Despite having a limited lung capacity, NBC4 meteorologist Shanna Mendiola surprised herself by running the Hollywood 5K. She reports from the finish line for Today in LA on Saturday, April 11, 2015.
Just months ago she discovered she had a potentially fatal blood clot in her lungs.
But NBC4 meteorologist Shanna Mendiola ran a 5K run Saturday as part of the Run for Today campaign.
She was in the process of moving to her new job in California in October when she began to struggle for breath and decided to see her physician.
"I began to feel unexplainable back pains. Along with the pain, I suddenly had a hard time breathing," Mendiola said, "I went to the doctor just thinking I pulled a muscle but they rushed me to the ER saying that you probably have a blood clot. After doing rounds of tests they did find that I had a pulmonary embolism."
Pulmonary embolisms, blood clots in the lungs, are life threatening if not treated immediately, and she feels blessed to have received medical attention so quickly.
"Thankfully I got to the hospital on time - I was given a second chance," Mendiola said.
However the after-effects of the health scare have been debilitating, and her lungs are not working to the same capacity as before.
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This led to the sporty meteorologist deciding to take part in the Today Show's Run-for-Today campaign, which aims at getting people moving and sharing, to regain her old fitness. She ran the 5K event in Saturday's Hollywood Half event.
"I never enjoyed running but wanted to challenge to myself with the hopes of regaining strength in my lungs and inspire others in the process," Mendiola said, "It wasn’t easy getting started, and I use a heart rate monitor to keep me from overexerting myself."
The weather expert has been keeping her supporters fully up-to-date on her preparations, posting Facebook, Twitter and Instagram updates, which she will be continuing on the day itself. But while she has been training as hard as she could, she only has modest intentions for the event itself.
"My goal tomorrow is to finish the race and not race for time," Mendiola said.
