Serene Branson is ready to put this year's Grammy Awards behind her. The KCBS-TV reporter has become somewhat of a viral sensation after her strange episode of gibberish during a post-Grammy Awards telecast on Sunday. While it was previously reported that Branson’s behavior was the result of a stroke, doctors have confirmed that the reporter suffered a complex migraine.

“I was scared, I was embarrassed. I was terrified and confused,” Branson said, speaking to CBS Los Angeles anchorwoman Pat Harvey. "At that point they sat me down, then my right cheek went numb. My right hand went numb and I lost some sensation in my arm.” Branson explained she was unsure what was happening to her but was certain she was experiencing a “medical emergency.”

Branson quickly received treatment at nearby University of California, Los Angeles, after being pulled from behind the camera by her CBS producers. Despite exhibiting stroke-like symptoms of slurred speech and numbness, a brain scan and blood work helped doctors attribute the episode to a migraine. "A migraine is not just a headache. It's a complicated brain event," Dr. Andrew Charles, the UCLA neurologist who examined Branson after the incident, told CBS. According to Charles, Branson revealed she has suffered migraines since childhood, but never to this extent.

With next Sunday's Academy Awards quickly approaching, Branson is ready to return to what she does best: her job. “My boss has already asked if I’m ready and I expressed to him that I am anxious and eager to get back to being back at work," she told Harvey. "I’m ready to be telling the story and not be the story,” she said. —EMILY EXTON

1 Comments

  • Scott Deady
    Scott Deady on

    A lot of commenters on youtube claimed the video shouldn't be laughed at because Serene had a stroke. I guess it's safe to laugh now? At least she isn't letting the incident impact her negatively.

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