One year after a series of surgeries for undisclosed medical issues, Al Roker is grateful that his family concealed the full extent of his health problems from him.
“It’s widely known that I had a severe medical condition late last year during Thanksgiving and Christmas. It’s one of the things I now deeply appreciate. To be honest, I came perilously close to passing away,” Roker said in a podcast episode of “Your Mama’s Kitchen” released on Wednesday.
He told host Michele Norris, “I wasn’t aware of it at the time, but (my wife) Deborah and Leila, my middle daughter, were crucial in shielding me from it so that I could focus on recovering.” “However, I missed Thanksgiving. I nearly missed Christmas. And I didn’t grasp the significance of those milestone events.”
To treat two bleeding ulcers, the 69-year-old “Today” show weatherman had to step away from the cameras again in December. He was hospitalized in November due to blood clots in his leg that had spread to his lungs. “I went in for one operation and got four for free,” he quipped when he returned to the show in January after a two-month break.
“I felt a bit guilty, in a way, because I spoiled Thanksgiving for the family, and I wasn’t going to let that happen with Christmas,” Roker told Norris. “It gave me a goal to strive for, so it was important to me. I also cooked Christmas dinner.”
During a lighthearted chat about the holidays, Roker recounted the moment his wife, ABC News writer Deborah Roberts, realized he would be okay.
“I had another procedure, and as I was coming out of anesthesia, Roberts was there and asked, ‘How do you feel?’ and I replied, ‘I saw this recipe for a turkey with spatchcock mayonnaise in the New York Times Cooking.’ Roker said, “I’m going to make that for Christmas.” “And she thought, ‘Okay, I think he’s going to pull through.’”
Furthermore, Roker revealed last week on “The Kelly Clarkson Show” that while he was in the hospital, he learned that his eldest daughter, Courtney, was expecting his first granddaughter, Sky.
Most importantly, Roberts added, “I think knowing that she was on the way over the past year” aided Roker’s recovery. “Because it’s been a process, but you’ve just become stronger and stronger.”
She continued, “So now when he leaves his underwear and other things on the floor and I feel like getting angry with him, I just think, ‘You know …’”
“I could have been dead,” Roker said. “It’s your fault — you saved me, sorry!”