Grammys reporter Serene Branson hay have suffered neurological attack on air, experts say

[AntZ]

Grammys reporter Serene Branson hay have suffered neurological attack on air, experts say

Posted By Meaghan Murphy On February 14, 2011




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZuG0-vnAq5M

*The clean version was removed, this is a low quality clip.*


An entertainment reporter at the local CBS station in Los Angeles alarmed viewers when she flubbed her words and started speaking gibberish during a live broadcast from the Staples Center after the Grammy awards Sunday night.

KCBS-TV’s Serene Branson was reporting on “highlights and backstage coverage” from the award ceremony when her delivery devolved into a series of nonsensical words.

Many viewers were concerned that she had possibly suffered a stroke during the live broadcast.

British newspaper The Telegraph reported that Branson had been hospitalized following her broadcast, noting that “strokes can cause speech problems in different ways, either by interfering with the brain's ability to recognize and construct words.”

But other reports said Branson was examined by paramedics outside Staples Center after she was cut from the airwaves. Edward Lawrence, a KCBS reporter, was concerned enough to tweet last night that "station is looking into if there was a problem."

Monday morning, KCBS released a statement saying: "Her vital signs were normal. She was not hospitalized. As a precautionary measure, a colleague gave her a ride home, and she says she is feeling fine this morning."

FOX411 talked to two MDs about the disturbing telecast.

"That is one scary episode. Dysphasia or confused speech can occur from any number of causes. Certainly one has to look at strokes, vascular spasms and TIA’s (Transient Ischemic Attacks) as the most serious causes," Dr. Peter Geldner, founder of The Geldner Center in Chicago, IL, who does not treat Branson, told FOX411. "This can also be due to temporal lobe seizures, heart rhythm disturbances and toxins (including medication and alcohol) among others."

Geldner said it was important Branson be looked over thoroughly.

"It is imperative to seek professional attention after such an episode. The work-up must continue until the most serious causes have been ruled-out," he said.

Dr. Sreekant Cherukuri, another Chicago-based MD, who does not treat Branson, concurred that she "could have suffered a Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA) which is a temporary interruption in blood flow to a particular area of the brain. In this case, the affected area could have caused Broca's or Wernicke's Aphasia, which result in speaking words that have no meaning."

Cherukuri said that "once the TIA is over (a few minutes to two hours), the patient may be completely normal with no symptoms."

Geldner for one was impressed that Branson was able to perform at such a high professional level under trying circumstances.

"I have great compassion for Ms. Branson. It was obvious that she heard what she was saying and realized that there was a problem," he told FOX411. "She tried to move the story along despite confusion and professional embarrassment. She deserves our admiration and best wishes."

[RBP]

wild!

[Dr. Girlfriend]

That's so sad.

[Godfather]

Jesus.... for a second I thought she was just panicking but it was obviously much more than that :wha:

[Noilly Pratt]

Very scary. I read a book not long ago -- wish I could remember the name of it -- and a Doctor who was a writer suffered a stroke and she remembered in detail her faculties failing her, of speaking like this and having jumbled words come out and how she was herself trapped in this body that wouldn't do her bidding.

That would scare the crap out of me. I had laryngitis for 2 months and couldn't speak and freaked out a little -- "suppose it doesn't fully come back" etc.

[Hal-9000]

A friend I used to live with suffered a brain aneurysm.He was sitting with another buddy of mine one day and started speaking gibberish... " my barn hearts, my barn hearts".

Turns out he was trying to say - "my brain hurts".....thank God he got through it ok and is fine today.


*shout out for Mark J., way to be tough dude*

[Goofy]

Wow, thats pretty freaky :wha:

[ItsBlondie]

she's a local reporter so I was pretty horrified when I saw this.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/15/reporter-serene-branson-mild-stroke-today_n_823706.html

stroke at 31...yikes.

[Pony]

Yea, I saw that. I haven't seen anything that said it was definitely a stroke, just that she got checked in an ambulance and released. She definitely should have gone straight to the hospital.

[Hal-9000]

I just heard they ruled out stroke, drug reaction and attributed it to nerves

[Pony]

I just heard they ruled out stroke, drug reaction and attributed it to nerves

Really? I would have thought it was some neurological issue. She's a seasoned reporter I wouldn't have thought nerves would be an issue.


*is proud of myself for spelling neurological without having to use the spellcheck*

[Godfather]

Attributing it to nerves doesn't really surprise me... I mean, it wasn't that off the wall that it couldn't have just been a bunch of nervous mumbling :lol: People jumble up a string of words every once in a while right! Throw in a little confusion from all that hair spray and it's not too shocking :P

[RBP]

No way that was just nerves. :roll:

It was a signal to the alien ships to attack!!!! :hills:

[Noilly Pratt]

That could be anything from a blood clot in the brain to a mini-stroke to a whole host of other things.

I'd be making myself comfortable in a hospital bed, insisting on every procedure they have! Replay it with the sound off...she's panicking inside because she's thinking one thing and another thing is coming out.

[Godfather]

Or it was nerves...

[DemonGeminiX]

... People jumble up a string of words every once in a while right!...

Nonsense. Why I nevalderbeghotferdebeggar....

:shock:


:oops:

[RBP]

Or it was nerves...

:slap:

[traveler]

I must admit, after I finished laughing my damn ass off, I sorta felt bad for the lady.

