Mark McAllisterCanadian television broadcaster Mark McAllister attained an unfortunate moment of infamy two years ago when he garbled a live segment on Global Toronto. The incident was mocked at the time as a simple blooper, it was actually a partial seizure a side effect of a medical condition McAllister did not realize he was suffering.
McAllister was diagnosed with epilepsy less than a month later, and has been balancing the affliction with his family life and career ever since. McAllister will publicly discuss his condition for the first time in a weekend news feature, part of which will air on Global Toronto Thursday evening.
[ Brew Archives: Global reporter feeling better after on-air incoherence ]
McAllister spoke with Yahoo! Canada News ahead of that broadcast.
Y! Lets talk first about the on-air incident in 2011. Is that the first time something like that had happened to you?
No, it was the first time it was as public as it was. I had been experiencing what my wife and I had been calling episodes prior to that moments where I would lose my train of thought or would just stop speaking for moments at a time. I had no idea what it was, and had just began asking doctors when it happened on air.
Y! When did you know things werent exactly right? Could you tell the words werent coming out right?
Yeah, within a matter of seconds I knew I wasnt saying what I was supposed to say. That was probably the most frustrating thing about it. Afterwards, realizing, that didnt go right. In the moment I was aware. It was what they call a complex partial seizure, which basically means you are still aware of your surroundings. It wasnt until the end, when I was finally able to say sorry and throw it back to the anchor desk, that I was able to spit something out.
Y! As a broadcast veteran, it must have been very frustrating for you.
My job is to communicate and be able to speak. And to not be able to do that was frustrating, was hard. Soon afterwards, looking back on it, I didnt know what that meant. For that to happen to me on the air, I immediately thought my career was in jeopardy. But, aside from that, I also had my health to worry about.
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Television reporter Mark McAllister opens up about epilepsy two years after on-air seizure