NBC News correspondent Morgan Chesky was hospitalized with high-altitude pulmonary edema while on a trip to Utah’s Zion National Park.
HAPE occurs when fluid builds up in the lungs and prevents oxygen from moving around your body, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
Chesky, who is based out of Dallas, Texas, shared photos of his scenic trip on Instagram Wednesday but interrupted the carousel with a photo of himself lying in a hospital bed with some sort of breathing tube.
The broadcaster explained in the caption that he developed a fever after hiking Bryce Canyon and couldn’t catch his breath, but decided to try to hike in Zion the next day anyways.
“I’ve hiked tougher trails at higher elevations, but even a slow pace caused my pulse to spike. I got angry,” Chesky explained, adding that he thought a good night of sleep and some Tylenol would fix everything.
“When my uncle grabbed my pack, I let him take it and finished the trail, too weak to even celebrate.”
“But when I woke up worse, I caved. After hearing my symptoms at Urgent Care, they tested my pulse ox (blood oxygen saturation). Normal is 95-100 percent,” he shared.
“Mine read 58.”
A CT scan revealed Chesky, 37, had fluid in his lungs, which left him “confused” because he had hiked mountains with higher elevations in the past.
“Doctors told me it didn’t matter,” he wrote. “A cold I may not have noticed in Dallas was exacerbated by elevation, making me even more prone to altitude sickness.
“When my lungs started to fill with fluid, it forced my heart to work harder, causing my pulse to skyrocket.”
If HAPE goes untreated, a person could either pass out from lack of oxygen or enter cardiac arrest.
“Over 24 hours, high flow oxygen, blood thinners, and stellar care eased me back towards a safe baseline,” Chesky shared. “My best night’s sleep in days was in an ICU bed I felt lucky to have.”
Chesky also shared that he still wasn’t home but quipped he’d see “y’all at a lower elevation soon,” where he’ll reunite with Conversation Couture CEO Olivia Jane Steele, with whom he’s expecting his first child.
