Update: Mumbling CBS Reporter Explains What Happened — Severe Migraine
- Posted on February 18, 2011 at 7:46am by
Jonathon M. Seidl
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The local Los Angeles CBS reporter who became the talk of the nation after her live Grammy report degenerated into gibberish has finally broken her silence and explained what happened — the incident was the cause of a severe migraine.
In an interview with her station, CBS 2, Serene Branson opened up about what exactly happened on Sunday night and what led to her incoherent mumbling on live TV. It was an incident many thought signaled a stroke.
“At around 10 o’clock that night I was sitting in the live truck with my field producer and the photographer and I was starting to look at some of my notes,” she explained. “I started to think, the words on the page are blurry and I could notice that my thoughts were not forming the way they normally do.”
“As soon as I opened my mouth I knew something was wrong,” she said. “I was having trouble . remembering the word for Grammy,” she said. “I knew what I wanted to say but I didn’t have the words to say it.”
According to Branson’s doctor, who was interviewed for the station’s story, Branson’s episode was the result of a severe, complex migraine.
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Comments (64)
frankee47
Posted on February 18, 2011 at 10:29amthank god
Report Post »bkeely
Posted on February 18, 2011 at 10:27amThat is goog news, I felt so bad for her.
Report Post »——————
Buck
Http://www.***************
Heirloom seeds “how God plants His garden
Hungry_i
Posted on February 18, 2011 at 10:17amOops. I (thought) her….
Report Post »Ghandi was a Republican
Posted on February 18, 2011 at 9:41amWell– I guess she won’t get that job at MSNBC now…..
Report Post »Silversmith
Posted on February 18, 2011 at 9:41amGlad she’s okay. It was a little scary to watch!
Report Post »BIGGUNS
Posted on February 18, 2011 at 9:39amIm so glad she is Okay!
Report Post »Sovereigntist
Posted on February 18, 2011 at 9:15amI have migraines as well and that does happen prior to the onset of one. Tunnel vision and thick tongued-ness.
Report Post »macwedge
Posted on February 18, 2011 at 8:54amI’ve had them that bad before. They are both scary and excruciating.
Report Post »givemeavent
Posted on February 18, 2011 at 8:51amSounds like a TIA….(transient Ischemic Attack) which is basically a mini stroke. One of the side effects of birth control pills and especially when one smokes.
Report Post »TheAmericanRifleman
Posted on February 18, 2011 at 8:49amShe’s beautiful, she’s blond, she’s got nice legs and now she has name recognition. Sounds like a new hire for FOX News. I’m not complaining.
Report Post »mike_trivisonno
Posted on February 18, 2011 at 8:40amThis woman has probably spent less than one hour of her entire life engaged in serious self introspection. She should try Dr. Sarno’s method of relieving pain.
Report Post »Xcori8r
Posted on February 18, 2011 at 8:22amGlad she’s OK, too.
It serves as a reminder to us all that you can think you have it all knocked and under control when out of the blue.. bam!…a reminder that your whole deal can be changed on you in a flash.
Report Post »cadetljr4
Posted on February 18, 2011 at 8:22amI just thank God she‘s ok and I’m glad it wasn’t a stroke.
Report Post »apollo18
Posted on February 18, 2011 at 8:20amDo your homework. Migraines are more than just a severe headache.
Report Post »HellAndBack
Posted on February 18, 2011 at 8:19amMy wife gets those and at time I think she’d rather be having a stroke! only half kidding.
Report Post »Jack Rackham
Posted on February 18, 2011 at 8:17amThank God she’s OK. Nice to have some good news for a change.
Report Post »Gonzo
Posted on February 18, 2011 at 8:15amLpioajdojui kjwbpw piko. Sorry, migrane.
Report Post »Rights of Man
Posted on February 18, 2011 at 8:12amMigraines can indeed cause stroke-like symptoms, such as trouble speaking. The problem is the same: blood flow problems in the brain. With migraines the blood vessels in the brain constrict and reduce the amount of oxygen that reaches brain cells.
DO NOT blame these kinds of symptoms on a migraine, however. You must see a doctor immediately–don’t call your family doctor for an appointment–go to the Emergency Room right away.
