(uplifting piano music)
- [Voiceover] At the American Stroke Association,
helping save lives is what we do.
Through the tireless efforts
of volunteers and staff,
almost 189,000 stroke patients' lives
have been saved since 1998.
- So Katherine and I grew up in the deep south
and we met in college.
We stand before our spouse-to-be
and we give these promises to them
that we really can never fully take the weight of
until they are tested.
Katherine woke up feeling funny one morning
and couldn't put her finger on it.
And she thought maybe she was even pregnant.
I went to prepare a final exam, a presentation,
and I heard her cry out from the other room.
She all of a sudden was non-responsive
and fell out on the floor.
So I immediately called 911
and within a few minutes,
the paramedics were there.
- [Voiceover] You're the Cure advocates
lobbied for access and affordability
of effective stroke treatment and rehabilitation.
These medically necessary services
have saved lives.
Since 2004, the American Stroke Association
has partnered with the Ad Council
to increase warning sign recognition
and the urgent need to call 911.
- My husband amazingly walks through the door
and was able to call 911.
And quickly the paramedics said
they needed to get me to a hospital.
- [Voiceover] With the help of
the American Stroke Association,
19 states have stroke systems of care
that coordinate and track the actions
of EMS, the hospital, and local communities,
to help patients get treated
in the shortest amount of time.
The American Stroke Association
and the Joint Commission
have certified hospitals as Primary Stroke Centers
and more Comprehensive Stroke Centers.
- I had been playing professional basketball
for 12 years.
It was the pinnacle of my career.
Physically, I was the best ever.
Little did I know that I was
at risk of having a stroke.
I woke up, went to go brush my teeth
and as I picked up my toothbrush,
I realized I had a tingly feeling
in my right fingertips.
My right arm was
all of a sudden numb
and I got a throbbing headache.
I knew there was something wrong,
but I wasn't for sure.
I wasn't for sure.
I definitely didn't know
that I was having a stroke.
I didn't know how
serious it was.
- [Voiceover] Furthering consumer awareness,
the American Stroke Association launched
the Power to End Stroke campaign.
More than 36,000 Ambassadors
have helped African-Americans,
who are most affected by stroke,
to reduce their risks.
In 2012, to build national awareness
that stroke is largely preventable,
treatable, and beatable,
the American Stroke Association launched
Together to End Stroke.
Through this initiative,
people are learning how to recognize a stroke
using the acronym FAST.
- If you are to pull back the curtain
on the last five and a half years,
there would literally be thousands of people
that have all been involved in the process
of initially keeping me alive,
healing me, rehabbing me, bringing me home,
helping me maintain and go on with life,
and subsequently, 11 surgeries later,
I'm doing great.
So the aggregate of all of these people
would literally be in the thousands.
Now what is powerful to consider
is the number of these people
who are in someway connected
to the American Stroke Association.
It is uncanny how many volunteers
give of themselves because they recognize
that they need to come alongside people
in their very darkest hour
and help them to go on with life,
to, in fact, continue
even after true hardship and tragedy
through something like a stroke.
- By me educating and encouraging others
to know more about stroke,
it feels more like that's my purpose
while I'm still here.
- [Voiceover] At its core,
the American Stroke Association funds research
and helps translates discoveries into everyday use
to save lives and reduce disability.
We spend more money than any other organization,
except for the federal government,
on stroke research and programs.
We've also lobbied Congress to double research spending
from 13.6 billion to $27 billion.
With significant advances in technologies,
such as telestroke and clot-retrieval devices,
patients are being treated in rural communities
by well-trained neurologists
and receiving life-saving therapies
that were once unheard of.
While these are significant accomplishments,
we remain committed
to improving the health of all Americans
and reducing death and disability from stroke.
The American Stroke Association's goal
is to improve the cardiovascular health
of all Americans by 20% by 2020.
- I would like to thank the American Stroke Association
for their continual efforts
in the improving of lives of others
that's been impacted by stroke.
- Thank you American Stroke Association
for all you've done to aid in my recovery.
Actually, thank you also for helping fund
the invaluable research
that helped to save my life.
(uplifting piano music)