'NBC News' Correspondent Morgan Chesky Suffered a Terrifying Health Scare — Here's What We Know

It's probably strange for NBC News correspondent Morgan Chesky to find himself the subject of a story, but that's precisely what happened when he shared details about a terrifying health scare he had. The relatively young reporter was hospitalized and wanted to signal boost his story in the hopes that he could help others.

What happened to Morgan Chesky? Here's what we know.

In a raw and moving Instagram post from April 26, 2023, Morgan detailed the events that would lead to being hospitalized. Like any good reporter, Morgan knows how to tell a story. It all began at Bryce Canyon in Utah, where Morgan had a sunrise hike planned. Things went well, but afterwards, he came down with a fever. Morgan was hoping a good night's sleep would knock that out before he hit Zion National Park, but things only got worse from there.

He was barely into his hike at Zion when Morgan noticed he was having trouble breathing. "I’ve hiked tougher trails at higher elevations, but even a slow pace caused my pulse to spike," he said. Feeling frustrated at his sudden inability to hike without issue, Morgan reluctantly surrendered his pack to his uncle and finished the trail.

"I popped Tylenol, determined to sleep it off again. But when I woke up worse, I caved," shared Morgan. At this point, he made the wise decision to head to urgent care where his blood oxygen saturation was tested. A normal range is somewhere between 95 and 100 percent. Morgan was sitting at 58 percent. The doctors called for an ambulance.

A CT scan yielded confusing results for the avid hiker. Fluid had filled his lungs, and a blood test showed his heart was stressed. Four letters would end up dominating the conversation. Morgan was suffering from H.A.P.E. (high altitude pulmonary edema), which for him made no sense, "I've hiked at 14,000 feet," he told doctors. "These hikes barely broke nine." This was likely caused by a cold he had in Dallas, Texas. It was "exacerbated by elevation, making me even more prone to altitude sickness."

From there it was a domino effect of symptoms. "When my lungs started to fill with fluid, it forced my heart to work harder, causing my pulse to skyrocket," said Morgan. Had he not been treated, Morgan would have been at risk for a heart attack. "Over 24 hours, high flow oxygen, blood thinners, and stellar care eased me back towards a safe baseline," he wrote gratefully. "My best night’s sleep in days was in an ICU bed I felt lucky to have." He then thanked the staff at Cedar City Hospital, as well as his uncles.

On May 11, a mere two weeks after his health scare, Morgan was on Today to talk about what happened, and to give an update. "Feeling a lot better," he told hosts Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb. "I'm definitely staying away from doing anything too strenuous," he said. "I tried to go on a jog today but told myself very quickly, 'Uh, let's just slow things down a bit.'"