Report Post »1776Federalist
Posted on February 18, 2011 at 9:56amI still think it sounds like a possible TIA or ‘mini stroke”. My wife suffers from occasional severe migraines and also from cluster headaches (called suicide headaches by many). Her speech and vision are usually affected, but not to the point this reporter suffered.
Report Post »John 3:16
Posted on February 18, 2011 at 8:12amSounds like the diagnosis I would give if I was unsure what caused it. Can we have a differencial? It could be as simple as GOD communicating with her in some aspect beyond our understanding. He deals with people well beyond the simple limits of our limited imagination. But I still wouldn’t rule out a TIA yet.
Report Post »N37BU6
Posted on February 18, 2011 at 8:09amI had an ocular migraine not long ago… scary. Blind spots, then tunnel vision, then loss of peripheral and focal vision on the left altogether, and colorful wavy lines. Lasted about 20 minutes.
Your body can do strange things.
Report Post »cktheman
Posted on February 18, 2011 at 8:21amI have had a similar migraine aura occur exactly 3 times in my life many years apart. I found out it was called a scintillating scotoma – weird lights that moved from the center of my vision gradually to the periphery and were gone (same in both eyes). In my case, it’s not followed by a headache.
Scared the daylights out me when it first happened.
Report Post »biggreenboo
Posted on February 18, 2011 at 12:17pmI had a severe head injury as a kid… now I will get very intense migrianes about 3 to 5 times a year ( Or whenever Broker0101 posts) I get the flashing lights, upset stomach, dizziness, speach problems, short term memory lost, even have past out once.
Report Post »Even after it’s over, I will have headaches for days (which are a dream compaired to the migriane)
Had one last week that I got to drugs in time and cut it off early… but I was still loopy for the next 12 hours.
It’s a pretty weird feeling… like your body is trying to kill you (Or reading Broker0101′s posts)
N37BU6
Posted on February 19, 2011 at 10:06am@cktheman
Yes, vision issues are very scary… my vision is excellent, and I cherish it.
I was reading a few nights ago, but suddenly couldn’t make out the words. So I decided to watch TV, but couldn‘t see anyone’s faces. It was bizarre… it was like there was a hole in my vision, but I couldn’t “see” it to truly grasp what was happening. There was no defined boundary, light or dark. Just no vision there. Then within a minute, I could see a jagged ring of color that seemed to vibrate, and it expanded out over the course of about 15 minutes until it was just in my peripheral vision. Everything was wavy and moving. Within another 5 or 10 minutes, it was completely gone.
No pain either… just a very scary experience. Once I got my vision back, I did some research and realized what it was. Just an ocular migraine. I then called 811 and spoke to a nurse, and she agreed that’s what it was.
Report Post »FIVEHOLEJAMO
Posted on February 18, 2011 at 7:54amDon’t believe that diagnosis for a second….
Report Post »grandmaof5
Posted on February 18, 2011 at 8:02amI sort of agree. If she had a migraine that severe she would have been complaining before then, nausea, unbelievable pain…I still wonder if she didn’t have a TIA. I’m glad she is better and hopefully that was an isolated incident.
Report Post »missy62
Posted on February 18, 2011 at 8:03amReally? I suffer from migraines and the same thing has happened to me. Thank god she’s ok.
Report Post »Islesfordian
Posted on February 18, 2011 at 8:06amYou’ve never had one or a friend who had one, then. It makes sense to me.
Report Post »grandmaof5
Posted on February 18, 2011 at 8:14amJust concerned. My daughter got them when she was under alot of stress but not the speech part: unbelievable pain, nausea, throwing up, sleep for hours and then fine. She never would have made it on air.
Report Post »Showtime
Posted on February 18, 2011 at 8:35am@FiveHoleJamo
I believe it. My first husband had “classic migraine” headaches and woke up blind one morning. It was several weeks before he could see again.
@Kisha ~
Migraine headaches are vascular headaches and usually affect a quadrant of the brain. They can be caused by an allergy or they can be caused by the mind, as in a blush. No one knows why a person blushes, but people do. The headache starts with the blood vessels that supply blood to the eye working in a squeezing effect. This is what causes the vivid colors your sister described. Tim’s description was like seeing headlights. Your sister probably told you about the headache going away for a while, only to return but without the lights. She might have said something about feeling a band or pressure around her head instead of pain. The brain causes that in order to protect the eyesight. Instead of squeezing with each pulse, they do the opposite and expand.
