Overview

• Al Roker was hospitalized last November due to serious health complications caused by blood clots in his legs that moved to his lungs.
• In addition to the blood clots, doctors found two bleeding ulcers and performed complex surgeries to resection his colon, remove his gallbladder, and restructure his small intestine.
• Roker revealed that he felt a sense of guilt for 'ruining Thanksgiving' for his family, which became his motivator to recover and make Christmas dinner.
• His wife, Deborah Roberts, played an instrumental role in his recovery process, effectively shielding him from the extent of his health issues so that he could focus on recuperating.
• Roker has expressed a deep appreciation for holiday moments and family following his close call with death, underlining his intention of spending holidays with family in the future.
• Despite the traumatic experience, Roker maintained a sense of humor, joking about having received 'four operations for free' during his hospitalization.