Last month, many regular viewers of The Today Show noticed that longtime weatherman Al Roker was absent from the show for over a week without any explanation about why he wasn’t on air. Was he on vacation? Was there a family emergency? Was he okay?
Roker eventually turned to Instagram to address the concerns and explain that he had been admitted to the hospital for blood clots. He was doing well, recovering and at the time of his original announcement, he was still scheduled to be on air hosting NBC’s broadcast of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
Roker did not make it to the parade for the first time in 27 years, but he did have his own kind of celebration that day. He shared on Instagram that he had been released from the hospital.
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Even though he was home, Roker wasn’t ready to return to work yet. In addition to missing the parade coverage, he also didn’t make it to the lighting of the Christmas tree in Rockefeller Center.
On TODAY, Roker’s colleague, Hoda Kotb, mentioned how much Roker was missed at the tree lighting celebration. She said, “It was wonderful hosting the celebration, but, of course, we all wished that Al could’ve been with us.”
Then Kotb announced some sad news for Roker. He had returned to the hospital. She said, “Due to some complications, he is back in the hospital and he is in very good care. He’s resting and his doctors are keeping a close eye on him.”
Kotb added a message from Roker’s family saying, “Al and his family want everyone to know how grateful they are for all the love, the support and the well wishes.”
Later during the “Today with Hoda and Jenna” part of The Today Show, Hoda told Jenna Bush Hager that she had spoken to Roker during the tree lighting. She was on facetime with him during a commercial break. She said, “It was great to see him and we just, it was the commercial break, we’re like, ‘Al!’ He’s like, ‘Hey! It’s on!’ He pointed to his TV, so I know he was watching it.”
Roker has not shared an update on Instagram since Thanksgiving day when he was home with his family.
Does it surprise you that Roker had to return to the hospital? Do you think he will make a full recovery in the near future?
