“I had my appendix removed."
Fans who had tuned into NBC Sports coverage of the Kentucky Derby on Saturday, May 3, grew concerned for host Mike Tirico when he suddenly left the broadcast.
NBC Sports correspondent Ahmed Fareed took over for Tirico, alongside Carmelo Anthony, sharing only that Tirico started to feel under the weather.
Now, Tirico is sharing exactly what happened with "Today," saying he was embarrassed by the attention the situation had caused.
According to Tirico, he has lived with a severe peanut allergy for most of his life.
He suffered a severe allergic reaction at the derby after unknowingly eating something that “activated” his allergy.
“I left my EPIPen in Craig (Melvin’s) dressing room when I was there a couple of weeks ago,” Tirico, who had recently co-hosted the “Today” show. “I’ve had a nut allergy my whole life. And I’m usually very, very careful.”
“Whatever I ended up eating during the day, usually you do that snack grazing that a lot of us in TV do, so you’re not eating a big meal before you go on the air,” Tirico explained. “I ate something that had a nut in it, and I have a nut allergy, causing your throat and your nose and all that stuff to clog up and swell. [It] does affect your breathing a little bit.”
As a result, Tirico “wasn’t feeling well, couldn’t go on with the show, took an EpiPen shot, got treated by EMTs, felt better as about 8, 9 o’clock came on but it takes a while for it to get out of your system. And thank goodness Ahmed Fareed, who’s great, was there and filled in more than able-y.”
He then shared a message to others who suffer from sever food allergies, which includes Tirico’s son.
“Ask, inquire, be curious and be courteous.”
