Stroke related question.?

My stepdad experienced a numbness throughout his body this afternoon and temporarily lost the ability to talk. Earlier this year he experienced a sudden temporary loss of ability to use his left arm and leg, in what was probably a mini-stroke.

How can I tell when someone I know has had a stroke? What is the best way to help that person recover from that episode? What are the best ways to prevent future episodes of that?

You must take him to the emergency room asap!!!

Strokes can come in many forms, since they're in the brain and the brain affects EVERY area of our bodies. It can range from numbness, weakness, headache (usually "the wost headache I've EVER had"), difficulty speaking, swallowing, walking, thinking (ie confusion), etc.

Even if someone has had a "mini-stroke" in the past, you still must treat every new episode as separate and each requires immediate emergency treatment! They're not always temporary, and there is no way to tell whether it will be temporary or not. There are medications that can be given for a certain kind of stroke that will help to reverse it - but the window of time to give this medicine is VERY NARROW and requires IMMEDIATE ATTENTION!

Especially in this case with your stepdad this afternoon, even though he recovered his ability to talk, he needs to go to the ER or see his doctor IMMEDIATELY! If it is a problem, like his blood is clotting, it could happen again very soon and could be permanent.

So I've given your some signs and symptoms of a stroke. The best way to help them recover is an IMMEDIATE visit to the ER. To prevent future episodes, they need to determine what is causing the stroke: is the blood too thick and he needs to be taking blood thinners? Are his carotid arteries narrowed and he needs a procedure to fix them? A doctor will diagnose and determine the best treatment and therapy.

Please, if you haven't already, call your stepdad's doctor or go to the ER right away!

Your step dad needs to be seen by a Dr. It does sound like he is having TIA's (mini strokes). The best dr. would be a neurologist. He needs tests to find out why this is happening to prevent a major stroke.
You can usually tell when someone has had a stroke by a drooping on 1 side of his mouth....slurred or inability to talk...severe headache and/or confusion. There is usually a numbness or weakness on 1 side and may lose function on 1 side of the body. Follow up as soon as possible.

You stepdad needs to go to the ER, ASAP!!! He has had a transient eschemic attack, or TIA. TIAs are the warnings which presage a stroke.
Get his butt to the ER where he can be treated and reduce the chance he will have a more serious event and left with life-altering complications exactly like you saw, but permanent.