Nancy Tartaglione
Stalwart Today show anchor and weatherman Al Roker missed his first Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in 27 years today, as he recovers from a recent hospitalization. But he was all thumbs-up on social media as he cheered on cohosts Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb – and made it home in time to catch some of the show, and for dinner.
Roker was replaced at the annual Thanksgiving event by Dylan Dreyer, Today‘s meteorologist who filled in as she covered the parade from the Upper West Side in New York City.
Roker had been absent from Today in the past weeks, and recently disclosed he had been admitted to the hospital with a blood clot in his leg which sent some clots into his lungs. “After some medical whack-a-mole, I am so fortunate to be getting terrific medical care and on the way to recovery,” he posted on Instagram last week.
This morning, he shared a video as he left the hospital, writing, “So much to be thankful for on the thanksgiving day. Leaving the hospital and home for thanksgivingdinner.”
Guthrie and Hotb paid tribute to Roker during the live parade broadcast this morning.
“For the past 27 parades, at this moment, we’d turn to Al Roker, our Today show colleague and our best pal, but, as a lot of you have heard, Al’s recovering, and he’s recovering very well from a recent medical issue.” Kotb said, “We just want to say we love you, Al. Wonder if you’re watching? But, we wish you a full recovery.”
Roker was diagnosed with prostate cancer in November 2020, and underwent a procedure to remove his prostate and affected lymph nodes.
