Dancing with the Stars judge Carrie Ann Inaba recently had a medical emergency during a flight from Los Angeles to New York. On April 15, she was on a Delta flight parked at John F. Kennedy Airport when she was transported to the hospital.
"I was dizzy, nauseous, very warm and my arms started feeling numb," Inaba said in a statement. "I received some assistance on the plane from the flight crew and a doctor onboard, which I am very thankful for, and went to the hospital upon landing, as well as received fluids."
"I’m resting up and looking forward to getting back into my advocacy work soon," she continued. "I'm so grateful to the people who took care of me and helped me through such a scary experience."
According to USA Today, Inaba was on the flight headed to “a campaign with pharmaceutical company Novartis to raise awareness for Sjögren's disease, an immune system disorder that she has.” In the past, she explained, “Over the years I’ve been diagnosed with Sjogren’s syndrome, lupus, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis and I have the markers for antiphospholipid syndrome, which can lead to blood clots.” However, Sjögren's syndrome had nothing to do with the recent medical incident.
When speaking with People about the condition in 2021, she shared, "Coping with autoimmune conditions can sometimes feel quite lonely. When I first got diagnosed, some encouraged me to keep my struggles to myself, but I've found that it's always been better to be honest about my needs and realities than to stay silent. I believe strongly in sharing my journey, my solutions, and the things that have helped me with anyone who could use it—this is how communities are formed."
Inaba is a choreographer, actress, dancer, and singer. She is most well-known as a judge on Dancing with the Stars, which she joined in 2005 when the show first began. She also co-hosted The Talk for three seasons, from 2019 to 2021.
