The 68-year-old weatherman returned to the morning news program for his first in-studio appearance in nearly two months following a series of health complications. Al appeared on the show alongside his wife, Deborah Roberts, who called her husband’s return “a living, breathing miracle.” “It is a really special day … and I’m sorry because the tears are already flowing, because Al Roker is back!” anchor Savannah Guthrie stated early on in the show. “The crew is weepy,” Hoda Kotb added as Roker hugged his co-stars. Crowds gathered outside to welcome the weatherman back to the studio, with Guthrie exclaiming, “As much as we missed you, Al, I think the plaza missed you even more.” The excitement wasn’t just one-sided, as Al beamed: “I have missed you guys so very much. You are my second family and it’s just great to be back — and wearing pants! It’s so much fun.” He added: “My heart is just bursting. I’m just so thrilled to see all of you and the crew and everybody. Right now, I’m running on adrenaline. I’m just thrilled to be here.” “It’s not lost on us that this is a major, major thing for Al to be here,” Deborah said later on in the episode, recalling her husband’s initial hospitalization in Nov. 2022 for a blood clot in his leg. “And I have to say, I’m not overstating it — I don’t think — Al was a very, very, very sick man. And I think most people did not know that,” the ABC correspondent continued. Sitting against a sign that read “Welcome Back Al,” the beloved weatherman revealed that doctors believe the clots in his legs and lungs “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. And finally they went in, did the surgery and it ended up two bleeding ulcers, had to resection the colon, had to take out my gallbladder, redo my duodenum … " per People. “I went in for one operation, I got four free. So I got that going for me,” he joked, his sense of humor as sharp as ever. While it was unclear what was ailing him initially, Deborah said the medical team never gave up on her husband, noting: “It was a team that had to figure out what was happening. He was a medical mystery for a couple weeks. And it was the most tumultuous, frightening journey we have ever been on.” Despite being on “pins and needles everyday,” she recalled the moment she knew everything was going to be alright, explaining, “Al and I were sitting there one day in the hospital and through this very scratchy voice, and he was so gonked and exhausted, and 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. I mean, that was the moment for me." She continued: “I’m sitting here hoping he’s going to make it to Christmas and he wants to make a turkey, and I just knew at that point, that will, that drive, is so strong." During his comeback episode, he made it a priority to not only extend his gratitude to his wife for taking care of him, but also to his medical teams. Al—who has been with Today since 1996—missed hosting the Thanksgiving Day Parade for the first time in 27 years due to his health woes.
