An Oklahoma news anchor has revealed she suffered the early symptoms of a stroke live on air Saturday morning when she began stumbling over her words and said she wasn’t feeling right.
“I’m sorry, something is going on with me this morning, and I apologize to everybody,” Julie Chin of Tulsa’s KJRH said at the time, before passing over to the meteorologist for her report.
On Sunday night, Chin revealed in a Facebook post that she had been hospitalized afterward and doctors believed she had suffered “the beginnings of a stroke live on the air.”
“The episode seemed to have come out of nowhere,” she wrote. “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.”
Her colleagues recognized she was having a medical emergency and called 911. “I’m so grateful for your quick action,” Chin told them.
Thankfully, Chin said her tests “have all come back great.” Doctors believe she did not experience a “full stroke,” she said.
“There are still lots of questions, and lots to follow up on, but the bottom line is I should be just fine,” Chin said.
Most importantly, she added, she’d learned that it’s not always obvious when someone has a stroke and quick action is critical. She offered an acronym that helps identify symptoms to look for: BE FAST. The acronym is a reminder to watch out for changes in balance, eyes (changes in vision), face (facial droop), arms, speech and timing. And, if the symptoms fit, then “be fast” and call 911.
Chin said she’d be back at work in a few days and thanked all who had reached out with well wishes.