Prayers and well wishes are in order for legendary weathercaster and television personality Al Roker, who recently revealed that his noticeable absence from the popular morning show “TODAY” was caused by an “ongoing health issue.”
The 68-year-old pop culture figure came clean on the afternoon of Friday, Nov. 18, revealing he has been in a hospital. He shared the news on his Instagram page, where he shared a photo of a beautiful floral arrangement sent by his colleagues over at NBC network.
“So many of you have been thoughtfully asking where I’ve been,” the New York native wrote before revealing, “Last week I was admitted to the hospital with a blood clot in my leg, which sent some clots into my lungs.” The media personality joked, “After some medical whack-a-mole, I am so fortunate to be getting terrific medical care and on the way to recovery.”
He concluded his post by sending, “Thanks for all the well wishes and prayers,” and an optimistic look on his future, writing, “hope to see you soon. Have a great weekend, everyone.”
The memo comes after his wife, “Good Morning America” host Deborah Roberts, late last week gave an update to a fan who asked for the weatherman’s whereabouts. At the time she only shared, “He’s a bit under the weather but ok.”
Fans flooded the reporter’s comment section with warm messages for a speedy recovery, including one viewer who wrote, “Get well soon miss you on the Today show.” Another person added, “You have been noticeably missed. Get well soon. That’s serious business.”
Meteorologist Dylan Dreyer has been filling in for Roker while he recovers. She and anchors Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb sent their colleague well-wishes on Friday’s show and reacted to his health update, with Kotb writing, “Al Roker– hurry back to us… counting the days xoxoxo.”
Co-star Craig Melvin echoed the comment, telling Roker, “Love you brother…can’t wait to have you back!”
The Sun reported that an anonymous insider claimed, “He’s been off the air for almost two weeks; it’s been an ongoing issue he’s been dealing with,” before noting, “He’s such a wonderful and energetic guy, so it’s hard to remember that he’s 68 years old.”
In September 2020, Roker announced that he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer and would be having surgery. Luckily doctors caught it early, but Roker admitted it was “a little aggressive.”
He’s made bringing awareness about the disease and the importance of early detection, particularly for Black men, a priority in his career. In 2019 he teamed up with Melvin and the New Jersey Devils for a public service announcement about prostate health. In 2013 Roker underwent a live prostate exam on the show.
