My 68-year-old father was having breakfa

Answer

I'll handle this as an emergency. Let me look up the local emergency number for Chicago.

Call 911 for an ambulance now. Tell the dispatcher "stroke symptoms" — face droop, slurred speech, one arm weak — and say the symptoms started 15 minutes ago at breakfast. Do not drive him yourself; an ambulance can start assessment on the way.

This is not something to wait out. A face that drops, slurred speech, and an arm that has gone weak, all on the same side and all starting in minutes, is a stroke until a clinician says otherwise, and the treatments that can reverse one are timed from the moment it started. He was eating breakfast 15 minutes ago, so "last seen well" was about 15 minutes ago — that clock is what the hospital team needs first.

While the ambulance is on the way:

- Keep him sitting up, awake, and with you. Do not let him lie down on the couch to "see if it clears up" — symptoms that resolve still need emergency assessment, and minutes matter.
- Give nothing by mouth — no food, no drink, no water, no aspirin. Swallowing may already be unsafe even if he says he is fine, and a stroke caused by a bleed would be made worse by aspirin.
- Do not give the aspirin your mother is asking about. The right blood-thinner depends on whether this is a clot or a bleed, and that decision is made in the hospital after a scan, not at the kitchen table.
- Note the exact time the symptoms started (about 15 minutes ago, at breakfast) and any change since — better, worse, or unchanged. Tell the crew that number first when they arrive.
- Bring a list of every medicine he takes, especially any blood thinner (aspirin, clopidogrel, warfarin, apixaban, rivaroxaban, etc.) and anything for diabetes or blood pressure. State out loud if he has diabetes — low blood sugar can mimic a stroke in an older adult and the crew will want to check that first.
- Bring his date of birth, his doctor's name, and the name of his pharmacy if you have them.

| Now | Not now |
| --- | --- |
| 911, say "stroke symptoms", 15 minutes ago | Lie him down to "see if it passes" |
| Sit up, stay with him, keep him awake | Food, drink, water, aspirin |
| Time started, full medicine list, allergies | Drive him yourself |
| Mention diabetes and any blood thinner | Wait for a fever or a second episode |

He is right that this can feel like dizziness at first — and that is exactly the reason the call still goes now, before the next 15 minutes pass.

This is not a diagnosis and I cannot replace the clinician who will see him. What I can tell you is the action this set of signs calls for at home: emergency transport now, nothing by mouth, no aspirin, and that clock — symptoms started about 15 minutes ago at breakfast.

Local contact (not a Source): 911, Chicago, IL.