Al Roker Gives a Health Update Following Hospitalization, Thanksgiving Day Parade Absence

Al Roker has plenty to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. After being hospitalized with blood clots earlier this month, which forced him to miss his first Macy's Thanksgiving Parade in 27 years, Roker took to social media Thursday morning to share a promising health update, announcing that he has been discharged from the hospital and is heading home!

The beloved TODAY weatherman shared the update on both Twitter and Instagram, sharing that he had "so much to be [thankful] for on the [Thanksgiving] day." He went on to reveal at the top of his thankful-for list was the fact that he was "leaving the hospital and home for [Thanksgiving dinner]" as she shared a video of himself up and walking in the hospital. One thing was at the top of his to-do list when he did make it back home, with Roker later sharing a photo of himself watching the 96th Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade from home, writing, "Back home in time to catch a little bit of the [Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade]," adding that he was "missing being next to [Savannah Guthrie] and [Hoda Kotb]."

The Thursday morning update came days after concern first grew over Roker's well-being. TODAY show viewers grew worried after Roker missed a number of consecutive episodes of TODAY earlier this month. As concern grew, Roker on Nov. 18 revealed, "Last week I was admitted to the hospital with a blood clot in my leg which sent some clots into my lungs." The beloved meteorologist explained that "after some medical whack-a-mole, I am so fortunate to be getting terrific medical care and on the way to recovery. Thanks for all the well wishes and prayers and hope to see you soon. Have a great weekend, everyone."

The medical emergency, unfortunately, forced Roker to miss an annual festivity: the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade. Roker has been a staple for NBC's coverage of the event for nearly three decades, with Kotb acknowledging Roker's reference at the top of Thursday's coverage, telling viewers, "For the past 27 parades, at this moment Savannah, we would turn to Al Roker who's our Today Show colleague and our best pal. But as a lot of you have heard, Al's recovering and he's recovering very well from a recent medical issue. We just want to say we love you, Al. Wonder if you're watching? But, we wish you a full recovery."

While Roker's absence from Thursday's event in New York City left many viewers sad, they were ecstatic with the happy health update Roker shared later in the morning. Commenting on Roker's posts, one fan wrote, "wonderful feeling Happy Thanksgiving Al," with somebody else adding, "Glad you're feeling better. The parade today was really missing your spark."

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