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NBC News correspondent Morgan Chesky recently spoke up on a medical emergency he suffered in April 2023 while hiking. In an interview with Today, Chesky told co-hosts Hoda Kotb and Savannah Guthrie that he was at Bryce Canyon and Zion National Parks when the emergency occurred.
Chesky said that he went on the trip on his 37th birthday. He said that his uncle Eric spotted something wrong with him as he walked slower than the rest of the days. The hiking continued the next day, and Morgan Chesky was feeling lightheaded and weak, and his pulse was also rising at the same time.
Things got so bad that, at one point, Chesky had to stop and take a breath. Eric immediately rushed towards Chesky and took him to a clinic that was an hour away from the place.
As he underwent a few tests, his blood oxygen saturation levels were revealed to be around 58%. Morgan Chesky mentioned that he was taking medicines on time and trying to sleep well. He was transported to the Cedar City Hospital the same month, and he discovered that his lungs were filled with fluid and he had high-pulmonary edema.
High Altitude Pulmonary Edema: Symptoms, prevention, and more
According to the National Institutes of Health, high-altitude pulmonary edema is a severe kind of high-altitude illness that can lead to mortality in 50% of affected individuals. It is a kind of noncardiogenic pulmonary edema.
The problem can occur above 2,500 meters and also at 2,000 meters. The risks can increase if there is individual susceptibility because of low hypoxic ventilator response, the altitude attained, a rapid rate of ascent, male s*x, sleep medication, excessive salt indigestion, cold ambient temperature, and a lot of physical exertion.
HAPE occurs in two to five days after arriving at altitude. According to the National Institutes of Health, it can lead to dyspnea at rest or severe exertional dyspnea, and a cough could become "productive of pink and frothy sputum or frank blood." It can be easily diagnosed if someone suffers from chest tightness or pain, cough, dyspnea at rest, and decreased exercise tolerance.
For treatment, an individual should descend 1000 meters or until there is a resolution of symptoms with the descent. The exertion should be minimized as it can increase hypoxemia from the body's metabolic demands and lead to worse conditions. Oxygen therapy can also be used.
Who is Morgan Chesky?
Morgan Chesky's LinkedIn profile states that he went to Kerrville Tivy High School. He then joined Sam Houston State University, where he pursued his BA in Mass Communications and Broadcast Journalism.
Chesky joined CBS News in 2008 as a weekend news intern and KVHC 15 as a reporter, anchor, editor, and producer the same year. He then came to KLTV in 2009, where he worked as a reporter and weekend anchor until 2011. He was a reporter and fill-in anchor for KVUE Media Group from 2011 to 2012.
Morgan Chesky joined KOCO News as a weekend anchor and reporter in 2013 and left in 2015. He was a weekday evening anchor for KOMO TV from 2016 to 2018, and since 2018, he has been a news correspondent for NBC News.
