Know the signs of stroke: Big Nog saves fighter’s life in gym

Earlier this week former world boxing champion and current WMMA flyweight Duda Yankovich suffered a stroke that could have been fatal without the direction of Big Nog.

The Serbian fighter, who lives and trains in Brazil with Team Nogueira, exhibited signs of a stroke in the gym. Big Nog got Yankovich to the private hospital Barra D’or, in Rio de Janeiro, which had the facilities to save her life. That might not have been the case had she gone to a public hospital.

The team’s physical therapist Dr. Angela Cortes spoke with FightAG about the incident.

“I received a call from Rodrigo Nogueira on Wednesday and he told me that Dudley was bending all at the gym and asked me what he should do,” saidf Dr. Cortes via Google Translate. “From his description, I realized that it was a stroke, and asked him to take her to a private hospital immediately, as in a public hospital they would not have the equipment necessary to save her life.”

Dr. Cortes gave all credit to Big Nog, who is renowned for having a huge heart.

“If Rodrigo had not been as fast as he wa,s and if she had not had a high level of care, she would have died,” added Dr. Cortes. “We do not know if … she’ll be fine, but Big Nog did what he could and saved her life.”

“Now she’s in the ICU, is conscious, but all rigged. Once she arrived at the hospital, she went straight to an angiogram, because the central cerebral artery was occluded throughout, so it’s not something simple. We will await the evolution of her condition, which remains stable. We don’t know yet about her long term prognosis.”

Several people are known to have suffered a stroke in the gym, including a fighter at mine, following a choke. Knowing the signs of a stroke can be a matter of life and death.

Face Drooping – Does one side of the face droop or is it numb? Ask the person to smile. Is the person’s smile uneven?

Arm Weakness – Is one arm weak or numb? Ask the person to raise both arms. Does one arm drift downward?

Speech Difficulty – Is speech slurred? Is the person unable to speak or hard to understand? Ask the person to repeat a simple sentence, like “The sky is blue.” Is the sentence repeated correctly?

Time to call 9-1-1 – If someone shows any of these symptoms, even if the symptoms go away, call 9-1-1 and get the person to the hospital immediately. Check the time so you’ll know when the first symptoms appeared.

Learn more stroke signs and symptoms…

Thanks to Bloody Elbow for the story