Serene Branson Speaks About Speech Problem At Grammys (VIDEO)

LOS ANGELES (Associated Press) -- 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 the station in an interview Thursday that she "started to get a really bad headache" but assumed she was just tired.

"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 said. "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," Branson 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."

The station quickly cut away, and she was examined by paramedics and recovered at home.

WATCH BRANSON DISCUSS HER EXPERIENCE:

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's 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.

Comments

[Vinca]

06:11 PM on 02/20/2011

I wish her the best. If it should happen again, I think she could no longer have her job. If she had just lost her train of thought for a moment, it wouldn't have been so bad, but she was completely incoherent.

[Vinca]

06:06 PM on 02/20/2011

I wonder if something like this has happened before, I believe her when she says she's not using drugs or drinking. She will probably be nervous when she goes back to work, fearing it might happen again. It wasn't a stroke, but she had a headache before, it's very strange, that she messed up so badly on her words.

[GaryNOVA]

05:30 PM on 02/20/2011

I'm sorry and of course I apologize in advance. but now that this is a headache and not a stroke this goes back to being funny again. Insert generic insult towards me here - _________________.

[cdnbystander]

09:28 PM on 02/19/2011

Are you serious?

[roooth]

11:10 AM on 02/19/2011

If she regularly gets migraines, she is also more susceptible to strokes - blood vessels in the brain can eventually be weakened by the expansion and contraction that migraines cause, kind of like a balloon that has been blown up too many times.
If she can, she should always have meds to stop an attack asap, to stop damage to the blood vessels from accumulating over the years.
Migraines are no joke - they just haven't been studied much until recently because they happen mostly to women and were therefore identified as a "woman's" problem that was most likely due to the over-emotional nature of women. For decades I was told that if I controlled my emotions I could control the migraines. Finally, in the 90's, science started to catch up to myth - now it is understood that changes in brain chemicals cause the attacks and that years of attacks can weaken the walls of the blood vessels in the brain, leading to strokes.
There are meds now that can literally stop most attacks at the onset.

[cdnbystander]

09:31 PM on 02/19/2011

I get migraines and have gone to the hospital for treatment on a couple of occasions when I just couldn't take it anymore. A lot of migraines are brought on my a woman's menstrual cycle, so I can see why they were dismissed for so long. Thanks for the info.

[ibreathe4u]

06:00 AM on 02/19/2011

Regardless, she should have gone straight to the hospital. I'm sure they didn't know it was "just" a migraine at the time. She could have suffered severe deficits (or died) had it been a stroke.

I'm glad she's doing alright in the end.

[bart4u]

01:26 AM on 02/19/2011

Glad she is ok first mistake she made was not to go to the hospital. If it was a stroke time factor is key for treatment.

[Dukedraven]

11:27 PM on 02/18/2011

The human brain is a complicated organ. Good luck to her.

[menageriekeeper]

09:08 PM on 02/18/2011

Dysphasia,/aphasia is the most obvious part of my migraine aura. It was scary until I learned the reason for it. Mine never lasted as long as Serene's episode. It would be a word or three and then I'd be fine. After a bit I learned to take my migraine meds when my words got mixed up.

I haven't had migraine pain since I went gluten free almost two years ago. I still get the aura occasionally, but no pain, so I'll take it. I encourage all migraine sufferrers to be tested for Celiac disease.

[awa611]

10:11 PM on 02/19/2011

hmm....that's interesting. I would try a completely gluten free diet just to see how it affects my migraines but they some to come after eating too much salt or high sodium foods. But, I'd be interested in checking out the Celiac disease theory.

[RV1025]

07:48 PM on 02/18/2011

Awww, I hope that she's 100% alright. That must have been so scary for her.

[legoh]

07:31 PM on 02/18/2011

So Serena Branson had a bad migraine. What's this interviewer's excuse? This was the worst 'professional' interview I've ever seen.

[awa611]

07:19 PM on 02/18/2011

So many "experts" on here discounting the migraine cause. Those of us who have experienced the same thing that Ms. Branson experienced know exactly what she went through. When my migraine starts, speaking words backward or with the letters jumble is usually one of the first indications that IT is coming. I don't feel pain yet and no one can tell anything different is happening except for the way I'm talking. The last time I had one like this I was trying to say "notebook" and "keyboard" in a sentence and they kept coming out as "booktone" and "boarkdey". I can stop and try and concentrate on speaking correctly but it ain't happenin'. It sux and it's scary because it means intense pain is on its way. But, it does happen and all you armchair doctors need to open a book and try and learn something before giving your free advice.

[Red45]

06:02 PM on 02/18/2011

Migraines don't cause the symptoms she had. I've had migraines all my life and know every symptom. You don't get numb on either side of your face and you don't start talking like that. I think they need to dig deeper.

[Arrowhead2k8]

07:09 PM on 02/18/2011

There are all kinds of different migranes. Personally, I get these things called ocular migranes. They are not painful at all for me. I just get the wavy lines and distorted vision for 20 minutes. They only happen once every couple years.

[Red45]

08:15 PM on 02/18/2011

I learn something new every day.

[awa611]

07:14 PM on 02/18/2011

Yes they do. My migraines have ALWAYS been like that. The term is actually "hemiplegic migraines". All of my doctors have told me the symptoms are migraine related. I've had MRIs, CT scans, every test when the symptoms turned this way and always the same thing: migraine. Just because yours don't include these symptoms doesn't make it not a migraine for someone else. You haven't been completely educated in what goes on during a migraine if no one has told about these symptoms. Although, I guess if you've never had them, you wouldn't know to ask about them. Migraine symptoms can be very close to stroke symptoms. In fact, there are many different categories of migraines. Many migraine sufferers have the same symptoms as this reporter and I have had.

http://www.webmd.com/migraines-headaches/hemiplegic-migraine-headaches-symptoms-causes-treatments

http://migrainesymptoms-guide.com/different-types-of-migraine-headaches/

[Red45]

08:15 PM on 02/18/2011

I was looking for the link and you provided it. Thanks.

[FTracy3]

03:49 PM on 02/18/2011

If you saw it, it was a little scary--sounds that seemed to be words coming out but not really, just gibberish, although she seemed to understand in her own head what she was saying. Kind of like Michelle Bachmann's State of the Union response.

[awa611]

07:25 PM on 02/18/2011

hilarious!!

[roooth]

11:26 AM on 02/19/2011

if she only had a brain.....

[CaliTLC]

02:26 PM on 02/18/2011

Good for Serene that it appears to have not been life threatening. Never heard of her before the episode but I'll definitely look for her now on our local news just to give her support. She and her family must be really relieved.