Ahead of mass at St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church, Steven Watson knew something wasn’t right.
“I was disoriented. My left hand was not working as well, and I was having a little shaking that was going on,” said Watson.
Soon, Norma Hernandez noticed.
“I would ask him questions, and it would take him a while to answer him, and he was pale. He looked really pale in his face,” said Hernandez.
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That’s when critical training kicked in.
After Hernandez’s husband suffered two strokes and her mother died from one, she became a community health worker back in 2019.
She trained under Mercedes Cruz Ruiz at the American Heart Association, learning the critical signs of stroke, including the acronym FAST to recognize symptoms.
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“I love the word FAST, face drooping, arm gets a little bit heavy, speech little bit we start talking kind of funny and then the best one of all is treatment which is that time frame which I also call it time because you got that time window,” said Cruz Ruiz.
“To me, it's important to know, especially in a Hispanic, because most Hispanics don't like going to the doctor and checking what's going on,” said Hernandez.
During National Hispanic Heritage Month, the non-profit is launching derramecerebral.org, a Spanish-speaking website that educates on stroke symptoms, prevention, risk factors, and treatment.
It’s part of an effort to address health inequities.
While Watson’s episode proved to be caused by a different neurologic condition, he’s thriving today due in part to Hernandez’s insistence that they call 911…
“I’m glad that she understood the signs that she knows,” he said.
It’s information Hernandez said everyone should and can learn.