[Deepsepia]

Very scary. I read a book not long ago -- wish I could remember the name of it -- and a Doctor who was a writer suffered a stroke and she remembered in detail her faculties failing her, of speaking like this and having jumbled words come out and how she was herself trapped in this body that wouldn't do her bidding.

You mean this one?




A brain scientist's journey from a debilitating stroke to full recovery becomes an inspiring exploration of human consciousness and its possibilities

On the morning of December 10, 1996, Jill Bolte Taylor, a thirty-seven-year-old Harvard-trained brain scientist, experienced a massive stroke when a blood vessel exploded in the left side of her brain. A neuroanatomist by profession, she observed her own mind completely deteriorate to the point that she could not walk, talk, read, write, or recall any of her life, all within the space of four brief hours. As the damaged left side of her brain--the rational, grounded, detail- and time-oriented side--swung in and out of function, Taylor alternated between two distinct and opposite realties: the euphoric nirvana of the intuitive and kinesthetic right brain, in which she felt a sense of complete well-being and peace; and the logical, sequential left brain, which recognized Jill was having a stroke, and enabled her to seek help before she was lost completely.




The extraordinary thing about the mind is compensation. You can see the reporter trying to speak, you can see that she knows that the words are wrong. You can also see her deliver the rhythm of the speech in that newscaster cadence-- that part's still working, even when the vocabulary disappeared.

That matches other things . . . people who can't speak sometimes still can sing.

The brain, its one cool machine. You couldn't introduce errors of these magnitudes into anything digital without shutting the system down cold. In this case, something's gone very wrong with one part-- but the undamaged parts keep on doing their thing. very cool redundancy.

[AntZ]

TV reporter speaks about speech problem at Grammys

– Fri Feb 18, 9:35 am ET


http://minimages.com/images/73271617079397475097.jpg

LOS ANGELES – A TV reporter who lapsed into gibberish during a live shot outside the Grammys said she was terrified when it happened and knew something was wrong as soon as she opened her mouth.

KCBS-TV reporter Serene Branson's incoherence Sunday fueled Internet speculation that she suffered an on-air stroke. But doctors at the University of California, Los Angeles, where she went to get a brain scan and blood work done, ruled it out. Doctors said she suffered a type of migraine that can mimic symptoms of a stroke.

Branson told CBS' "The Early Show" in an interview Friday that she was terrified, scared and confused, and didn't know what was going on.

"I knew something wasn't right as soon as I opened my mouth," she said. "I hadn't been feeling well a little bit before the live shot. I had a headache, my vision was very blurry. I knew something wasn't right, but I just thought I was tired. So when I opened my mouth, I thought, 'This is more than just being tired. Something is terribly wrong.' I wanted to say, 'Lady Antebellum swept the Grammys.' And I could think of the words, but I could not get them coming out properly."

Branson, who was diagnosed with migraine aura, said watching herself in the clip is "troubling."

Kerry Maller, a KCBS producer, told "The Early Show," "You could see in the tape she's trying to talk."

Maller, who was on-location with the veteran reporter, said, "After the live shot, she dropped the microphone and got very wobbly."

The station quickly cut away and Branson was swarmed by photographers and her field producer. She was examined by paramedics and recovered at home.

Branson recalled, "They sat me down immediately. I dropped the microphone. Right after that, my cheek went numb, my hand went numb, my right hand went numb and I started to cry. I was scared. I didn't know what had gone on and I was embarrassed and fearful.

"I was scared, nervous, confused, exhausted, and in an evening dress in the back of an ambulance."

She returned to the KCBS-TV newsroom on Thursday.

Most people with migraines don't have any warning. But about 20 to 30 percent experience sensations before or during a migraine attack.

"A migraine is not just a headache. It's a complicated brain event," said UCLA neurologist Dr. Andrew Charles, who examined Branson.

The most common sensations include seeing flashes of light or zigzag patterns. In Branson's case, she felt numbness on the right side of her face that affected her speech, Charles said.

"She was actually having the headache while she was having these other symptoms," he said.

Branson told doctors she has had migraines since a child but never suffered an episode like this before, Charles said.

Branson, a Los Angeles native and two-time Emmy nominee, worked at the CBS affiliate in Sacramento before joining KCBS. Prior to that, she was a reporter and anchor at TV stations in Palm Springs and Santa Barbara.

A telephone message left with KCBS was not immediately returned Thursday.

[Hal-9000]

okay time to get personal...I'm a chronic pain patient with a non visible disability.

It started with intense migraines and I'm the type of person (30%) who gets precursors
to the headaches....halos, vision problems...the works....

a dentist or two tried their hand fixing me and in the process(s) screwed up my face and jaw muscles.
mine is primarily a nerve problem with a heavy portion of it being severe TMD or muscular problems with
my occlusion.

I've had exactly what this woman suffered...many times.I'll start talking and have difficulty forming the words.
I don't think I've ever had a severe instance like she's suffered, I've always had time to stop or back away and recover
from whatever social situation I was in.

I remember once at work looking up when I was driving a forklift and noticing all of the lights in our building change color...
then I could smell what someone was cooking on the other side of our building in the lunchroom and also noticed EVERY sound that was occurring around me at the time....it was strange and scary.I had to go home.

I like how the doctor above said that migraines aren't just headaches..they're brain events.I've thought that myself quite a few times because when I get a major thumper, quite a few more things happen than just 'having a headache'.

I'm fortunate because I have multiple types of pain and the migraines don't happen often.When they do...it's time to remove yourself from public and lay down in a dark room.