On social media, selfies are quite commonplace. But despite their bad reputation, these snaps can actually be very useful since they saved the life of this American, Juanita Branch.
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A revealing selfie
As she was about to change her profile picture, 63-year-old Juanita Branch noticed that her face was drooping on one side and her mouth was twisted. Having already had a mini-stroke in 2016, Juanita immediately recognised the symptoms and realised what was going on. In an interview with Macomb Daily, Branch said:
Most people think it hurts when you’re having a stroke, but this is not the case. If you see the symptoms you need to call someone immediately.
Once at the hospital, Juanita's selfies saved her life once again. When examining the times on the photos, the attending physician was able to determine when her stroke started and which drugs to give her. ‘From the timestamp on her photos we were able to determine that Juanita was in the four-hour slot and thus able to receive the anti-clotting drug,’ said Dr Jason Muir. Full of gratitude, Juanita is now a fervent defender of selfies.
If I was just watching television on the couch, I might never have realised that I was having a stroke, this selfie literally saved my life.
