialized care at the ready helped save his life.

More than anything, George and Carol said, 他们很幸运，戴维森知道中风的迹象，并拨打了911.

"That is the key," George said. "Don't say, 'We need to drive him to the hospital.' Just call 911."

卡罗尔一想到如果戴维森没有这么快采取行动，事情可能会变得更糟，就不寒而栗.

"George could be in an assisted living facility today," she said. "Instead, he's back to golf three times a week. Mike is our hero."

Stories From the Heart 记录心脏病和中风幸存者、护理人员和倡导者的鼓舞人心的旅程.