Savannah Guthrie has updated viewers of the Today show about her eye surgery, admitting she still doesn’t have vision in her injured eye but is expected to return after the holidays.
On Wednesday morning the 47-year-old Today show anchor called into the show to speak on her status one week after major eye surgery to repair her torn retina, which she suffered after her three-year-old son, Charley, threw a toy train at her eye.
‘I don’t have my vision back yet, but I’m going to get it back, everything’s on track,’ Savannah told co-hosts Craig Melvin, Hoda Kotb, and Al Roker.
In recovery: Savannah Guthrie, 47, has updated viewers of the Today show about her eye surgery, admitting she still doesn’t have vision in her injured eye
Update: She called into the Today show on Wednesday morning to inform co-hosts Craig Melvin, Hoda Kotb, and Al Roker about her status
Expert: Savannah’s surgeon, Dr. Donald D’Amico, also appeared on the show to detail the recovery for the journalist in the coming weeks
Last week a picture of Savannah was shared showing the journalist sitting face down in a chair to help her torn retina recover from the surgery.
She explained to her co-hosts she only has a ‘day or two more’ of sitting like that during the day before she can be more upright.
As for what she’s been doing during her week off, Savannah revealed it’s been a lot of Netflix watching and relaxing in bed.
‘I didn’t have like a spiritual breakthrough that I thought I might. I binge-watched Netflix,’ she detailed over the phone. ‘A couple times when I was laying on my back I had a masseuse come over and give me a massage. And in the in-between I just go about my business and I organized my drawers.’
But Savannah reiterated it wasn’t an easy recovery from the major surgery, specifically because of the need for her to remain face down during the first couple days to help the eye fully recover.
‘The hardest part is sitting still, keeping your head down. You kind of get a neck and a back ache. I can’t say it was easy…but it’s manageable and it’s all going to turn out OK,’ she said.
She was also forced to sleep on her stomach.
‘That was kind of the hardest part because I was afraid I was doing it wrong,’ Savannah continued.
Out of office: ‘Turns out I had to have surgery today because I had a massive tear in my retina and retina detachment,’ Savannah wrote last week, sharing a sign on her bedroom
Stressful: The Today show anchor went into surgery last Wednesday and then later updated followers on her social channels in the evening
The culprit: The journalist suffered the injury two weeks back after her son, Charley, (pictured on his third birthday) threw a toy train at her eye
Her co-hosts asked Savannah about when she anticipated returning to the Today show following the surgery, and she said it probably would not be until after the holidays.
‘I was kind of wishing I could come in at the end of this week, but the truth is I still can’t see out of that right eye and also it looks a little weird,’ she said. ‘When the surgery was first done I looked like I got punched in the face…it was very swollen.
When speaking to People about her eye after the surgery, Savannah said it looked ‘pretty ghastly’.
‘I look like a prizefighter…who lost,’ she said.
But her situation has since gotten better in the coming days while recovering.
‘Now it looks pretty normal, but I can’t see. The short answer is I think I’m gonna come [back] after the holidays,’ she told Today.
The Today show also had on Savannah’s surgeon, Dr. Donald D’Amico of Weill Cornell Medicine in New York City, who performed the eye surgery to better explain exactly what she got done to repair the torn retina.
‘Her retina was torn,’ Dr. D’Amico said. ‘The retina lines the inside back of the eye like wallpaper…When the retina is torn, it begins to fall off the back of the eye and you lose vision.
‘Fortunately for Savannah, the tear was at the side of her retina and not the very center, so the prospect for her central vision to return is very good.’
A gas bubble was placed in the back of Savannah’s eye to help her retina slowly reattach to the back of her eye, which is why she has to lie face down for most of the day.
‘You think of how you would put a poster on the wall,’ Dr. D’Amico said. ‘We’ve all put a poster on the wall with glue. You have to hold it for a few minutes or seconds in order to get it to stick. The bubble holds the retina reattached in the eye, and as the bubble goes away by the body absorbing it, the laser treatment and the freezing treatment provide the permanent scar that keeps it stable.’
Trouble: Doctors wanted to avoid surgery because of the lengthy recover, but it appears Charley’s throw (pictured is the train) damaged Savannah’s eye enough to need surgery
Yikes: Savannah told viewers she would probably not return to the Today show until after the holidays while she recovered
Savannah suffered the injury on Nov. 21 after her son threw a toy train at her eye.
She went on to attend work for one day following the injury, but then had to miss multiple days of work because of loss of vision.
Doctors at the time hoped she could avoid surgery and just repair the retina with multiple laser sessions, but it was ultimately decided surgery was the best option.
Last Wednesday Savannah, who also has a five-year-old daughter named Vale, updated followers about her recovery by sharing a picture of her bedroom door with a sign taped to it that was created by one of her children.
The sign read: ‘Nobody can come into my mommy’s room.’
‘This is my “out of office” message. Turns out I had to have surgery today because I had a massive tear in my retina and retina detachment,’ Savannah wrote to her followers.
She added: ‘I am home resting for a while. Very grateful to my doctors, prayers of good friends and my husband @feldmike who has swooped in like a superhero.’
Savannah remains optimistic about recover and knows her situation will be fine even if her vision in her right eye doesn’t completely recover.
‘I feel much better now, even though the recovery is not very pleasant,’ she told People. ‘It feel like it’s almost over. I know one day we’re going to laugh about this — and that day is getting closer all the time.’