A few years ago I had some folks over for a football game. The doorbell rang, my wife answered it and it was my neighbor - a lovely woman in her 60s who lived alone. I could tell my wife was confused by what the neighbor was saying. I went over and it was weird. The neighbor was frustrated and saying words, clearly, but that didn't relate to each other. "Sarah, what's the matter?" "Crane...cards...." some pointing..."tree blue acting...." "Do you think you are having a stroke?" "Cat!"...nodding head vigorously.
We called 911 and gave her an aspirin. I don't know how severe -as in how many dead brain cells - the stroke was, but I think if it affected her ability to reason or move, instead of just her ability to find the right words, she would have died - maybe starved to death. It's all about location and timing. She got the stroke meds in time and that apparently is a major game changer, did therapy, and she was my lovely, older neighbor again, with some minor lingering effects in her speech. And she is still more qualified to be a Senator than Oz.