Because of the pandemic, certain applications have been in demand lately, one of which is the Zoom app.
The Zoom application is mostly being used for work, homeschooling, and to stay connected with our friends and loved ones. It’s one of the most convenient ways to communicate with people.
Zoom allows multiple participants to join a video call while being able to see and hear each other. It’s the best way to conduct a meeting, an online class, and even a small reunion of friends.
Thanks to this app, Dorothy Farris and her friends are still able to catch up with each other by conducting a weekly zoom get-together. It’s a fun way to be able to talk with each other and have a good laugh, even though they are physically apart.
However, this group of friends never expected that their weekly online gathering would be a way to save their friend’s life last July 30.
The Weekly Get Together
Dorothy Farris, 69, from Palos Verdes was having so much fun with her girlfriends. After all, it was their weekly zoom get-together. Something that all of them looked forward to every week.
They talk about life, memories, and everything under the sun, and this day was no different.
Rita Plantamura shared in her interview with KTLA 5 that they were talking and, of course, laughing about how they met their husbands. It was a fun day for them, and when you’re having fun, you don’t notice how time flies.
This proves to be the “divine intervention” that they needed.
“We normally end our calls at 6 o’clock on the dot. 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, one of Dorothy’s friends.
The Divine Intervention
When it was Dorothy’s turn to share, everyone noticed that something was off with their friend.
“Dorothy was the last one,” Plantamura said in the interview. “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.”
Everyone was alarmed. It was no joke, and luckily, Miki Jordan Emenhiser, one of Dorothy’s friends knew it was time they did something.
Each one of them knew what to do. Each one played a huge part in saving their friend’s life.
“Intuitively, everybody just knew what role to take, to call 911, to call her husband, to stay on the Zoom with her,” Miki Jordan Emenhiser recalled.
While waiting for the 911 to respond, Valerie Ryan prayed for her dear friend.
Soon, the paramedics arrived.
They rappelled Dorothy’s locked gate and they were able to get inside just in time to bring her to Torrance Memorial Medical Center. There, she underwent an emergency operation to remove the clot from her brain.
According to Dr. Shlee Song, one of the Torrance Memorial Medical Center’s stroke center doctors:
“Every minute that somebody is without blood flow to certain areas of the brain, you lose function.”
According to Dorothy, it all happened too fast, without any warning. She knew that something was wrong with her at that very moment, but she never thought that she was already having a stroke.
It was all too sudden and was a very scary experience for her.
“I refer to myself as the miracle child,” Dorothy shared as she felt grateful that she’s safe and alive. “It took four splendid friends that saved my life and I don’t know how you thank people who do that.”
Truly, what had happened was a miracle. Without her friends, she was all alone in her home. Without extending their get together for a few minutes, they could have ended the call and not be able to save her.
Signs to Watch Out For
Stroke is something that we need to take seriously. In fact, it’s best for us to be knowledgeable about it in case something like this happens.
When a person is experiencing a stroke, every minute counts!
CDC shares the most common signs to watch out for:
- Sudden weakness or numbness in the face, legs, or arm, especially on one side of your body.
- Sudden feeling of confusion, having trouble speaking, and even having difficulty understanding speech.
- Experiencing trouble seeing in one or both eyes.
- Experience trouble walking, feeling dizzy, and even sudden loss of balance
- Sudden lack of coordination.
- Experiencing severe headache.
If you see these signs, you need to act fast and call 911. Remember that every minute counts, and you must do all you can to save this person’s life.
We’re happy to see Dorothy and her friends together again. This story proves that being alert and knowledgeable will play a crucial role in saving a life.
Watch her amazing story, and don’t forget to share this with the people that you care about.
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.
