NBC News' Savannah Sellers Suffers Eye Injury From Exercise Band

Katie Campione

January 22, 2021 at 5:37 PM·3 min read

NBC

Ouch! NBC News' Savannah Sellers is out of commission after suffering an eye injury.

The co-host of Morning News NOW revealed Thursday night on Instagram that while working out with an exercise band, the band snapped and hit her across her face and in her left eye.

"My doctor says it's the third case he's seen in the last few months and suggested I get goggles at Home Depot if I use one of those bands again," Sellers said.

NBC

The correspondent added that her doctors think her injury may be combination of commotio retinae, angle recession and a choroidal rupture. It's not clear yet if she has a tear in her eye, which would require surgery.

"I'm listening to my doctors to figure out the best course of treatment," Sellers said. "But I've heard many times in the last several hours how lucky I am it wasn't much worse!"

Since she's having difficulty seeing out of her left eye, Sellers is currently out of the anchor chair but hopes to be back soon, possibly as early as next week.

"In the meantime, I'm counting my blessings! If the band hit in a slightly different spot I would be in much worse shape," Sellers said. "I'm grateful this didn't happen before our inauguration coverage and that I have the weekend to somewhat recover."

NBC

Sellers said she hopes to be back — after a little downtime.

"I'll be curled up by the fire watching movies through my right eye and listening to podcasts!" she said. "Definitely staying away from exercise bands and having my boyfriend get my favorite snacks."

Sellers wouldn't be the first Savannah at NBC News to undergo eye surgery.

In 2019, Today Show co-host Savannah Guthrie suffered an eye injury while playing with her 2-year-old son Charley. Initially, Guthrie had a tear in her retina that required surgery.

Then, last year, the TV host had to undergo another eye surgery after she developed cataracts following her retina reattachment surgery.

Get well soon! @SavannahGuthrie is on the phone to give more insight on the eye injury she sustained after her son threw a toy truck that tore the retina in one of her eyes. @DrNatalieTV is also here to help explain the healing process and what she can expect. pic.twitter.com/7Tvj58rtY7
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) November 27, 2019

"Remember when my retina was detached because Charley threw the train at my eye?" Guthrie said on the Today Show. "Well, guys it's not over. So apparently after you have that retina reattachment surgery, it's very common to get cataracts, so that happened to me. So I'm actually going to leave in 20 minutes and have cataract surgery."

After the initial injury, Guthrie told PEOPLE that she knew she would have to undergo follow-up eye surgeries, noting that while the initial retinal surgery restored her temporary vision loss, her eyesight "certainly isn't where it was, and I think it's getting worse."

"Eventually I'm hopeful that when everything turns to normal, I'll be able to schedule those surgeries and I'm hopeful there'll be a big improvement," Guthrie said. "I don't think my eye will ever be the way it once was, but I think it will be much improved."

