Jeriann Ritter has gone public about a serious and rapidly evolving health problem affecting the one skill central to her life and work: speaking.

Ritter, a familiar face on WHO‑13 News since 2004, told viewers and colleagues in a Feb. 24 interview that doctors believe she has amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS. Doctors have told her there is no treatment and no cure.

She first noticed subtle changes in her voice in October 2025 and, after a dentist raised concerns that the symptoms could be stroke-related, entered a months-long process of referrals and tests that culminated in a neurologist’s assessment.

Ritter has been frank about the emotional toll. She said she was unprepared for the news and described moments of denial and grief, but also a commitment to make the most of her time with family.

Ritter’s situation has brought attention to the particular vulnerability of broadcast professionals whose livelihoods depend on clear, reliable speech. The condition doctors suspect she has is bulbar ALS, which affects the bulbar region of the brainstem responsible for controlling muscles in the face, neck, and head.

According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, ALS is a progressive neurological disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, leading to loss of muscle control. Bulbar onset ALS accounts for approximately 25% of all ALS cases and typically progresses more rapidly than limb-onset forms of the disease.

Ritter has tried speech therapy to see if relaxing her muscles could help her speak. Unfortunately, relaxing the muscles means they will weaken even faster. When she is officially diagnosed, she can visit an ALS speech therapist, though she noted the cost runs approximately $500 per hour.

Viewers started sending her messages asking about her health in late November. She recalled someone asking her, “Are you drunk?” It hit her hard to hear that when she had been desperately trying to disguise her speech issues.

Colleagues at the station and longtime viewers responded with an outpouring of support after the interview aired. Social posts and messages poured in from people who said Ritter brightened their mornings for years.

She spoke about those connections, recalling a viewer battling cancer who once asked her what brought her joy. Her answer now: living for the moment, faith, and family. That sense of purpose underpinned her decision to speak openly about her health, similar to how athletes discussing mental health has helped reduce stigma.

One of her doctors said Ritter should continue recording herself. Because she has been on air for so long, Ritter may have the ability to help others with ALS by maintaining a detailed record of how her speech issues progressed. Voice banking allows patients to preserve their voice for future use with communication devices.

Ritter says she still hopes doctors are wrong about her diagnosis, but she wants to put her energy into spending time with her family. She wants to keep living her life, no matter what happens.

The diagnosis doesn’t seem like reality yet, she said. She misses talking to people and her co-workers. Her colleagues miss her too, with many posting memories of Ritter or requests for prayer on social media in recent days.

Research into neurological conditions continues to advance, with studies on conditions like how brain cells function in diseases providing insights that may eventually benefit ALS patients.

When asked what people can do to help her, Ritter thought for a moment and said: “Keep living. And loving. Maybe if more of us do that, this world will be a better place, and that would be a gift to me.”