News Anchor Has “Beginnings of a Stroke” on Live TV, Colleagues Rush To Help

Screenshot: KJRH-TV

Oklahoma TV news anchor Julie Chin was speaking live on-air when suddenly she had trouble communicating. “I’m sorry,” the anchor said to her audience. “Something is going on with me this morning, and I apologize to everybody.” At that point, Chin knew something was wrong. She tossed the broadcast to the meteorologist—taking the camera off herself—and her colleagues sprung into action and called 911. It was a good thing they did; Chin had most likely been experiencing the “beginnings of a stroke.”

In a Facebook post detailing the incident, Chin writes that the episode was seemingly random. “I felt great before our show,” she said. “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.”

Days after sharing the news on Facebook, she also revealed a troubling text message she sent to her husband after the broadcast: “I need help. Something is not Run today. My work won’t work is working my help my.”

“I never send messages like that, obviously,” Chin said on the TODAY show. “That just shows my state of mind that morning. I just couldn’t put any words together as hard as I tried.”

Chin now feels better and has undergone testing since the incident. As a public figure, she is helping to raise awareness about stroke symptoms that we should all be aware of. The acronym BE FAST offers an easy reminder of what to look for: a loss of balance; eyesight changes; facial drooping; arm weakness (one arm drifts downward); slurred or confused speech; and finally, time (call 911 right away).

“I’ve learned that it’s not always obvious when someone has a stroke,” Chin said, “and action is critical.”

Oklahoma TV news anchor Julie Chin was speaking live on-air when suddenly she had trouble communicating. It turns out that she was most likely experiencing the “beginnings of a stroke.”

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