[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 70 (Friday, May 23, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5145-S5146]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    NATIONAL STROKE AWARENESS MONTH

 Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, I rise today to take a few 
minutes to discuss National Stroke Awareness Month.
  Every year in our country, approximately 28 out of every 100,000 
people will suffer from a stroke. In fact, the third leading cause of 
death in the United States is a stroke. However, advances in medical 
technology and better control of high blood pressure have greatly 
reduced the number of strokes per year.
  The number of strokes can be reduced even further if just a few 
preventive steps are taken. Periodic medical checkups and being on the 
look out for warning signs like high blood pressure, heart disease, 
age, and heredity are several basic ones.
  A stroke occurs when blood vessels carrying oxygen and nutrients to 
the brain either become clogged or burst.

[[Page S5146]]

 The result is that the brain does not receive the flow of blood it 
requires and brain cells become deprived and start to die. Stroke 
victims often suffer from changes to their senses, ability to 
understand speech, behavioral and thought patterns, and memory. 
Additionally, stroke victims may cry easily, laugh inappropriately, or 
become easily irritated.
  Luckily, Mr. President, advances in treatment and rehabilitation 
allow many stroke victims to return to an active lifestyle. Even though 
recovery is very possible, these stroke victims must often learn a 
whole new set of skills because old ones were lost and new skills are 
required.
  Another result of a stroke may be aphasia. Aphasia is the total or 
partial loss of the ability to speak and understand speech and in 
approximately 20 percent of strokes a serious loss of speech occurs. 
This change in speech may turn into an extremely frustrating experience 
because both speech and hearing are extremely important components 
within our society.
  People with aphasia may use unusual words or sounds when expressing 
themselves. Consequently, slurred speech may often result and thus, the 
appearance of being drunk. People recovering from a stroke may also 
become isolated from others because they cannot communicate. As a 
result, the person may become depressed and indifferent to 
rehabilitation, judgment may become impaired, and memory lapses may 
occur.

  Mr. President, I believe it is extremely important that we as a 
society take steps to become more aware of a stroke's effects. Charles 
Huston of Albuquerque, NM, has done just that for the past 30 years. 
Charles suffered a stroke in 1963 and ever since he has dedicated his 
life to making others aware of the effects of a stroke.
  Charles has specifically involved himself with the issue of aphasia. 
In fact the stroke he suffered left him with aphasia. As a result, 
Charles spent many years just relearning how to speak, painstakingly 
relearning individual words, one at a time. The hard work and 
determination paid off because Charles has led a highly successful 
personal life.
  In particular, Charles has focused on the misperception that people 
suffering from aphasia are merely drunk. He has tirelessly promoted a 
document known as the Aphasic Patient's Bill of Rights. The document 
explains the difficulties a person with aphasia may face and also 
states that people with aphasia have the right for others to treat them 
with dignity and consideration in all situations.
  As part of Charles' work to make others aware of the effects of 
aphasia, he has focused on educating the New Mexico State Police. 
Within just the past year, he presented the State police with 13 copies 
of the Aphasic Patient's Bill of Rights and the State police will hang 
one of the documents in each of the Department's 13 district offices.
  I think Charles Huston has set an example for all of us to follow. He 
has shown a remarkable amount of determination and resiliency in not 
allowing the stroke he suffered over 30 years ago to defeat him. 
Additionally, Charles has applied that same amount of determination to 
educating people about the effects of aphasia. I think we would all do 
well to take a little time and educate ourselves about the issues 
Charles Huston has been advocating for so many years.

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