I'm stepping away from our usual topics today to share something
deeply personal. Six years ago, I had a major
stroke that changed my life. This past December, I presented
to my Rotary Club the surprising signs of how I recover and what
I'm doing to prevent it from happening again.
Because of the incredible response to that talk, I
launched a new series, Elton's Stroke Story, which follows my
journey over the last six years. I'm playing that original story
from that Rotary meeting for you today.
Because I care about this community and you and your
family's well-being, I invite you to follow my journey.
It can be found on most podcasting services and YouTube.
Once again, it's called Elton's Stroke story.
I hope you find today's episode interesting as well as
informative. I'm Elton Sherwin.
This is a story about the stroke that changed my life and what
I've learned since. This podcast can be summarized
into two key messages. The first, if you think you
might be having a stroke, go immediately to the ER Don't
wait, even if your symptoms go away.
Go to the ER immediately. And secondly, get your bad
cholesterol, your LDL below 70. Here is my story. 3 months
before my stroke, I had been given a clean bill of health.
My total cholesterol was labeled 194, normal and desirable.
My LDL was 123. It turns out that what is normal
for Americans is neither healthy nor desirable. 3 months after my
clean bill of health, on the morning of December 4th, 2019,
shortly after 7 AMI had a stroke that left the right side of my
body partially paralyzed. My daughter quickly drove me to
the Stanford ER and by 8:00 AM, less than an hour after my
stroke, I had been given an injection of TPAA clot busting
enzyme. How did I know that I was having
a stroke? Well, my balance was off, my
face was drooping, my arms, my hand and my leg were all weak,
and my speech was slurred. You should be checked out even
if you have a single one of these warning signs.
Problems with balance, vision, face droop, arm weakness or
slurred speech. I recently found a video taken
two weeks after my stroke of me unable to catch a blue tennis
ball thrown 4 inches into the air.
This video was a sobering reminder of how close I came to
being permanently disabled. Every time I visit the Stanford
Neurology Clinic, I see people who did not go to the ER.
They didn't have time to be checked from their busy
schedule, they didn't want to bother anyone, or they wanted to
wait to see if the symptoms would go away by themselves.
Even if your symptoms stop, you should still go to the ERASAP.
Intermittent symptoms can be precursors to a full stroke.
You don't want to wait. A stroke can leave you unable to
speak, unable to work. Your spouse might have to quit
their job. Care expenses can exceed
$100,000 a year. Time matters.
Time is brain. You want to get to the ER and be
assessed by a medical professional as quickly as
possible. Don't drive yourself, call 911.
Don't go to urgent care. Most urgent care facilities will
just send you to the ER if you think you might be having a
stroke. You get to cut in line when you
pull up to the curb at the ER, roll down the window and scream.
I'm having a stroke, right? Think my colleague is having a
stroke? They should see you immediately,
and if they don't, keep repeating it.
Brain cells die during a stroke. Every minute counts.
Don't let your memories or your smile or your ability to walk or
your ability to talk or the ability to use your hands slip
away because you're too polite. A medical professional should
immediately give you a quick stroke assessment, usually
checking your smile, your eyes, your speech, your grip, your
balance and your face, and then send you for a scan.
And if there's a blood clot in your brain, as there are in
about 90% of strokes, you typically will be injected with
a clot busting drug. 47 minutes after my stroke I was given TPA.
I was still in the scanner. Minutes really matter.
Now, if you're having a brain bleed or ATIA or something else,
it will play out a bit differently.
My wife's observation? I could see your smile
returning, your face droop disappearing as the TPA
dissolved the clot. It was that fast, it was that
miraculous. But only if you get to the ER
quickly. Most people wait far, far too
long. Two days later, I went home in a
wheelchair and a Walker. During the first week, I went to
my daughter's graduation in a wheelchair and I started
therapy. The first year I had a mix of
over 40 sessions of speech, occupational and physical
therapy at Sequoia Hospital and Diablo W Physical therapy.
My function continued to improve over 4 years.
Not as fast as the first 90 days or six months, but I was able to
regain my ability to walk, to drive, to swim, and a bicycle.
I continued producing podcasts for four years.
I did not know that I could cut my risk of a repeat stroke just
by eating more fruit, more vegetables and less salt.
The book How Not to Die changed my life.
I learned that 90% of strokes and heart attacks are
preventable. And I learned about the many
easy things that I could do to avoid a stroke, dementia, heart
attack, diabetes and cancer. Today I eat a very different
diet. More diverse, more exciting
diet, more plant centered. Today my blood looks very
different. My LDL, my bad cholesterol is at
55. Pre stroke it was at 123.
Optimal is below 70. I would like to live for another
few decades and because I would like you to be a part of that
journey, I encourage you to do three things.
