Alissa Carlson, who is the meteorologist for CBS Los Angeles station KCAL, collapsed during a live broadcast Saturday morning — startling viewers and her fellow newscasters alike.
Just as the broadcast started transitioning from the anchors to Carlson for the weather repopp9⁹poprt, she went from looking a bit unsteady to slowly slumping forward onto the desk before sliding to the floor.
Carlson suffered a head injury in the fall when she fainted just as her segment began. Her fellow anchors quickly realized what happened and went to a commercial break before calling 911 to get treatment for Carlson immediately.
You can see a clip of Carlson fainting, as well as more information about her recovery, below:
Carlton did an interview with CBS Mornings this morning talking about her perspective in the moments leading up to her fainting on air.
She said that she started off the morning feeling okay, but started to feel a bit nauseous about 15 minutes before the incident. She hadn't eaten breakfast yet that day, so she decided to get through her segment and then get something to eat.
"So at that point I thought 'I'm just going to power through, I'll be fine as I usually am.' Well, we all saw what happened."
During the interview, she also told CBS' Gayle King more about what doctors determined caused her to faint: vasovagal syncope — a sudden drop in heart rate and blood pressure that leads to fainting, often in response to a stressful trigger.
While Carlson initially thought the fainting spell may have been due to a leaky heart valve—a condition she already knew about that led to her vomiting on-set in 2014—she said that wasn't the case.
Carlson also said she had a history of fainting, but it hadn't happened in a while and she will need to learn to recognize the symptoms of the condition.
You can view Carlson's interview on CBS Mornings below:
Carlson also posted on social media she was recovering from the injury, and thanked viewers for their prayers and well-wishes.
Fans and colleagues shared their love online.
Carlson is still recovering and has not yet said when she will return to work, but KCAL released a statement thanking viewers for calling in to wish her well and said that she will be back when she's "well enough to return."
"Alissa will be back with our Next Weather team on KCAL News as soon as she's well enough to return."
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