Deborah Roberts has opened up about her husband Al Roker’s harrowing health crisis and how she feared they were ‘going to lose him,’ saying he was in ‘dire shape.’
The couple, who have been married for 27 years, reflected on his hospitalization and life-shaving surgery during their appearance on Maria Shriver’s digital series, ‘Conversations Above the Noise with Maria.’
Roker, 68, endured two hospital stays and a seven-hour surgery to treat his life-threatening health issues after suffering from blood clots and internal bleeding late last year.
‘This was terrifying at every minute. It was like the worst roller coaster ride you have ever been on,’ Roberts, 62, recalled, saying she and her family ‘have a little PTSD’ after everything they went through.
Al Roker, 68, and his wife, Deborah Roberts, 62, opened up about his recent health crisis on Maria Shriver’s digital series, ‘Conversations Above the Noise with Maria’
‘This was terrifying at every minute. It was like the worst roller coaster ride you have ever been on,’ Roberts told Shriver
The Today weatherman’s health troubles started in November when he was hospitalized for blood clots — likely due to a previous COVID-19 infection — that had moved from his legs to his lungs.
Doctors also discovered that he was experiencing internal bleeding, but they struggled to determine the cause.
‘Al, first of all, was in a state of depletion. They wouldn’t let him eat half the time because they were worried in case he would upset something or if they had to go in and do tests,’ Roberts explained.
‘He [was] malnourished, and even though he wasn’t in excruciating pain, he was in a lot of discomfort. His veins were beginning to collapse. They couldn’t find veins after a while.’
The Today weatherman endured two hospital stays and a seven-hour surgery to treat his life-threatening health issues after suffering from blood clots and internal bleeding late last year
Roberts explained that doctors couldn’t find the source of the bleeding, and they ‘were on pins and needles’ the entire time
The ABC News correspondent shared how difficult it was to watch her husband fight for his life in the hospital.
‘As a loved one sitting there, your heart breaks for them, and Al is such a strong, upbeat guy. He [was] exhausted. He [was] thin. He [was] just trying to be chipper. The rest of us are just viewing this train wreck thinking, “Oh my gosh, oh my gosh,”‘ she said.
‘It was really, really terrifying because they truly did not know,’ she added. ‘They couldn’t find the source of it, and as long as the mystery existed, we were on pins and needles.’
Roker announced on Instagram that he was being treated for blood clots to explain his on-air absence, but he didn’t share the extent of his health issues.
‘Al’s a very public person, we were careful about how much we would say,’ Roberts explained. ‘When I talked to my family members, I would say to people, “We need prayers, please. Just pull for us, but nobody post this. Don’t say anything because we weren’t ready to talk about it.”‘
Roker spent nearly two weeks in the hospital and was considered stable enough to go home for Thanksgiving as long as he checked in with his medical team
The Today star, who was unable to co-host the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade for the first time in 27 years, shared a photo of himself watching it on TV
Roker spent nearly two weeks in the hospital and was considered stable enough to go home for Thanksgiving as long as he checked in with his medical team.
However, he started to feel faint the day after the holiday and was rushed back to the hospital, where doctors discovered new bleeding. He lost so much blood that he needed blood transfusions.
Roker underwent a nearly seven-hour emergency surgery to treat two bleeding ulcers. Doctors had to resection his colon, remove his gallbladder, and fix a tear in his duodenum, the first part of the small intestine that connects to the stomach.
Roberts said there was a point when she and her family ‘were losing hope.’
The couple shares a daughter, Leila, 24, and a son, Nick, 18. Roker also has an older daughter, Courtney, 35, with his ex-wife Alice Bell.
Roker was rushed back to the hospital the day after Thanksgiving. Doctors had to resection his colon, remove his gallbladder, and fix a tear in his duodenum during emergency surgery
‘We really did think we were going to lose him,’ Roberts recalled. Roker returned home in early December after a total of four weeks in the hospital
Roker noted that he didn’t cry or get emotional until his Today colleagues showed up at his door to sing him Christmas carols
‘We were thinking, “What if this just does not go well.” We really did think we were going to lose him,’ she explained.
However, Roker never lost his positive outlook. Roberts recalled how she and Leila thought he was asleep and couldn’t hear them while they were discussing their fears — until he chimed in.
‘He goes, “Positive attitude, positive attitude.” And we kind of chuckled because even at that moment where he was in great distress, he was trying to hold on to positivity,’ she said.
‘I’m not saying people who don’t do well don’t have a positive attitude, but I do think that that’s a factor,’ Roker added.
The Today star explained that his wife and family gave him a ‘gift’ by taking charge of his care, which allowed him to focus on healing.
Roker (pictured with his family at Christmas) stressed the importance of telling your loved ones how much they mean to you before it’s too late
‘I think if the worst had happened, I think Deborah knew how I felt about her, and I knew how she felt about me. Same with the kids,’ he said
Roker shared that he is now prioritizing sleep and making a conscious decision to go out less
Roker stressed the importance of telling your loved ones how much they mean to you before it’s too late.
‘I think if the worst had happened, I think Deborah knew how I felt about her, and I knew how she felt about me. Same with the kids,’ he said.
After spending a total of four weeks in the hospital, he returned home in early December. He noted that he didn’t cry or get emotional until he got a special surprise from his colleagues.
‘Almost the entire Today show staff showed up outside our door and sang Christmas carols, and the damn kind of broke,’ he said. ‘It was extremely emotional.’
The couple also shared how his co-host Hoda Kotb would stop by their home to check on him at 8:30 at night, even when Roberts would tell her to wait until the morning.
Roker made his triumphant return to the Today show on January 6 following his two-month medical leave
Roberts was by his side as they discussed the severity of his harrowing health crisis
Deborah shared that seeing Roker in his ‘most vulnerable weakened state’ made her fall in love with him in a ‘deeper way’
‘I called her the great Hodini,’ Roker joked of her unwavering support.
Following his hospitalization, he has been prioritizing sleep and making a conscious decision to stay home more.
‘We’re saying no more to things,’ he explained. ‘There are always going to be things that are important to us that we want to do and take care of…but, you know, maybe it’s not so important to go out.’
As for Roberts, her husband’s health crisis only increased her love for him.
‘It was a very strange thing for me because I [was] seeing the man I love the most in the most vulnerable weakened state that I had ever seen him in, and I just fell in love with him in a deeper way,’ she said.
***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk