Hoda Kotb has shared a rare photo of her four-year-old daughter Hope nearly four months after her hospitalization.
The Today co-anchor, 58, gave fans a glimpse into her youngest child’s recovery on Tuesday when she posted a heartwarming family snapshot on Instagram.
Kotb and her two daughters — Hope and six-year-old Haley — were joined by her best friend and fellow journalist Karen Swensen and her daughter, Catherine.
The two moms and their children were photographed sitting on the floor, with Hope and Haley happily cuddled up on Catherine’s lap.
Hoda Kotb, 58, shared a sweet family photo of herself with her daughter, Haley and Hope, on Tuesday. They were joined by her friend Karen Swensen and her daughter, Catherine
Four-year-old Hope battled an undisclosed health issue in a New York City hospital in late February. Kotb shared a snapshot of their Mother’s Day celebrations last month
Kotb’s young daughters were barefoot and dressed in T-shirts and leggings as they smiled for the camera.
The NBC star captioned the photo with a heart emoji, tagging Swensen, Catherine, and her pal’s brand Life’s About Change.
The post comes three weeks after Kotb shared a snapshot of herself celebrating Mother’s Day with Hope and Haley, who gifted her handprint paintings.
Hope spent a little over a week battling an undisclosed health issue in a New York City hospital in late February, including several days in the intensive care unit.
Kotb has been sharing updates about her youngest daughter’s health, telling People last month that ‘Hope is doing much, much better.’
‘I think it’s going to be a longer road, but she is doing great,’ she added.
Kotb also recently reflected on the incredible impact one nurse made while caring for her daughter in honor of National Nurses Week.
‘I was just thinking about when Hope was in the hospital for one of those days… It was 3 a.m., and I was just sitting in this chair,’ she told her Today co-host Jenna Bush Hager on the morning show.
Kotb has been sharing updates about her youngest daughter’s health, telling People last month that she thinks ‘it’s going to be a longer road’ for Hope, ‘but she is doing great’
Kotb missed two weeks of work while caring for Hope in the hospital. The little girl spent several days in the ICU
Kotb recently recalled how a nurse kindly put her hand on her back to comfort her while she was caring for Hope in the hospital
‘This nurse walked in and — I still remember — put her hand on my back. Didn’t even say anything. Just sat there for a minute. I was like, “Oh my God,”‘ she continued.
‘A lot of what [nurses] do isn’t just about giving the IV and the needles and the stuff and the tests and all those things. It’s more than that.’
Kotb recalled how she turned to the nurse for help when she wanted to make her daughter more comfortable.
‘I remember I was there, and I asked for a bath for [Hope]. I wanted to give her a bath, and they could only sponge her, and I said, “Please, I’m begging you, I just want a bath here for my child,”‘ she explained.
‘I remember we got this little plastic thing, and we put it in the shower and put Hope in it. And I remembered like that tiny thing, but it was everything at that time.’
Kotb’s absence from the Today show in February sparked concern among fans. After more than a week off air, her co-star Craig Melvin reassured viewers on March 1 that she was ‘OK’ but was dealing with a ‘family health matter.’
The mom was full of gratitude when she returned to work on March 6. Prior to the episode, she hadn’t been on air since February 17.
‘My youngest Hope was in the ICU for a few days and then the hospital for a little more than a week,’ she told her co-anchor Savannah Guthrie. ‘I’m so grateful she is home, she is back home. I was waiting for that day to come. And we are watching her closely. I’m just so happy.
Kotb first opened up about Hope’s hospital stay with her co-anchor Savannah Guthrie when she returned to work on March 6. She hadn’t been on the air since February 17 until that point
‘I’m grateful for the doctors at Weill Cornell who were amazing and the nurses and I’m grateful to my family and I’m grateful to friends like you who were there every single day,’ she said
‘And you know what I realized too, Savannah? When your child is ill, the amount of gratitude you can have for people who have helped you out,’ she continued.
‘I’m grateful for the doctors at Weill Cornell who were amazing and the nurses and I’m grateful to my family and I’m grateful to friends like you who were there every single day.
‘I want to say thank you for that. I love you.’
Kotb also reflected on how her daughter’s health scare had given her a newfound perspective.
‘I feel like, life is one way on a Monday — and we all have our Mondays and we complain about them. We’re like, “Oh, what a crummy Monday,” and then Tuesday rolls around and something really hits hard, and you realize that Monday was actually pretty awesome,’ Kotb told Bush Hager.
‘So for us, it was little Hope had to go to the hospital, and she was in the ICU for a few days and then the hospital for another week and it was really scary. And she’s vibrant and brilliant.’
Kotb added that her youngest daughter has remained selfless and generous during her illness.
‘The other day, she just got up from bed, and she was so sweet and cute, and she wasn’t feeling great,’ the mom explained. ‘She had in her hand two little confetti stars.
And I looked at her, ’cause I had just gotten out of the shower, and I turned, and she was sitting there. And she said, “I got two, Mom.”
‘And I said, “Oh my gosh.” She goes, “One for me and one for you.” And I thought to myself, “This child, even when she’s not feeling good, she [is] still giving everything away.”‘
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