Placerville Rotarian Mike Gray passed away today around noon.

He collapsed at their Cool Feed Store on Thursday around noon.   Was transported to Auburn Faith Hospital. Later, he was transported to Sutter General in Sacramento. He suffered a stroke, diagnosed as caused by a blood clot. He was kept sedated to keep the stress level down, but the damage was too great...he is being kept on a resuscitator until all his organs can be used for transplant.  Jody will be staying with him until that process is complete.

At this time, services are tentatively on Tuesday in Cool.  The family will be setting up a trust fund in lieu of flowers.

Jody has a tremendous family support group assembled, and is doing as well as could be expected.  Mike's dad, brother, and son all arrived and Jody's sisters and mom are here...so their son Noah has much support One of Jody's sisters will be working the store.  The Fair Board had an emergency Board of Directors meeting, and Marta will be acting CEO...until Jody returns.

Everything seems to be covered at this time...I will keep you updated .

Yours in Rotary,   Mak

About Rotarian Mike Gray

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Stroke is the leading cause of adult disability and the third leading cause of death.  In fact, more women than men die from stroke and twice as many women die from stroke than breast cancer.  Stroke is not a geriatric disease. And it’s not confined to elderly overweight smokers who have high blood pressure or high cholesterol.  Because rapid treatment of a stroke is crucial to prevent brain damage -- you need to be alert for the signs of an attack.  No matter what type of stroke a person has, the symptoms are generally the same. 

Stroke is a medical emergency. Know these warning signs of stroke and teach them to others. Every second counts!  Call 911, or get to an emergency room immediately if you or anyone around you has any of these problems:

• Sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg, especially on one side of the body
• Sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding
• Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes
• Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination
• Sudden, severe headache with no known cause

Sometimes symptoms of a stroke are difficult to identify.  Unfortunately, the lack of awareness spells disaster. The stroke victim may suffer brain damage when people nearby fail to recognize the symptoms of a stroke.  Now some doctors say a bystander can recognize a stroke by asking three simple questions:

1. *Ask the individual to SMILE.  Does one side of the face droop?

2. *Ask him or her to RAISE BOTH ARMS.  Does one arm drift downward?

3. *Ask the person to SPEAK A SIMPLE SENTENCE.  Are the words slurred?  Can he/she repeat the sentence correctly?

If he or she has trouble with any of these tasks, call 911 or get to an emergency room immediately.

After discovering that a group of non-medical volunteers could identify facial weakness, arm weakness and speech problems, researchers urged the general public to learn the three questions. They presented their conclusions at the American Stroke Association's annual meeting.  Widespread use of this test could result in prompt diagnosis and treatment of the stroke and prevent brain damage.

 

Women in Your Life

More women than men die from stroke and twice as many women die from stroke than breast cancer.  However, according to a new poll from the National Stroke Association, nearly one-third of men aren’t able to help the women in their lives because they do not recognize even one stroke symptom. Read More

 

What is Stroke?

A stroke or "brain attack" occurs when a blood clot blocks an artery (a blood vessel that carries blood from the heart to the body) or a blood vessel (a tube through which the blood moves through the body) breaks, interrupting blood flow to an area of the brain.  When either of these things happen, brain cells begin to die and brain damage occurs.

When brain cells die during a stroke, abilities controlled by that area of the brain are lost.  These abilities include speech, movement and memory.  How a stroke patient is affected depends on where the stroke occurs in the brain and how much the brain is damaged.

For example, someone who has a small stroke may experience only minor problems such as weakness of an arm or leg.  People who have larger strokes may be paralyzed on one side or lose their ability to speak.  Some people recover completely from strokes, but more than 2/3 of survivors will have some type of disability.

 

 

Getting Support

ASA Stroke Family Discussion Boards Join our free online discussion boards and start sharing with other stroke families today!

Stroke Support Groups Seeking support from others who've experienced stroke can be a huge benefit to the recovery process. Stroke groups afford the opportunity to share feelings, ideas, resources and often provide important education for survivors and caregivers alike. more

Stroke Family Warmline The Warmline is a team of four people who answer calls from stroke survivors and their families, providing support and helpful information or just a listening ear. more

		Common Threads Pen Pals The day-to-day challenges, frustrations and accomplishments of a stroke survivor or caregiver can only be understood by someone who's been there. Register with Common Threads Pen Pals and begin corresponding with other stroke families. more

Stroke Connection Magazine SCM has a wealth of information for those recovering from stroke and individual subscriptions are absolutely free. Become a subscriber

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“The Smile Test,” also known as “a simple test for stroke,” A scientific poster presented at the 2003 International Stroke Conference titled “Untrained Adults Can Identify Symptoms of Stroke by Directed Use of the Cincinnati Prehospital Stroke Scale” suggested that asking three questions could help bystanders identify a stroke. This presentation by researchers at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill School of Medicine was one of 450 presentations made at the conference hosted by the American Stroke Association.  The poster showed positive results but was a very small study.  The research was funded by a grant from the American Stroke Association.  However, the American Stroke Association has not taken a position on this topic nor endorsed this test.  

Posted by Admin at 06:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Pollock Pines/Camino Rotary Club and the Active 20/30 Club presents Comedy Night with Brad Bonar to Benefit the Boys & Girls Club of El Dorado County, Western Slope on February 25^th at 7 pm at The Boys & Girls Club (in the Armory behind the Fairgrounds)

Hors d’oeurves, Beer & wine, Silent Auction, and Comedy will be served for a $25 admission charge. Rumor has it that Marilyn Monroe will make an appearance! Support our fellow Rotarians and the Boys & Girls Club.  For more information contact Sherri Lum-Alarcon at (530) 295-1236 remaxgold@gmail.com, or Joan Stek at (530) 295-8019 wsbgcstek@directcon.net

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Click here to go to the Placerville Interact Club Website provided by Our Club.