Get your LDL below 70. Get How Not to Die or the audio
book and listen to just three chapters, the chapters on heart
disease, breast cancer and prostate cancer and share this
story with those that you love. Two more things that you can do
to lower your cholesterol and help prevent heart attacks,
strokes, and dementia. One are statin pills, Lipitor,
Crestor, etcetera. They're cheap and the other is
you can improve your diet and they're surprisingly easy
changes that can add years to your life.
More fruits, more berries, more greens, nuts, beans, veggies and
whole grains and less salt, less processed meat, saturated fat,
butter, eggs, sugar, fast food. And John, some additional ways
you can lower your cholesterol are the new PCSK 9 inhibitors.
These are the cholesterol lowering shots that can be
expensive, but they're very effective.
GLP 1 weight loss drugs that are so much in the news or bariatric
surgery. My recommendation, and I'm not a
medical professional, but my recommendation if your LDL is
above 70, modify your diet, be tested every 90 days until you
get it down below 70. And if your LDL stays above 70,
talk with your doctor about a statin.
And if a diet and statin doesn't get you below 70, consider the
PCSK nine shots or the GLP 1 weight loss or the bariatric
surgery. I was shocked when I saw images
of veins with plaque buildup in brains of people who ate high
fat diets like I did. When I saw the images I stopped
eating deep fried food. I went cold Turkey one day, saw
the pictures and I stopped eating deep fried foods.
Within weeks of changing my diet, I noticed I was less
anxious and I had better reaction time.
Perhaps it was all in my mind. Now I focus on three numbers
during my annual physical keeping my blood sugar, my A1C,
the 90 day blood sugar average below 5.7, my LDL cholesterol,
bad cholesterol under 70, and my blood pressure below 170 for
optimal help because I want to attend my grandchildren's
weddings. So there are a number of proven
programs out there that can prevent you having to spend a
lifetime on drugs or have surgery.
I was never told many people don't know about these options.
One of the most famous is the Cleveland Clinic's Heart Disease
Reversal program, $1200 not paid by insurance.
I would certainly check it out before I had elective heart
surgery. Then right here in Marin County
Doctor Ornish's program for reversing heart disease.
That program you can take online insurance does many insurance
programs do pay for it and it has better outcomes than drugs
or surgery in many instances. Two programs that I did discover
and they did change my life. One from better health BETR
health Blue Shields, the Medicare supplement paid for it.
I lost 30 lbs. My wife and I did it together
and Doctor Michael Gregor's book how not to die.
It was life changing. A one page meal plan.
Their green light foods, their yellow light foods and their red
light foods. There's an app free, no in app
purchases. Takes a minute a day, maybe 2.
The app is called The Daily Dozen.
It tracks the 12 foods you should eat every day.
The Daily Dozen free in the Google and iPhone app stores.
If you or a family member has heart disease, hypertension,
diabetes, cancer or brain disease, read the corresponding
chapter and How Not to die. And if you have a family member
who suffers from depression or schizophrenia, please listen to
the new Zoe podcast. That's Zoe and it's called How
food can improve your mood. It's it was an eye opening
podcast for me. It's never too late to change.
I think the evidence shows that for the vast majority of
American adults, people that have grown up on the American
diet, optimal health requires blood sugar A1C under 5.7, LDL
under 70, and blood pressure below 170.
Many medical professionals are comfortable with higher numbers.
Work with your doctor. I'm not a medical professional
but had a stroke and I've learned a lot of things since
then. Take action Doctor Michael
Gregor's book, It's apartment and the Red Light Green Light
Foods is the easiest with its focus on improvement and not
perfection. And it's free.
Better Health is a more structured program.
Insurance may cover it, and it's a great way to switch from
processed foods to lifelong, healthier eating and to lose
weight along the way. For people with heart disease,
the $1200 One Day program at the Cleveland Clinic or the Ornish
online program are both structured and very demanding,
but they have a long track record of saving lives.
Both the Cleveland Clinic and the Ornish program have brought
people back from the brink of death.
Several of these programs have also helped with high blood
pressure, diabetes, some dementias, and some cancers.
And if none of these work for you, there are other options,
including drugs and surgery. Work with your doctor.
You can do this. I'm not affiliated with any of
these organizations, nor have I been paid to mention them.
I would like to live another few decades and because I would like
you to be part of that journey, I encourage you to take action
if your numbers are high. You don't want to wake up 1
morning unable to use half of your body or unable to talk or
unable to read. So take out your phone right now
and look up the results of your last blood test and if your LDL
is above 70, install the Daily Dozen app on your phone.
Read 3 chapters and How Not to Die and Change Your diet and
then in 90 days get tested again.
And if your LDL is still above 70, make an appointment with
your doctor and develop plan to get your LDL down below 70.
And remember, I'm not a medical professional.
This advice may not be appropriate for everyone.
As always, work with your doctor.
This is Elton Sherwin, thanks for making this podcast part of
your day. I invite you to follow my
journey. It can be found on most
podcasting services and YouTube. Once again, it's called Elton's
stroke story. Please subscribe and recommend
us to your friends and family. Join us next time.
Meanwhile, stay safe and stay healthy.