Paul George reflects on mother's stroke, contributes to awareness

Paul George is trying to end his most difficult season with the Indiana Pacers on a high note — on and off the court.

The All-Star forward unveiled a public service campaign Monday in conjunction with the American Stroke Association. Paulette George, Paul's mother, suffered a stroke when her son was 6 years old and growing up in Southern California. She appears with her son in ads that advise viewers how to recognize the warning signs of a stroke.

"It's a very sensitive subject within my family," George said after practice Monday. "Having someone go through that as close as my mother, it touched me. When we found out we had a chance to get behind this and put some awareness about it, my mom and I were all for it, so another family doesn't have to go through all we went through."

In the U.S., someone suffers a stroke every 40 seconds, according to the American Stroke Association. It is the leading cause of long-term disability and No. 2 cause of death worldwide.

George has played in only the past four games this season after fracturing his leg while playing for the U.S. national team last summer. Watching his mother deal with her illness made quite for an impression. She was hospitalized for several weeks and bedridden for nearly two years.

"It took me awhile to grasp what was going on," George said. "She wasn't talking. She couldn't say anything to us. That was hard to see. My mom was always healthy. She never had any physical problems."

Fortunately for the George family, Paulette made a nearly full recovery. George said his mother is partially paralyzed on her left side, but lives a full life. Watching what she went through made him a harder worker, he said.

"It was hard to understand, but it brought our family closer," George said. "I was there through her physical therapy and her rehab stages. I saw her have her bad days and how she pushed through. She was just a strong woman."

The ad shows George working on his game on an outdoor court and flashes back to the 6-year-old George — played by a young actor — working on his game and peering into a trophy case. It also lists the warning signs of a stroke using the acronym FAST, which stands for Face drooping, Arm weakness, Speech difficulty and Time to call 911.

While about 80 percent of people say they would call 9-1-1 during a stroke emergency, only about 31 percent do.

"Treatment options are limited when people don't recognize a stroke and get to the appropriate hospital in time," said Dr. Mary Ann Bauman, chairperson of the American Stroke Association advisory committee. "Paul and Paulette's involvement in our campaign will help people recognize the signs of a stroke so they can be quickly assessed and have a greater chance at recover."

George was originally scheduled to shoot the PSAs a day or two after his injury but wasn't able to do so until February.

The campaign, which also includes a print ad with a picture of the actual 6-year-old Paul George, was created by The Baiocco and Maldari Connection, a New York-based ad agency. The star of it gave it a thumbs up.

"I thought the little Paul George that played me was phenomenal," George said.

Follow Star reporter Michael Pointer on Twitter @michaelpointer.