A Los Angeles meteorologist who terrifyingly collapsed live on air when the broadcast cut to the weather has spoken out for the first time.
As previously reported, on Saturday (March 18), Alissa Carlson Schwartz had been due to present her segment on CBS Los Angeles at 7:00 AM, however, when her co-anchors Nichelle Medina and Rachel Kim cut to her, she started feeling unwell.
As Medina tells viewers that it's the "calm before the storm," Carlson Schwartz's eyes start to roll back in her head as she tries to steady herself on the desk.
The weather presenter then lowered forward before her legs seemed to give way, causing her to then fall back behind the desk.
Watch the scary moment below:Initially, the co-anchors did not appear to realize that it was a medical emergency until Carlson Schwartz fell to the floor - seeming to think she was hanging her head due to the wild weather on the horizon.
The duo quickly cut to a break once it became apparent that the meteorologist had collapsed, and she was quickly tended to by medics.
In a statement to TMZ, CBS Los Angeles Vice President and News Director Mike Dello Stritto disclosed that an ambulance was called and the presenter was rushed to the hospital. However, he did not reveal what had caused the collapse.
"I want to thank [Carlson Schwarz’s] co-workers who took immediate action to comfort Alissa and call 911," he said. "Alissa is being treated at the hospital right now. Hopefully we’ll know more shortly."
"In the meantime, Alissa will be in our thoughts and we’re praying for her to be feeling much better soon," Stritto added.
The meteorologist has since taken to her Facebook account (on March 19) to inform everyone that she has been discharged from the hospital and to thank people for their well-wishes.
She wrote: "Thanks for all the kind wishes as I recover from a head injury. I am out of the hospital and doing ok. Lots of sleeping and even some pizza - TY." And in another message, she added: "I appreciate all the prayers as I recover. More to come."
The post has been flooded with messages of support from her followers, with one person writing: "Take care of yourself, my friend….that is one scary episode and I’m so glad you are recovering quickly."
Another person said: "Saw on YouTube Alissa I’m sorry that happened, lots of people care about you."
A third commented: "Thank goodness [you're] ok!! It’s so hard to watch that video! Glad [you're] out of [the] hospital. Get some rest, my friend! It’s ok to give yourself time to heal completely! Don’t rush the process! I speak from experience!"
This isn’t the first time the presenter fell ill during a live broadcast. Back in 2014, she threw up while on air and was later diagnosed with a leaky heart valve.
"So I went to the doctor, and they said to me, 'Have you ever thought about having a heart condition?' And I said: 'Are you kidding me? No, I'm way too young for that, and I'm very healthy,'" she said, according to NBC News.
Carlson Schwartz revealed that the stem cells from her pregnancy with her daughter had begun to repair her leaky heart valve, adding: "I feel like I owe it to people and everybody and to God to give back and to spread the story and to help people realize that you may have something you don't even know what you have."
We wish Carlson Schwartz the best in her recovery!