@FiveHoleJama ~
Serene would not have been able to have talked with the enthusiasm she did had she been under the influence of medication or alcohol. Her speech would have been slurred, and her eyes would not have been clear and bright. You can see that she realized that something was wrong by the puzzled look on her face when she realized that what she was hearing herself say was not what her mind was trying to convey.
I’m thankful Serene did not have a stroke, and I am sorry she has migraine headaches. People who have migraines are usually very smart people and are perfectionists.
That’s what the doctors told me.
Report Post »urrybr
Posted on February 18, 2011 at 10:51amMigraine headaches can come on instantly. I suffer from migraines, and have had one “explode” in my head. That’s what it felt like. I went to the hospital, and spent a day enduring myelograms, CT scans, spinal taps, and a lot of morphine–which, by the way, doesn’t really do anything for migraines–sure makes you feel good DESPITE the pain. I now take a prescription that costs over $200.00 for six tablets. Doctors and medical researchers really don’t know the exact cause of migraines. They don’t even really know what goes on during a migraine. So . . . don’t speak too soon.
Report Post »Rowgue
Posted on February 18, 2011 at 12:20pmEveryone that has migraines experiences them differently. And how do you know she wasn’t in pain? She said her vision was blurred and her thoughts slightly jumbled while reading her preparation notes. She was probably already having the migraine, but unaware how severely it was affecting her.
An average person would be screaming in pain if they had a migraine. People that have them regularly become experts at handling the pain because they couldn‘t function if they didn’t.
Report Post »Constitutional_Patriot_in_SC
Posted on February 18, 2011 at 7:54amPraise God no stroke, but She needs to stay on top of it. Migraines happen for a reason.
Report Post »Ghenkis_Khan
Posted on February 18, 2011 at 7:53amIm glad to hear she is ok.
Report Post »Kisha
Posted on February 18, 2011 at 7:53amMy sister once had a strange migraine where she could see all these vivid colors. I can’t remember what that was called. But wow. Poor girl! I hope she’s doing better. Stress can do funny things to the mind.
Report Post »Tipdog
Posted on February 18, 2011 at 9:04amIt‘s called an ’aura’ and its typically seen in the peripheral vision, but not always.
Report Post »NickDeringer
Posted on February 18, 2011 at 7:52amNow it makes sense. Thank God she’s basically OK.
Report Post »Stuck_in_CA
Posted on February 18, 2011 at 7:57amSure thought she’d had a stroke . Thanks to God, she’s OK.
Report Post »tifosa
Posted on February 18, 2011 at 8:00amThank goodness. I’d think she and those around her should stay alert for other anomalies though.
Report Post »arx
Posted on February 18, 2011 at 8:16amThank God she’s ok. That was upsetting to watch. This could either help or hurt her career. Most likely the exposure will do more help than the possibiity of another episode.
Report Post »Marcobob69
Posted on February 18, 2011 at 8:19amI am so glad she didn’t have a stroke. She had the classic symptoms of a stroke, slurring words, trouble saying words, etc. Not to downplay a migraine, I get those once in a while and they are nasty, but a stoke can affect a person for years afterward. I know, I lost both parents to strokes.
Report Post »mrcritic
Posted on February 18, 2011 at 8:30amYou’re a fence straddler buddy. You’re one of the ones that made derogatory remarks when it happened. Ando now you go with the flow.
Report Post »Bob Holland
Posted on February 18, 2011 at 8:38amI was going to say I don’t buy it. But I did a Stu like 2 minute Google search on Complex Migraines. Now I buy it. Thank goodness it wasn’t a stroke.
Report Post »Oceandee
Posted on February 18, 2011 at 9:06amI have the same problem when I have a monster migraine…..never that severe tho. Very frightening.
Report Post »wrs840
Posted on February 18, 2011 at 9:14amOkie-Dokie ! Can we make fun of her now?
Report Post »Hungry_i
Posted on February 18, 2011 at 10:17amI her report at the Grammys made more sense than some beauty pageant contestants do.
Report Post »getalong
Posted on February 18, 2011 at 10:31amShe is a true professional. Imagine the pain that she must have been in and still “went on with the show”. All the best to her, and if you ask me, I believe that there was more going on than just a headache. She may want to get a second opinion. Sometimes tumors can cause blurred vision. My prayers are with her.
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