A popular Texas TV news anchor is taking the rest of the week off after a frightening health scare sent him to the emergency room with a black eye, a badly cut ear and other injuries.
Rusty Surette, evening anchor and executive producer for KBTX in Bryan-College Station, told Chron he blacked out at his home early Tuesday morning after suddenly becoming dizzy. Doctors have not determined exactly what caused the episode.
“Unfortunately, we don’t know much yet,” Surette said.
Surette said he arrived home around 11 p.m. Monday after anchoring KBTX’s evening newscasts and went to bed as usual. Around 3 a.m., he got up to use the restroom and felt very dizzy. The last thing he remembers is finishing in the bathroom.
He woke up to his husband, Marco, shaking him and asking what happened. Surette said he appeared to have been unconscious for no more than a couple of minutes.
“When I woke up, my left ear was split open; I had blood coming out of my nose, small cuts on my hand and face and a big knot on my forehead,” Surette said
Because he has no memory of the fall, Surette believes he struck a hallway closet door before hitting the floor.
Rusty Surette is recovering after blacking out and suffering injuries in a fall at his home. (Rusty Surette)
He remained nauseous, dizzy and disoriented afterward. Around 8 a.m., he tried to make an urgent care appointment but was told to go to an emergency room because he had suffered a head injury.
At Physicians Premier ER in Bryan, Surette underwent blood work, an EKG and an MRI. He said the tests came back clear, though doctors noted he was severely dehydrated and had very low sodium levels. He received fluids and about a dozen stitches in his ear before being released.
Rusty Surette needed about a dozen stitches in his ear after an overnight fall he does not remember. (Rusty Surette)
Surette said doctors told him the episode appeared to be syncope, possibly related to dehydration and exhaustion, but urged him to follow up with his primary care physician to rule out anything more serious.
Rusty Surette shared an update with viewers after undergoing tests at a Bryan emergency room. (Rusty Surette)
The scare came weeks after Surette publicly asked for help drinking more water. In a Sept. 2 TikTok that has drawn more than half a million views, he told followers his doctor had recently advised him to increase his water intake.
“I got a question for all the people out there who drink water all day long,” he said in the video. “Tell me how?”
Surette told Chron he is now being “very deliberate” about staying hydrated.
“I’m out for the remainder of the week with a black eye, a very gross-looking ear, and a body that feels like it’s been tossed out of a second-story window,” he said.
Rusty Surette shared photos of his injuries while updating viewers on his recovery. (Rusty Surette)
He added that viewers have flooded him with get-well messages and requests that he rest.
“I’m still working on that part,” he said.
Rusty Surette is an evening anchor and executive producer at KBTX in Bryan-College Station. (Rusty Surette)
The Beaumont-Port Arthur native has worked in local television news for nearly 25 years and joined KBTX in May 2015. He also produces the station’s Be Remarkable and Restaurant Report Card franchises.
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This article originally published at Longtime Texas anchor wakes up injured after blackout he can’t remember.