The Stroke Call: Understanding stroke correctly to protect yourself and your family

On October 29, the UEF Centre of Service-Learning (CSL) organised the program called Stroke Call in response to World Stroke Day. It is a community activity with many meaningful messages, which serves as a reminder of the rejuvenation status of people suffering from stroke, thereby equipping UEF students in particular and young people in general with how to deal with specific situations.
With useful content, the online program attracted more than 1500 UEF students. The guests include Ms Dinh Nguyen Thien An - Director of CSL, Mr Cao Do Quyen - Lecturer at the UEF Faculty of Languages and International Culture, Mr Tony Coffey – First aid trainer from Survival Skills Vietnam (SSVN), Ms Trang Jena Nguyen - Co-founder of SSVN, and Ngo Kieu Ninh - Sophomore at the UEF Faculty of Law.

Specificially, the program is organised and coordinated by a group of dynamic and passionate UEF students (Group OWLLY9) about social activities. The leaders are Van Anh, the Third Prize Winner of YouBranding 2021 and a sophomore in the Faculty of Business Administration, and Thu Trang, a student majoring in Japanese.
The program was implemented with a new format and was designed as consultation sessions to help viewers easily access in-depth professional information. With the advice of experts Tony Coffey and Ms Trang Jena, the viewers thoroughly understood the causes of stroke and the right actions when supporting people with stroke.
Accordingly, experts emphasised the common symptoms and treatment of stroke through the FAST test (F (face): Sudden distorted face or mouth, A (Arms): Sudden weakness or numbness on one side of the, S (Speech): Sudden slurred speech or unclear pronunciation, T (Time): Quickly memorise the time and immediately take the patient to the hospital). In addition, information on proper first aid skills was also freely accessible on SSVN’s website.



Following the presentation of experts, The Stroke Call also created a bridge to connect viewers with the story of two guests: Mr Cao Do Quyen and Ngo Kieu Ninh, a UEF student. The audience was overwhelmed with emotions and sympathy upon hearing the speakers share their sad stories. Thereby, people had a better view of stroke and realised that stroke patients could be cured and minimise sequelae if well treated.
The interactive session with experts and guests received much attention from the students. Through discussions or sharing from the audience, there seems to be a high risk of stroke at the moment, especially in a high-pressure environment, in urban areas, or from an unhealthy lifestyle. ‘I hope people won’t ignore stroke, especially those who are students. When you feel tired, take a break, and always remember to stay healthy, especially when preparing for the exams’, shared Mr Cao Do Quyen.
 
The program ended with many emotions, wherein The Stroke Call 2021 has fulfilled its mission when bringing useful information to students to help them understand this disease and take proper actions. They also knew how to identify and prevent the risk of stroke, thereby protecting themselves and their loved ones.