An Oklahoma news anchor suffered the “beginnings of a stroke” while live on air over the weekend.
Tulsa’s NBC affiliate KJRH’s Julie Chin was reporting on the canceled Artemis I launch on Saturday morning when the incident took place.
Chin appeared deeply confused and repeatedly tried to start over reading the teleprompter before leaving her chair.
“I’m sorry, something is going on with me this morning and I apologize to everybody,” Chin said. “Let’s just go ahead and send it on to meteorologist Annie Brown.”
Brown finished the rest of the report and Chin did not return, according to a report from Mediaite.
Chin posted an update about her status to Facebook on Sunday.
“I’m so glad to tell you I’m OK,” she wrote. “The past few days are still a little bit of a mystery, but my doctors believe I had the beginnings of a stroke live on the air Saturday morning. Some of you witnessed it firsthand, and I’m so sorry that happened.”
Chin continued, “the episode seemed to have come out of nowhere. I felt great before our show. However, over the course of several minutes during our newscast things started to happen. First, I lost partial vision in one eye. A little bit later my hand and arm went numb.”
“Then, I knew I was in big trouble when my mouth would not speak the words that were right in front of me on the teleprompter. If you were watching Saturday morning, you know how desperately I tried to steer the show forward, but the words just wouldn’t come,” she added.
Chin said that her co-workers recognized the emergency situation unfolding and called 911.
“I’ve spent the last few days in the hospital undergoing all sorts tests. I’m thankful for the emergency responders and medical professionals who have shared their expertise, hearts, and smiles with me,” Chin said.
“I’m glad to share that my tests have all come back great,” she continued. “At this point, Doctors think I had the beginnings of a stroke, but not a full stroke. There are still lots of questions, and lots to follow up on, but the bottom line is I should be just fine.”
Chin then shared the warning signs of a stroke, using the acronym “BE FAST.”
- B.alance (Sudden loss of balance)
- E.yes (Sudden vision changes)
- F.ace (Facial droop)
- A.rms (One arm drifts downward)
- S.peech (Slurred/confused speech)
- T.ime & Terrible headache