Associated Press
Opponents of ousted Bangladesh ex-premier Sheikh Hasina foil attempts to hold rally in Dhaka
Rival political groups of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday thwarted a plan by her Awami League party to hold a rally in Bangladesh’s capital, seen as a potential first effort to make a comeback on the streets since she fled the country in August amid a mass uprising. The rally in Dhaka by Hasina’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party was to commemorate the death of a party activist on Nov. 10, 1987, which had sparked a mass protest against former military dictator H.M. Ershad. In 1991, Bangladesh switched to a parliamentary democracy from a presidential form of government, and since then Hasina and her rival, former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, became the most powerful political figures in the country.
Yahoo Finance
Trump presidency likely won't be a problem for Nvidia's stock
Nvidia after Trump takes the White House may look just like Nvidia before Trump took the White House.
Associated Press
Young Black and Latino men say they chose Trump because of the economy and jobs. Here's how and why
Brian Leija, a 31-year-old small-business owner from Belton, Texas, was not surprised that a growing number of Latino men of his generation voted for Donald Trump for president this year. For DaSean Gallisaw, a consultant in Fairfax, Virginia, a vote for Trump was rooted in what he saw as Democrats' rhetoric not matching their actions. Gallishaw, 25, who is Black, also voted for Trump twice before.
CNN
Israeli strikes kill more than 40 across Lebanon, reports say
More than 40 people have been killed in waves of Israeli strikes across Lebanon since late Saturday, according to reports from the country’s official news agency.
Associated Press
The Army's answer to a lack of recruits is a prep course to boost low scores. It's working
Index cards taped to a large board on the wall at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, reveal the sometimes blunt and gritty reasons that new recruits took a chance at a last-ditch program to get into the Army. Known as the “Why Wall,” the board is meant as an inspiration for the recruits who could not meet the Army's physical and academic test standards, so they went into the Future Soldier Prep Course. Started as a trial program two years ago to help boost dismal recruiting numbers, the prep course is fueling the Army’s enlistment comeback.
CNN
Weeks after a chemical plant inferno, nearby residents say they’re suffering prolonged illnesses and financial upheaval
The opaque plumes of noxious smoke billowing out of a Georgia chemical plant are long gone. But the relentless effects of the BioLab fire in Conyers are still visible, residents say – from exacerbated rashes to mounting bills to nagging symptoms and piles of prescriptions.
Associated Press
Mauritius holds an election with the ruling party seeking a new term
People in Mauritius voted Sunday for a new Parliament with the ruling party seeking to secure a second five-year term for Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth in one of Africa's most stable democracies. Jugnauth's government has faced criticism recently after it banned social media websites following a wiretapping scandal in which recorded conversations involving politicians, businesspeople, activists and journalists leaked and were published online. The ban was lifted after a few days but has raised concern among the opposition and civil society.
Yahoo Finance
Inflation and retail sales data greet a roaring stock market rally: What to know this week
A key inflation reading is set to greet investors amid a roaring post-election rally in markets.
USA TODAY
Where did the name winter come from? How the season got its name.
The seasons have their names for a reason; they describe the weather common for that time of year. Here's why the coldest season is called "winter."
CNN
Russia and Ukraine exchange record numbers of drone strikes
Russia and Ukraine have exchanged record numbers of drone strikes, with Moscow launching a total of 145 drones on Saturday night – the most ever in a single night-time attack of the war.
AFP
Mauritius votes in poll clouded by phone-tapping scandal
Mauritius was voting Sunday in a close-fought parliamentary election, with police at polling stations as the opposition warned of the risk of fraud in one of Africa's most stable and prosperous democracies.- 'Complete transparency' - Election commissioner Irfan Rahman said everything was being done to ensure the vote proceeded in "calm and serenity", including the deployment of police at polling stations.
NBC News
As Australia puts more focus on climate change, New Zealand is accused of pulling back
In a role reversal of sorts, Australia has been taking a more aggressive stance on climate change, while its neighbor New Zealand is accused of pulling back.
NBC News
Muslim voters once abandoned the GOP. Now they may leave the Democrats.
Arab and Muslim voters moved away from the Democratic Party this year in ways that led some community leaders to warn of a lasting shift from a voting bloc that has been reliably Democratic for two decades since it abandoned the GOP.
Reuters
Lithuania government to include party whose leader is on trial for antisemitism
Lithuania's Social Democrats, winners of last month's parliamentary election, defended on Saturday their decision to form a coalition government with a populist party whose leader is standing trial over alleged antisemitic statements. Nemunas Dawn party founder and head Remigijus Zemaitaitis resigned from parliament in April, ahead of an impeachment vote, after the Constitutional Court ruled he had broken his oath by stirring up hatred against Jews in social media posts last year. Zemaitaitis went on criminal trial over the posts in September, charged with "attempting to create hostility, and provoking intolerance, towards Jews", and with playing down the Holocaust in Lithuania.
Associated Press
UN nuclear head to visit Iran for talks on country's nuclear program as next Trump presidency looms
The head of the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog said Sunday he will travel to Iran in the coming days to hold talks regarding the country's nuclear program. The visit comes amid wider tensions gripping the Mideast over the Israel-Hamas war and uncertainty over how U.S. President-elect Donald Trump will approach Iran after his inauguration in January. Specifically, the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Mariano Grossi, will have high level meetings with the Iranian government and will hold technical discussions on all aspects related to the joint statement agreed with Iran in March 2023. It is intended as a path forward for cooperation between the IAEA and Iran on how to expand inspections of the Islamic Republic’s rapidly advancing atomic program.
Reuters
How a Trump presidency could lead to a purge at the Pentagon
During his campaign for re-election, Donald Trump vowed to purge the military of so-called "woke" generals. Now that he is president-elect, the question in the halls of the Pentagon is whether he would go much further. Trump is expected to have a far darker view of his military leaders in his second term, after facing Pentagon resistance over everything from his skepticism toward NATO to his readiness to deploy troops to quell protests on U.S. streets.
AFP
Deadly strikes on Gaza, Lebanon as Israel faces aid deadline
Israel launched deadly strikes on Gaza and Lebanon Sunday, rescuers and authorities said, ahead of a US deadline for improved aid delivery to the Palestinian territory.Israel's main military backer the United States on October 15 warned that it could withhold some of its billions of dollars in military assistance unless Israel improves aid delivery to the Gaza Strip within 30 days -- a deadline that expires on Wednesday.
Reuters
Analysis-Harris' Michigan loss highlights Democrats' many weak spots
Democrat Kamala Harris lost Michigan by more than 80,000 votes amid a nationwide shift to Republicans, as union workers, Black voters, Arab Americans and Muslims either failed to show up at the polls, or cast their ballots for Donald Trump. It was a bracing loss, given the state is run by a high-profile Democratic governor who expanded voting rights and it had only backed a Republican president once before in the past 22 years - Trump in 2016, and then by fewer than 11,000 votes. What happened in Michigan highlights issues that ail the Democratic Party nationwide, community leaders, voters and political experts say.
Reuters
Mnuchin won't rejoin Trump administration, but has advice on sanctions, debt
Donald Trump's former Treasury secretary, Steven Mnuchin, said he will not seek to join the president-elect's new administration but is ready to offer advice to his successor, including on how to strengthen sanctions on Iran and Russia and contain the growth of U.S. debt. In an interview, Mnuchin told Reuters it was important for the Treasury to work towards strengthening U.S. trade policy. This includes holding Beijing to its U.S. goods purchase commitments in Trump's January 2020 Phase One deal to rebalance U.S.-China trade, which he said "they're not living up to."
AFP
A long way home for residents of Israel's 'most bombarded' town
From a bunker in Metula, a town in Israel's bombarded north, David Azoulai showed off the remnants of burnt-out ordnances as if they were artifacts from a museum.Azoulai, the head of the regional council of Metula, described his town as "the most bombarded" along Israel's border with Lebanon.

Latest Stories