2008 Stats

One final ride to bid farewell to 2008 and welcome the new year.  ’08 was a busy year.  I changed role multiple times at work: from relationship manager, to project manager, to program analyst, and now shared services manager for a global cross-sell program.  Business travels, back injury, and a couple of flues had pretty much screwed up my bike season and kept me from racing or participating in any century rides.

Still, I think I had a good year.  Below are some statistics:

	2008	2007
Total Miles	4,750	5,330
Total Time (hh:mm)	309:44	368:58
# of Rides	295	302
Average MPH	15.5	18.1
Average HR (% Max)	76	75
Average Miles/Ride	16.3	18.1

STROKE: Remember the 1st Three Letters S.T.R.

A neurologist says that if he can get to a stroke victim within 3 hours he can completely reverse the effects of a stroke. Completely. He said the trick was getting a stroke recognized, diagnosed, and then getting the patient medically cared for within 3 hours.

A REAL STORY

During a BBQ, Ingrid stumbled and took a little fall.  She assured everyone that she was fine. They offered to call paramedics. She said she had just tripped over a brick because of her new shoes. They got her cleaned up and got her a new plate of food. While she appeared a bit shaken up, Ingrid went about enjoying herself the rest of the evening.

Ingrid’s husband called later telling everyone that his wife had been taken to the hospital. At 6:00 PM Ingrid passed away. She had suffered a stroke at the BBQ. Had they known how to identify the signs of a stroke, perhaps Ingrid would be with us today. Some don’t die. they end up in a helpless, hopeless condition instead.

INFORMATION EVERYONE SHOULD KNOW

RECOGNIZING A STROKE VICTIM

Sometimes symptoms of a stroke are difficult to identify. Unfortunately, the lack of awareness spells disaster. The stroke victim may suffer severe brain damage when people nearby fail to recognize the symptoms of a stroke.

Doctors say a bystander can recognize a stroke by asking 3 simple questions:

S *Ask the individual to SMILE.

T *Ask the person to TALK and SPEAK A SIMPLE SENTENCE (coherently), i.e. It is sunny out today.

R *Ask him or her to RAISE BOTH ARMS. If he or she has trouble with ANY ONE of these tasks, call emergency number immediately and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher.

NOTE: Another sign of a stroke the tongue. Ask the person to ‘stick’ out his tongue. If the tongue is crooked, if it goes to one side or the other, that is also an indication of a stroke.

A cardiologist says if everyone who gets this e-mail sends it to 10 people; you can bet that at least one life will be saved.

I have done my part. Have you?