PALOS VERDES, Calif. (NewsNation Now) — A weekly Zoom call saved a Southern California woman’s life after friends noticed her suffering from symptoms of a stroke and quickly sprinted into virtual action.
The group of five women, longtime friends, meet weekly on Zoom. On July 30, the call which usually ends at 6 p.m. ran long when they noticed Dorothy Farris began slurring her words and slumping over, according to NewsNation affiliate KTLA.
“For some unknown reason — I’d like to think it was divine intervention — that we extended this call to 6:16 that night and that’s when the symptoms first appeared,” said friend Pam Barclay.
Friend Rita Plantamura said they were reminiscing about how they met their husbands and it was Farris’ turn to share.
“Dorothy was the last one,” Plantamura said. “So we just said ‘Dorothy, OK your turn. How did you meet Bill?’ and there was just silence. She started slurring her words and slumping over.”
“Intuitively, everybody just knew what role to take, to call 911, to call her husband, to stay on the Zoom with her,” said Miki Jordan Emenhiser.
69-year-old Farris describes herself as a “miracle child.” Friend Valerie Ryan, who began to pray and start a prayer chain, believes the chain of events timed out perfectly for the best possible outcome.
Paramedics arrived and rappelled a locked front gate to get into the home. Ferris underwent an operation to remove a clot at Torrance Memorial Medical Center.
“Every minute that somebody is without blood flow to certain areas of the brain, you lose function,” said Dr. Shlee Song of Torrance’s stroke center. “Every half-hour or so, it reduces the chances of her being able to walk out of the hospital, like she did.”
Farris is able to walk and has limb mobility.
“It took four splendid friends that saved my life and I don’t know how you thank people who do that,” said Farris.
To help remember the signs of a stroke think of the word “FAST“ which is an acronym for face (drooping), arms (mobility), speech (slurred or strange) and time (call 911).
