Al Roker at the 90th Annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in 2016.Photo:John Lamparski/WireImage
John Lamparski/WireImage
Al Rokerwill be back for this year’sMacy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade!
TheTodayhost’s absence was felt in 2022 as he underwent a hospitalization, his co-hosts said on Monday.
“By the way, the parade was not the same without Al. We said it’s not the same without you,”Hoda Kotbsaid. Roker, 69, joked 2022’s event “was better” without him, butSavannah Guthriepushed that comment aside. “No, you are the parade,” she said.
Al Roker at the 2021 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.Peter Kramer/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images
Peter Kramer/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images
For27 years, Roker has been a Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade staple, but in 2022, Roker was recovering fromblood clots in his leg and lungs. “For the past 27 parades, at this moment, Savannah, we would turn to Al Roker, who is ourTodayshow colleague and our best pal,” Kotb said during last year’s broadcast.
“But as a lot of you have heard, Al’s recovering — he’s recovering very well from a recent medical issue. And we just want to say, we love you Al. Wondering if you’re watching, but we wish you a full recovery.”
Al Roker, Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb at the 2021 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.Eric Liebowitz/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images
Eric Liebowitz/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images
Roker has candidly shared his medical experience since his return toTodayin January (and another step away for aknee replacementin the spring).
“It’s no secret that I had asevere medical issue, and to be completely honest, I almost died. I didn’t know it at the time,” he said during an episode of theYour Mama’s Kitchenpodcast on Audible. “But I missed Thanksgiving, and almost missed Christmas. And I forgot how important those touchstone moments are.”
The host said his Thanksgiving hospitalization gave him the fight to make it to Christmas as a healthier man. “I felt, in a sense, badly because I ruined Thanksgiving for the family and I was not going to let that happen for Christmas,” he said, later adding, “It was important to me and gave me something to push for. And I made Christmas dinner.”
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source: people.com
