Hoda Kotb’s daughter Hope Catherine is all smiles months after being hospitalized for a mystery illness.
The “Today” show co-anchor shared the first photo of her 3-year-old daughter since she first became sick earlier this year, and in it, Hope can be seen grinning from ear-to-ear next to her 6-year-old sister, Haley Joy.
Also in the Instagram photo is Kotb herself, whose smile also can’t be contained, as well as “Today” show contributor Karen Swensen and her daughter, Catherine.
The “You Are My Happy” author went on a long hiatus from the NBC morning show in February, and her co-anchors later revealed that she was dealing with a “family health matter.”
On March 6, a teary-eyed Kotb returned to the show and shared that Hope had been in the ICU “for a few days” and hospitalized for “more than a week.”
“I’m so grateful she’s home,” Kotb, 58, shared at the time. “We are watching her closely. I am just so happy.”
Kotb returned to the show full-time from thereon out, with exception for a pre-scheduled vacation, and said on a podcast at the end of April that Hope was doing well and was so “strong.”
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“To watch her go through a difficult time at just 3 years old is really tough for any parent because you’re helpless,” Kotb shared on Southern Living’s “Biscuits & Jam” podcast.
“But I think you realize just how incredibly resilient and strong she is. I think sometimes you learn life’s lessons from the most amazing places.”
Although the broadcast journalist said her daughter had turned many corners, she told Page Six in May that Hope had a “long road” ahead of her.
“She’s doing better. There’s still a long road to go, but she’s doing much better,” Kotb told us at the Webby Awards.
“We’re making great progress,” she added. “This kid is full of healing light, as I say to her.”
With the worst behind her, Kotb admitted that the stress of her daughter’s illness took its toll.
“It is a lot, but I have a good group with me helping me, and I think I’ve learned to, like, sometimes you gotta roll with it,” she told us.
“You gotta trust and kind of surrender, and that’s kind of how I’ve been going through it. But she’s doing a great job.”
