'Thankful' Al Roker Reflects on Missing Last Year's Parade After Blood Clots
Al Roker
Al Roker has much to be grateful for this Thanksgiving—especially considering a health scare forced him to miss last year's Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
On Thursday, Nov. 23, the Today personality, 69, reflected on missing the 2022 event while reporting in New York City for the 2023 holiday extravaganza. Roker touched on the topic while corresponding with Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb.
"I am so grateful to be with you, Hoda and all of you at home on this beautiful morning," Roker said, noting it was 44 degrees and a "perfect morning" with "fall foliage in the air."
Later, he shared, "Look, I missed last year. I am so thankful to be anywhere this year, but especially here."
This year's #MacysParade features iconic balloons, four new floats, and, of course, the return of Al Roker after he missed last year's parade. pic.twitter.com/qmH7Bn6yrm
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) November 23, 2023
Last year, Roker missed hosting the Macy's parade for the first time since 1995 as he recovered from blood clots in legs and eventually his lungs.
Instead, Roker watched the parade from a hospital bed. He was discharged in time to enjoy Thanksgiving with family—however, Roker was re-admitted later that November because of internal bleeding. The co-host missed the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lighting, too.
"After the parade, (I thought), certainly, I'll be ready for the tree lighting...and I watched them both from the hospital," Roker said on the Today show on Nov. 20.
Ultimately, doctors found two bleeding ulcers and resected a portion of Roker's colon in a seven-hour surgery, during which they also removed his gallbladder and redid his duodenum.
Roker finally left the hospital on Dec. 8, and he returned to his Today co-hosting duties in January.
Next: Savannah Guthrie’s Kids Make Their Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Debut
