MILWAUKEE, Wisc. — June marks Stroke Awareness Month and the number of young people in Wisconsin suffering from strokes continues to rise.
Katie Truttschel says she knows that all too well.
“Prime of my life, I'm ready to go, did not at all see it coming. No family history, no indicators in life or health that this was even going to be a blip on the radar,” said Truttschel.
At 25 years old, Truttschel suffered a stroke while on vacation with her friends in Las Vegas.
“We had a couple great days. I was honestly at the blackjack table. It was like 11am,” said Truttschel.
She says it all happened so fast.
“I felt a little dizzy and off and I just felt something happening in my face and I could just feel the left side of my face. It's kind of hard to describe but it just felt like it was falling,” said Truttschel.
Truttschel says she thought she fully aware of what was going on.
“I actually thought I was speaking quite coherently when I was being asked questions, but I could see the pure look of terror on my friends’ faces,” said Truttschel.
She quickly realized that wasn’t the case.
“Strokes do not age discriminate, right? We think it's going to be our grandparents or our older aunts and uncles and I did not expect at 25 coming up on 26 to be in this situation,” said Truttschel.
Paschal Amore suffered a stroke last year while watching television at home with his wife.
“I could hear her and look around. I tried to step aside and I was answering her and then she said, ‘Something is wrong with you,’” said Amore.
With no family history of stroke, Amore says he had no idea this could happen to him and now, he is doing everything he can to take care of himself.
“By talking about it, and to be able to help other people, it's a good sign,” said Amore.
Dr. Hatim Attar with Froedtert and the Medical College of Wisconsin says the number of young people who have had strokes over the last decade has gone up by close to 15 percent.
Some risk factors include poor diet, lack of exercise and substance use, like alcohol and tobacco.
“We see a lot of patients coming from all across Wisconsin and yes, most definitely, the number of patients who are younger has increased,” said Dr. Attar.
Dr. Attar says the best reminder when dealing with a stroke is to remember to be fast.
Check for balance issues, blurred vision, face drooping, arm weakness, and speech difficulty as quickly as you can.
“Most of our interventions are time-sensitive and almost 80% of strokes are preventable. So, seeing primary care doctors, getting plugged into the healthcare system is important,” said Dr. Attar.
Now in her 40s and living in Delafield with her husband Dan, Truttschel says she wanted to share her story to make sure people understand how strokes can affect anyone at any age.
“If someone even has a portion of them, do not disregard it and get them help immediately. Just because they're young or middle aged or you think they're healthy or you think they're doing something unhealthy, doesn't mean that that's not what it is,” said Truttschel.
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