Longtime WGME news anchor, Kim Block, who had been at the News 13 6 p.m. anchor desk for 37 years, made an important announcement about her career via Twitter on Tuesday, January 14. The news anchor at Portland’s CBS affiliate decided to step down from her position following a long hiatus she took to recover from a brain injury. 

Kim Block suffered a traumatic brain injury in 2018

In late 2018, Block had an accident in her driveway. It was snowing outside and patches of frozen water had made the driveway slippery. She was about to go somewhere but she realized she had forgotten something. As she hurried to take her things, she slipped and her head landed hard on the ground, resulting in a serious brain injury. 

Block recently shared details about her accident and its aftermath in her goodbye statement for the viewers. She wrote, “It was the back of my head that broke my fall. It smashed not once, but popped up and smashed again, sending my body into a tailspin of whiplash and contortionist poses. And something happened I had never felt before.”

“The gelatin like tissue that holds our brain smashed back and forth against the interior of my skull. It is in this process that our brain nerve cells are stretched and rendered non-functional, at least temporarily. Every single concussion is different, and most people will recover quickly - those brain cells have an amazing capacity to heal. But it can take a very long time.”  

A day after Block’s accident, she began facing several issues like unrelenting vertigo, pounding headaches, severe photophobia (sensitivity to light) and hyperacusis (sensitivity to sound), and nausea. She was unable to do basic activities like cook, read, watch television, fold socks, drive or even walk a straight line.

After undergoing more than a year of intensive therapies, Block has overcome most of her health issues. However, there are still some difficulties she has been facing, which have led her to make the decision to quit her job. 

Some important personal news. I’m officially stepping down from my anchor position at @WGME to continue to recover from my traumatic brain injury. Please take a look at my message and join me tonight live at 6pm to say goodbye - for now. >https://t.co/5ehs7a8ww2

— Kim Block (@KimWGME) January 14, 2020

“I have visualized this very moment for the past 375 days. Every single day I have wondered and worried about coming back to this anchor desk and to all of you. But - and here's the big but - although my recovery has been very positive, it's taking longer than any of us had hoped or expected. I still need time to continue healing and I'm going to be taking it,” Block said in her statement.

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Kim Block will be de-active on social media sites in the coming days

It’s certainly not an easy decision for Block to leave her job but this seems like the best for her health right now. Block assures her fans that this is not necessarily a goodbye. She says, “The door is open for another new chapter here at WGME, and I can assure you that if I can - I'll find my way back to you.”

The newsroom wishing ⁦@KimWGME⁩ well as she steps down from the anchor desk on ⁦@WGME⁩ pic.twitter.com/5g0yH4lO8E

— Amanda Post (@ajpostnews) January 14, 2020

Block made an appeal, especially to people she has interviewed in the past, to share their memories with her on social media. She said her social media accounts will stay active for only a few more weeks, following which she will take a break from there as well to focus on her therapy.

You can find her on Facebook by the name Kim Block and as @KimWGME on Twitter.

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