Longtime Iowa meteorologist Jeriann Ritter has revealed that she has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of ALS. The diagnosis comes shortly after viewers thought she was drunk on air.
Ritter opened up about her 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.”
Who is Jeriann Ritter?
Ritter has been a popular weather forecaster at NBC affiliate WHO 13 in Des Moines since 2004. The married mom of two’s profile on WHO 13 reads, “Jeriann came to WHO in 2004 from La Crosse, Wisconsin where she spent the previous four years doing weather at WXOW-TV, most recently as their morning meteorologist. She also provided weather forecasts for several radio station there. Jeriann actually started at Channel 13 as a news intern in 1998 and ended up on the payroll as a news reporter.”
Ritter earned her Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communications from Buena Vista University in Storm Lake, and then graduated with the advanced Certificate of Broadcast Meteorology degree from Mississippi State University in 2003, per her bio. She grew up in Melvin, a small town located in Osceola County in northwest Iowa. Her father’s job as a storm watcher in northwest Iowa triggered her interest in weather and meteorology.
‘I wasn’t prepared to hear that’
During the recent interview, Ritter revealed that she noticed a slight change in her speech in October. Concerned viewers started messaging her the following month. Some even asked her, “Are you drunk?”
Ritter went to the dentist believing that shifting teeth was causing the slurred speech. However, doctors noticed possible stroke symptoms, leading to her having to go for several medical visits. A neurologist eventually spotted something on her tongue and diagnosed her with bulbar ALS.
“I wasn’t prepared to hear that,” Ritter said, noting that 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,” she added.
According to ALS Therapy Development Institute, Bulbar ALS is a form of disease that progresses fast and attacks the muscles of the face, throat and neck instead of the limbs. This causes severe difficulties with speech, swallowing, and breathing.
Ritter said that she has tried speech therapy, but also admitted that she feels like she is “getting worse.” However, she vowed to keep fighting.
“I’m probably done telling you about the weather, but I still have a lot to say,” Ritter said.
She added, “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.”
