A couple held hands while waiting at crosswalk in York City's downtown square.
Nancy, 58, wore a flowy orange blouse in the muggy Thursday afternoon. As the two crossed the street, she laughed and talked, energetically gesturing with her hands. But suddenly, she began to touch her head, looking disoriented and in pain.
Something was wrong, and she knew it.
Once she crossed the street, her legs gave out beneath her, and her husband caught her. He held her weight against him and led her to a nearby bench. Confused and scared, she dragged her right leg behind her.
"Help me, Jim," she cried, slurring her speech.
As he dialed 911, Nancy's right arm and the side of her mouth went limp, and she said she couldn't see. In minutes, paramedics arrived, took her vitals and loaded her onto a stretcher.
On the street corner were signs that made the situation a bit lighter: "Stroke Drill In Progress."
As part of National Stroke Awareness Month, Nancy and Jim, actors with York Hospital's Medical Education Simulation Center, mimicked a situation that kills about 133,000 people annually.
Brain attack: Essentially a brain attack, a stroke occurs when a portion of the brain is starved for blood, said Robert Sterling, director of inpatient neurology at WellSpan Health.
Sterling said the cause of a stroke is underlying cardiac disease, such as arteries clogged by plaque or blocked by blood clots. But instead of in the heart, the process occurs in the most important organ in the body, the brain, he said.
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York stroke drill stresses importance of fast treatment