Luke Perry was everyone's boyfriend in the '90s.
As Dylan McKay on Beverly Hills, 90210, Perry commanded the hearts of most women, teenaged to middle-aged, throughout America and the rest of the world who tuned in to watch the teenaged soap opera every week. In fact, Perry couldn't really go anywhere without hoards of screaming girls running after him.
He didn't let that level of fame get to his head, though. His 90210castmates can attest to Perry's humbleness, as can his younger co-stars, whom he worked with on CW's Riverdale.
Sadly, though, we lost the kind, soft-spoken Perry on March 4, 2019. His untimely death shocked his fans not just because it was unexpected but because Perry was so young...and in relative health.
While we miss Perry every day, his death does make us think, and it even scares some.
Perry Died Of A Stroke... At Age 52
Perry suffered a massive stroke on February 27. He was rushed to the hospital conscious and was observed for a couple of days until his condition worsened, and he died on March 4 at the very young age of 52 years old.
He left behind a fiancee, Wendy Madison Bauer, and his two children, Sophie and Jack (although he's known in the wrestling world as Jungle Boy), whom he had with his ex-wife Minnie Sharp.
The family statement read, "Actor Luke Perry, 52, passed away today after suffering a massive stroke. He was surrounded by his children Jack and Sophia, fiancé [sic] Wendy Madison Bauer, ex-wife Minnie Sharp, mother Ann Bennett, step-father Steve Bennett, brother Tom Perry, sister Amy Coder, and other close family and friends."
Sophie took to her Instagram to post a tribute to her father as well. "A lot has happened in this past week for me," she wrote. "Everything is happening so fast. I made it back from Malawi just in time to be here with my family, And in the past 24 hours, I have received an overwhelming amount of love and support.
"I cannot individually respond to the hundreds of beautiful and heartfelt messages, but I see them, and appreciate you all for sending positivity to my family and I. I’m not really sure what to say or do in this situation, it’s something you aren’t ever given a lesson on how to handle, especially when it’s all happening in the public eye. So bear with me and know that I am grateful for all the love. Just, being grateful quietly."
Perry's family, as well as all the fans, were, of course, shocked, but mostly because Perry looked to be in good health at the time of his death. He didn't even smoke, although he did admit that he could "take or leave" cigarettes in various interviews in the 90s.
What's more, Perry's death made all of us, young or old, realize that death can come knocking on our doors at any moment, even if we're healthy.
People Perry's Age And Younger Are Scared
While we wondered how someone as young as Perry could die so suddenly from a stroke, it also made us hyper-aware that the same happen to us at any moment.
Following Perry's death, Global News talked to Dr. Michael Hill, director of the stroke unit for the Calgary Stroke Program, about how common it is for young people to die of strokes. According to him, stroke is "underappreciated" by the public, and many people don't realize how common they are among the young. "Even in kids, you see stroke in the first year of life," he explained the harsh truth.
But we can educate ourselves about strokes early to prevent them, he continued. Knowing your own health risks and body is a great way to start. Some of us are under the impression that you can only have a stroke later in life when you're old, so as a result, most people don't know the signs that one is coming on.
Hill continued to say that since stroke victims usually can't call 9-1-1 for themselves or even call for help, it's up to family or bystanders to recognize the signs they are having one.
The Heart and Stroke Foundation and other foundations have always promoted stroke awareness with the acronym "FAST," which stands for Facial drooping, Arm weakness, Speech difficulties, and Time.
"We have to recognize stroke is a nasty disease," Hill continued. "One in seven people die from stroke, and the more severe [the stroke and risks factors are], the more likely you are going to die."
The causes of a stroke can be very "individual." More obvious risk factors include "living a sedentary lifestyle, obesity, and hypertension, other factors can include trauma to the arteries, related heart conditions, infections, and drug use." They are also very common in young women.
"There’s a serious lack of awareness of stroke in anybody younger than 70. The public perception has always been seeing a stroke in someone older, but that’s changing, and it’s starting to happen younger. It even happens in babies, and people don’t understand that," said Dr. Patrice Lindsay, director of stroke at Heart & Stroke.
Ultimately, being as healthy as possible can reduce your chances of a stroke, as well as always monitoring your own health risks. For people who are scared because of what happened to Perry, any doctor would probably say everyone's bodies are different. Sadly, we had to lose Perry, but his death is a bitter wake-up call to those who need to take more care of themselves, young or old.
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