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A stroke doesn’t always arrive like a movie scene. Sometimes it shows up as a dragging leg, blurry vision, a face that won’t smile straight, or speech or language that suddenly changes. And the scariest part is that you may still feel “fine.”
That’s why Angie sits down with Nurse Karrima Owens, clinical nurse specialist and stroke program coordinator at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, known around West Philly as the Stroke Lady. Her message is simple and urgent: you don’t know what you don’t know, and when stroke symptoms appear, time matters.
The conversation explores how stroke and brain injury can affect awareness, attention, memory, language, speech, judgment, and other cognitive functions, sometimes making it harder for a person to recognize what has changed. Nurse Karrima shares what she hears from patients and families every day, including the common misconception that a stroke must be painful or dramatic. They also talk about why stroke is often called a “brain attack,” why “time is brain,” and how recognizing symptoms quickly can change what happens next.
You’ll leave with practical tools, including B.E. F.A.S.T. stroke warning signs: Balance, Eyes, Face, Arms, Speech, and Time. Nurse Karrima explains why even one sudden symptom is enough to call 911 and breaks down major stroke risk factors, including high blood pressure, smoking and vaping, diabetes, high cholesterol, irregular heart rhythms, sleep apnea, physical inactivity, and more.
The episode also gets into what happens after the emergency, including Angie’s “discharge cliff,” stroke recovery resources, support groups, preparing questions for medical appointments, and simple ways to stay organized when reading or writing is difficult.
If this episode helps you understand stroke a little better, subscribe to Brain Friends, share it with someone you love, and leave a review so more people can learn the signs before they need them.
https://www.cognitiverecoverylab.com/seles
https://aphasia.org/stories/announcing-the-davetrina-seles-gadson-health-equity-grant-program/
Our beloved colleague, Dr. Davetrina Seles Gadson, passed away January 11, 2025. Dr. Gadson was an extraordinary speech-language pathologist and neuroscience researcher who devoted her energy to studying health disparities in aphasia recovery. She was a fierce advocate for improving services for individuals with aphasia, particularly Black Americans. Her research transformed our understanding of these health disparities and shed light on how we can address them. We were privileged to have Dr. Gadson as a cherished member of our lab community for four years, first as a postdoctoral fellow and then as an Instructor of Rehabilitation Medicine. She was still a close collaborator and friend to many of us at the time of her passing. Dr. Gadson was an incredible person—compassionate, inspiring, and full of life. Her dedication to advancing equity in aphasia recovery and her profound impact on our community will never be forgotten. We are committed to honoring her memory by continuing to push our field forward and fight for equitable services for all people with aphasia.
