By now a lot of people have seen the video clip, which quickly went viral, of KCBS-TV reporter Serene Branson breaking out in gibberish when she was covering the Grammy Awards live. It was disturbing to watch.
The immediate assumption was that Branson had suffered a stroke, and that was the explanation for her incoherent speech. But since then we’ve all learned, after the TV reporter underent a brain scan, that she had been stricken by a migraine headache.
The exact diagnosis was migraine aura, a condition whose symptoms are similar to stroke.
During an appearance on CBS’s “The Early Show,” Brannon said she hadn’t been feeling well the day of the Grammys, that she had a hadache and her vision was blurry.
She was terrified by what happened during her live report. Her concerned camera crew rushed up to her, she said on “The Early Show.” In her mind she had known exactly what words she wanted to say, but could not utter them.
An ambulance was called to the scene, and the EMT’s asked Branson. they asked if she wanted to go to the hospital. That really should have not been a choice. The TV reporter said on “The Early Show” that she was dressed in an evening gown, it was late and she was exhausted.
“I said I just wanted to go home,” Janson said.
But what if in fact she had suffered a stroke, or some unusual brain malady that warranted immediate medical care? Instead of being in a hospital where doctors could test and observe her, she was at home following her migraine attack.
When it appears someone is having neurological problems, their judgment about whether they need to go to the hospital or not should not be trusted. They should be taken, pronto.