In general, newscasters like to share the headlines rather than make them. Unfortunately, in the world of live television, things don’t usually turn out that way. Sometimes, and not necessarily in a cute way, the headlines find you.
Julie Chin of Oklahoma’s NBC affiliate KJRH was unfortunate to have her headline moment involve a medical emergency while viewers watched as she experienced “the beginnings of a stroke.”
It was only the beginning of Julie Chin’s broadcasting day when she seemed to be having some issues.
The morning news anchor appeared bewildered as she fumbled over her words while reporting on the launch of the Artemis I spacecraft.
Chin apologized to the audience and tossed to the station’s meteorologist, Annie Brown, after realizing something wasn’t quite right.
Chin’s difficulties were downplayed and dismissed by Brown, who then told her “we love you” and carried on with the program.
However, Chin’s issues that morning couldn’t be ignored.
Chin’s coworkers called emergency services while the cameras were off her, which was a smart move. Chin admitted in a post that she experienced “the beginnings of a stroke” while doing the show.
She detailed what occurred to her in her post.
“The episode seemed to come out of nowhere,” she wrote, adding that she felt well before the show.
“However, over the course of several minutes during out newscast things started to happen.
“First, I lost partial vision in one eye,” she wrote.
“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.”
Chin explained in her statement that her doctors don’t believe she experienced a complete stroke.
“I’ve spent the last few days in the hospital undergoing all sorts of tests,” she wrote. “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.”
Chin also expressed her gratitude for the rapid assistance from her coworkers and the medical staff.
Tulsa news anchor Julie Chin has the beginnings of a stroke live on the air. She knew something was wrong, so tossed it to the meteorologist, as her concerned colleagues called 911. She’s fine now, but wanted to share her experience to educate viewers on stroke warning signs. pic.twitter.com/aWNPPbn1qf
— Mike Sington (@MikeSington) September 5, 2022
She also provided the term BE FAST, which stands for:
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
