TODAY Show host Al Rocker has shared shocking new details of the ‘frightening’ health scare that kept him off air for two months.
The TV star, 68, shared the information while celebrating his return to the popular NBC show, with his wife Deborah Roberts, 62, by his side.
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Beloved weatherman Al was originally hospitalized in November 2022 after blood clots were discovered in his legs and lungs.
Speaking on Today, he opened up about his condition, including the revelation that he underwent a gruelling seven-hour surgery to “correct a bunch of internal stuff.”
He said: “Look, I had two complicating things. I had blood clots, which 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.”
He also joked that he “went in for one operation” and “got four for free”.
His wife added: “Al was a very, very, very sick man … most people didn’t know that.
“Two doctors led this brilliant team — it was a team — who had to figure out what was happening. He was a medical mystery for a couple of weeks. And it was the must tumultuous, frightening journey we have been on.
“It’s not lost on us that this is a major, major thing for Al to be here.
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“He is a living breathing miracle. And I’m not overstating it, I think.”
Roberts also said that her husband had “a prayer circle you wouldn’t believe” sending good will to the much-admired broadcaster and that “you could feel it”.
Recalling the sweet moment that she knew Al would be ok, she said: “Al and I were sitting there one day in the hospital… and through this very scratchy voice, and 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.
“That was the moment for me, and it will always be the moment for me.”
Praising his wife’s support throughout the difficult experience, Al said “thank god for Deborah” and recalled that she “shielded” him from the seriousness of his illness to give him the best chance of recovery.
Al left fans in tears as he made a dramatic return to the show on January 6, and delivers his first weather report of the new year amid cheering and clapping from his co-stars.
He also took to social media to reveal the huge meal he was ‘surprised’ with after he had struggled to gain weight during his health scare.
He posted a photo of the feast from his favourite sub shop on Instagram.
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