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Al Roker and his wife, Deborah Roberts, shared new details about his health struggles as the 68-year-old weatherman made his triumphant return to the Today show on Friday (January 6).
"My heart is just bursting. I'm just so thrilled to see all of you and all of the crew and everybody. Right now I'm running on adrenaline and I'm just thrilled to be here," Roker told his co-hosts during Friday's show, per Entertainment Tonight.
The Today star last appeared on the November 4 broadcast as he was in and out of the hospital due to health issues that were much more severe than many realized.
"I had two complicating things. I had blood clots that they think came up after I had COVID in September and then I had this internal bleeding going on. I lost half my blood. They were trying to figure out where it was. And finally, they went in, did this surgery. I had two bleeding ulcers. They had to resection the colon, take out my gall bladder," Roker shared.
"It's not lost on us that this is a major, major thing for Al to be here," his wife said. "He is a living, breathing miracle. He really is.... Al was a very, very, very sick man and I think most people don't know that."
Roker had to undergo an intense 7-hour surgery to "correct a bunch of internal stuff," he said.
"[We] were extraordinarily concerned about Al," Dr. Felice H. Schnoll-Sussman, Roker's gastroenterologist, told Today. "Extraordinarily concerned. He had a life-threatening experience. I mean, there’s just no doubt about that."
During Friday's show, Roberts recalled the emotional moment when she felt at ease about her husband's recovery.
"He was so gaunt and exhausted. He said, 'I'm going to make a spatchcock turkey for Christmas.' And I didn't know whether to burst into tears or just to beam," Roberts said. "That was the moment for me, and it will always be the moment for me... I'm sitting here hoping he's going to make it to Christmas and here he is talking about making a turkey for Christmas."
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