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Placerville Rotary Interact Club at El
Dorado Hill School has elected this year's officers. 

From left to right Shari-Secretary,
Heidi-President, Joe-Director, -VP, -Treasurer.

Meetings are the 1st &
3rd Fridays at 1:06p.m. in room B125 of EDH. 

All Rotarians are welcome. Be sure to check-in at the office.

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Bula,

I am sending some photo's of the house being built for Jone's Family. As you know Jone, a young Fijian man in his 30's, was paralyzed when he fell out of a tree while picking fruit for his wife and 2 young children. The village chief came to the Rotary club in Savusavu asking for help for this man and his family. Jone and his family live in a one room hut with dirt floor, no running water or bathroom. The bathroom facilities are located far from their small ramshackle hut and it is difficult for Jone to get to these facilities during the night and during storms do to his condition. The Rotary club in Savusavu, on the island of Vanua Levu, made building a home for this family their number one priority and project and, were willing to commit all their funds (which was not enough) When we contacted them about what we could help them with, they suggested the building of a home for Jone and his young family. 

Here are some photo's of the project. When we arrive in May the home will be complete. We will be able to meet Jone, his family, see their village and the water project we also helped them improve through our donations.

I am also including a Photo of a school. We are planning a day of work with one of the schools. The Rotary over their has some ideas of how we can help. 

I will let you know what we may be able to bring for the school kids.

More to come, Thanks for joining this worthwhile project and representing America over in Fiji. Please let me know some things you would like to do while there. Some of us will be diving, some playing golf and perhaps some of you would like to sail out on the bay. I will e-mail everyone with some ideas and the cost and see who is interested. We have a visit to a waterfall for swim, followed by a Meke (dance) by the children of a village, followed by a barbi on the beach at the home of the president of the Rotary club along with the other Rotarian' and their families. (the president is from Santa Fe New Mexico).

Venaka vaka levu,

Mark and Alison Payne

Click Here for More Pictures

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Allen Samson reports that the EDHS Interact Club began with 7 students and that the last meeting had 24! Nominations were held and they meet on the 1st & 3rd Friday of the month in Room B126.

On February 17th, Officers will be elected. Please attend and show your support.

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We are gearing up for the Annual Rotary Speech contest, which will be Judged at the club on Thursday February 2, 2006.  This year’s theme is: “Service Above Self.”

Those clubs that have participated over the years know what an exceptional opportunity the contest provides the young people in our communities. To see talented youngsters each year demonstrate their speaking skills in front of a room full of Rotarians is simply amazing to watch.  We want to provide them an opportunity to display their talents again this year.

  Prize money and other financial considerations for the contestants and/or their families will be made by Larie Trippet (ltrippet@charter.net).  All inquiries about any financial considerations for either the Speech or Music Contests must be directed to him.  The District awards will remain $1,000 for first place, $500 for second, and $250 for third.

1. Once contestants have arrived, they will draw a number from a box to determine their speaking order.

2. The Master of Ceremonies of the contest will introduce the contest to the club by stating the speech contest theme and briefly listing the rules. Explaining that the speaker will be introduced by NUMBER ONLY with no mention of names or school affiliation until all contestants have given their speeches. Also explaining that there is to be no applause between speakers so that judges are not influenced by the audience, and that there will be  silence between speakers to allow the judges an opportunity to rate the speakers.

3. The judging will be base on:

SPEECH DEVELOPMENT Structure, Organization, Support Material	C O N T E N T 50	20
EFFECTIVENESS Achievement Of Purpose, Interest, Reception		15
SPEECH VALUE Ideas, Logic, Original Thought		15
PHYSICAL Appearance, Body Language	D E L I V E R L Y 30	10
VOICE Flexibility, Volume		10
MANNER Directness, Assurance, Enthusiasm		10
APPROPRIATENESS To Speech Purpose And Audience	L A N G U A G E 20	10
CORRECTNESS Grammar, Pronunciation, Word Selection		10

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Footloose Rotarian covers 2,200 miles to stomp out polio 

After walking more than 2,200 miles to raise money and awareness for Polio Plus, Nathan Auerbach didn’t mince words when asked what he’d do next: “Sit down.” 

Auerbach,a 26-year-old member of the Rotary Club of Coto de Caza, Rancho Santa Margarita, California, USA, has been catching up on much-needed rest and relaxation after completing an awe-inspiring, 15-week hike from Tijuana, Mexico, to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, on 14 August. Auerbach says his journey, which began 1 May, netted The Rotary Foundation’s polio program more than US$200,000, with additional donations coming in. 

Auerbach got a first-hand look at the importance of polio immunization in January 2005,when he and fellow Rotarians traveled to Caborca, Mexico, to administer the vaccine to impoverished children. 

“I feel strongly that a person like me, with all of the advantages I have been given, should do his best to make a difference in the lives of children,” he said before setting off in Tijuana. 

During his West Coast Walk, as he called it, Auerbach greeted the members of more than 100 Rotary clubs and endured 106 days of hiking in honor of Rotary ’s centennial. Despite scorching heat, steep climbs, disorienting fog, with hairpin turns, Auerbach stayed on course spent eight hours each day on foot, miles and burning roughly 4,000 calories. 

“The biggest obstacle was having to get up every day to keep walking,” Auerbach recalls. “The days were long, tiring, and often very boring. It became a real mental battle to keep going and see it through until the end.” 

But it was worth it. “We visited so many clubs and Rotary activities that it was amazing to see how diverse the different clubs are,” he says. “I learned so much about Rotary and organization.” Nathan Auerbach crosses California ‘s Golden Gate Bridge during his West Coast Walk.

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