A beloved longtime Iowa meteorologist revealed she has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of ALS – a career-ending illness she pursued testing for after viewers accused her of being drunk on air.
Jeriann Ritter, a popular weather forecaster at NBC affiliate WHO 13 in Des Moines since 2004, opened up about her devastating battle with the incurable neurodegenerative disease during an emotional sit-down interview with the broadcaster Tuesday.
“I love talking about the weather,” the 49-year-old told colleague Keith Murphy.
“I don’t love talking about ALS. That’s what the doctors believe is causing my speech problems.”
Ritter said she first noticed a slight change in her speech in October and started receiving messages from concerned viewers the following month – some even asking, “Are you drunk?” after broadcasts.
She initially went to the dentist believing her slurred speech was caused by shifting teeth – but doctors soon noticed possible stroke symptoms, triggering a whirlwind of medical visits that ended with a neurologist spotting something on her tongue and diagnosing her with bulbar ALS.
“I wasn’t prepared to hear that,” an emotional Ritter told Murphy, noting there is no treatment or cure.
“I really thought it was something little. It’s a hard diagnosis. Right now, I pray every day that a miracle is going to happen. I keep thinking, ‘It could be something else.’ It is killing me that something that came so easy is now so hard. My greatest joy is talking and it’s becoming hard to do, it’s kind of a bummer.”
Bulbar ALS is a fast-progressing form of the disease that attacks the muscles of the face, throat and neck instead of the limbs, causing severe difficulties with speech, swallowing, and breathing, according to the ALS Therapy Development Institute.
Ritter, a fixture at the news station for 22 years, said she has tried speech therapy to relax her muscles and improve her speech, but admitted she feels like she’s “getting worse” — but vowed to keep fighting.
“I’m probably done telling you about the weather, but I still have a lot to say,” the married mom of two said.
“I’m going to do what I’ve always done, I’m going to live and I’m going to love. That’s what I’m doing. I didn’t forecast this storm hitting. It’s raining right now and I’m just trying to find the sunshine and focus on the little things, living in the moment. I’m so wealthy because I have so much love.”