A news anchor suffered the beginning of a stroke while reading the news on live television and began fumbling over her words.
Julie Chin, who is in her 40s, was delivering live news on September 3 about NASA’s canceled Artemis-I launch when all of a sudden, she found herself unable to read and speak the words reflecting on her teleprompter.
Chin, of the NBC affiliate news station KJRH, said she first began losing vision in part of her eye, then her hand and arm went numb.
Reporting on NASA’s postponed Artemis-I launch, Chin found she suddenly couldn’t speak the words she was reading from her teleprompter. In a video that was posted on social media, Chin was seen struggling to speak the lines she was reading from her 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 posted on Facebook.
Chin said she felt fine earlier in the day, and “the episode seemed to have come out of nowhere.”
She spent the days following the incident in the hospital, where doctors said she was experiencing early signs of a stroke. While Chin said she is doing fine now, the doctors will have to do more follow up.
“I’m thankful for the emergency responders and medical professionals who have shared their expertise, hearts, and smiles with me. My family, friends, and KJRH family have also covered me in love and covered my shifts.”
According to AWM:
Her colleagues quickly picked up the phone and dialed 911 to get a rescue crew over to the station because Chin was having a stroke. She was rushed to the hospital in time.
By Sunday, Chin was well enough to share an update on Facebook. She explained that she was doing much better and that doctors believed that she had suffered “the beginnings of a stroke, but not a full stroke.”
The brave news anchor added, “I’m glad to share that my tests have all come back great. 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.”
More than 795,000 Americans have a stroke each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About 77% of them happen to people who have never had one before.
It is a leading cause of death and disability among Americans, with more cases concentrated in the Southeast.
Here’s how to recognize the signs of a stroke:
The medical community uses the BE FAST acronym to educate people on catching signs of a stroke:
- Balance: Is the person having a hard time staying balanced or coordinated?
- Eyes: Is the person experiencing blurry vision, double vision or loss of vision in one or both of their eyes?
- Face: Is one side of the person’s face drooping? Test this by asking them to smile.
- Arms: Are they experiencing numbness or weakness in their arms? Ask them to raise their arms.
- Speech: Is the person’s speech slurred? Are you having a hard time understanding them? Have them try to repeat a simple sentence.
- Time to call for help: If the person is exhibiting one, or a combination of the above signs, call 911 and get them to the nearest hospital as soon as possible.
Other signs of a stroke may include numbness or weakness in other parts of the body, sudden confusion, or severe headaches.
Watch the video below for more details:
