Al Roker has had fairly a number of well being points through the years. The 69-year-old At present present anchor has struggled together with his weight, undergone a number of surgical procedures, and been hospitalized a number of occasions all through his life.
It began in his childhood when a film sparked Roker’s concern over his weight. Binge consuming and bariatric surgical procedure adopted, all whereas his weight yo-yo’d.
Surgical procedures on his knee, rotator cuff, hip and shoulder all adopted, earlier than a prostate most cancers prognosis got here in 2020. Most just lately, Roker was hospitalized for a blood clot problem in November 2022 and mirrored on his restoration one yr later.
Preserve studying for a full timeline of Roker’s well being.
Early-Life Weight Struggles
In a 2012 interview with Parade, Roker revealed that, whereas he wrestled together with his weight since his childhood, it wasn’t till he was 15 and noticed Invoice Cosby’s Fats Albert character on TV that it started to trouble him.
“It was the embodiment of me: a fat Black guy who is the center of attention and the butt of jokes,” Roker informed the outlet, including that the second launched him right into a “vicious cycle” of emotional binge consuming, the place he’d eat after which “get into a funk” and proceed to “eat more.”
Quickly, he was consuming in secret.
“Because you’re fat, you feel that everybody’s watching every bite you take. So, you closet-eat, and you think because nobody sees you eating, then you’re not eating,” he stated. “You know, if you’re eating a Big Mac in a closed car, can anybody hear you nosh? If I ate only what people saw me eat, I would’ve probably been about 170 pounds.”
Knee Surgical procedure
In 2001, Roker underwent knee surgical procedure. The surgical procedure got here after a automotive accident and was sophisticated by his ongoing struggles together with his weight.
“Due to complications, I was in the hospital for 11 days,” Roker informed the At present present. “And after some tough rehabilitation, back on the air after a month.”
Bariatric Surgical procedure
Roker, who tied the knot with Deborah Roberts in 1995, continued to battle together with his weight into maturity. Ultimately, Roker weighed 340 kilos and opted to endure weight reduction surgical procedure in 2002 after a dialog together with his dad.
“After my father was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2001, he was at Memorial Sloan-Kettering, and I would go in every day. We’d talk and joke, and then one day he got serious and said, ‘Look, we both know I’m not going to be here to help you with my grandkids, so you gotta promise you’re going to lose weight,'” Roker informed Parade. “Seven days later he was gone. A few weeks afterward, [Deborah and I] found out we were pregnant with our son Nicky. I said, ‘OK, I’m going to have to do something.'”
He underwent the surgical procedure and proceeded to lose 100 kilos in eight months. 5 years later, although, he regained a lot of the load amid a household disaster.
“My mom got really sick, and unlike my dad, who was gone before we knew it, her illness dragged on for months. I was out of my routine, commuting to see her, and feeling guilty — either that I wasn’t spending enough time with the kids and Deborah, or that I wasn’t being there enough with my mom,” Roker informed Parade. “It was this perfect storm, and I consoled myself with food. I got blindsided and, I think, to a certain extent, I got cocky. It’s like an alcoholic who’s been sober for 10 years and has a drink and says, ‘Ah, but I can handle it. Just one or two, I’ll be OK.’ But no, you won’t.”
By the point his mom died in 2007, Roker had regained 40 kilos and fallen again into previous patterns.
“Despite having a loving wife, three terrific children, and a great career, there were times when I perhaps didn’t feel that I was good enough,” he informed Parade. “If I was having a bad day, eating was like self-medicating. But if you abuse food, you still have to use that substance that you abuse every day. You have to learn to use it responsibly.”
Roker described his weight as a “cloud hanging over” his marriage.
“Deborah is very healthy, exercises, eats well. For all the right reasons, she wants her significant other to be in terrific shape, too, and I was thwarting her at every move,” he admitted to Parade. “She was frustrated.”
Then, in 2008, Roker ran right into a buddy who’d misplaced weight and it sparked a change in him.
“I decided to meet with his nutritionist, and I think it was fate that she crossed my path at the exact moment that I was ready to hear what she had to say,” he informed Parade. “For the first time, I realized that I had to change not only the quantity but the quality of food that I was eating. Even more importantly, exercise has finally become a big part of my life.”
Shoulder Surgical procedure
Roker went beneath the knife once more in April 2014 for a rotator cuff restore on his left shoulder. The surgical procedure was a hit and even led to a check-up cellphone name from then-Vice President Joe Biden, the At present present revealed on the time.
Knee Substitute Surgical procedure
Two and a half years later, Roker had knee substitute surgical procedure. The surgical procedure on his proper knee took simply over an hour. Afterward, he informed the At present present that he was “feeling great” and decided to start out strolling once more rapidly so he might get again to work.
Carpal Tunnel Surgical procedure
A few years later, in October 2018, Roker went in for emergency carpal tunnel surgical procedure after battling the situation for a number of months, he informed the At present present.
“It had just gotten progressively worse to the point where Thursday, I lost use of my thumb during rehearsals,” Roker stated of the situation, which flared up as he was getting ready to make his Broadway debut in Waitress.
Hip Substitute Surgical procedure
Then in September 2019, he had hip substitute surgical procedure after months of coping with a “deteriorating” joint, he informed the At present present.
“Impulsively, I began feeling this twinge in my hip, after which my again was appearing up,” he said. “It looks as if my hip went pretty rapidly.”
Roker was back on his feet just one day after his surgery.
“I am in far much less ache than I used to be 48 hours in the past,” he said. “The perfect factor is to only stand up and transfer and be capable of stroll.”
Roker was back at work just 12 days later.
Shoulder Surgery
Less than a year later, Roker underwent shoulder surgery for the second time. This time, the surgery was necessitated due to arthritis in his right shoulder, he told the Today show.
“It isn’t unhealthy through the day, however at night time it is an intense ache that actually wakes me up,” he said. “For the final month, I’ve solely been sleeping about two or three hours an evening, which even for me is a bit of bit much less. It is gotten to the purpose the place I can not even sleep at night time.”
Prostate Cancer Diagnosis
In late September of 2020, Roker was diagnosed with prostate cancer after a routine physical, he told the Today show.
“It is a good news-bad information type of factor,” he said on the morning program. “Excellent news is we caught it early. Not nice information is that it is a bit of aggressive.”
Per People, shortly thereafter, Roker underwent a five-hour surgery to remove his prostate and several lymph nodes. Afterward, Roker wrote on Instagram that he was “relieved” that the surgery was completed.
“Look, we’re not out of the woods… however for a primary begin, that is terrific information,” Roker said on the Today show, according to People. “I am gonna be up for, as lots of people who dwell with most cancers, lifelong testing to ensure this does not come again.”
Blood Clot Hospitalization
Roker’s health was back in the news in November 2022, when fans realized he hadn’t been on the Today show in a while.
“So lots of you may have been thoughtfully asking the place I’ve been. Final week I used to be admitted to the hospital with a blood clot in my leg which despatched some clots into my lungs,” Roker wrote on Instagram amid his morning show absence. “After some medical whack-a-mole, I’m so lucky to be getting terrific medical care and on the best way to restoration. Thanks for all of the effectively needs and prayers and hope to see you quickly. Have an awesome weekend, everybody.”
Roker went on to miss his first Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in 27 years. While Roker was released from the hospital in time to spend the holiday with his family, he was soon rushed back.
At the time, Page Six reported that the TV personality was rushed back to the hospital by ambulance the day after Thanksgiving. Given his re-hospitalization, Roker pulled out of hosting the Christmas Tree Lighting at Rockefeller Center.
Roker was back at home on Dec. 8. In a video appearance on the Today show a few days later, Roker reflected on his latest health scare.
“Pay attention, it has been a troublesome slog. I am not going to disclaim this. It has been the toughest one but,” he said of his most recent hospitalization. “You realize, I’ve had my share of surgical procedures. But it surely offers you a profound sense of gratitude for this outpouring of prayers and thanks. I am a really lucky particular person.”
His Return to Today Following Hospitalization
On Jan. 6, 2023, Roker returned to the Today show, where he and his wife gave an update on his health and detailed the severity of his medical condition.
“It isn’t misplaced on us that this can be a main, main factor for Al to be right here. He’s a residing, respiratory miracle. He actually is,” Roberts said. “Al was a really, very, very sick man and I feel most individuals do not know that.”
Roberts went on to note that Roker was “a medical thriller for a few weeks,” adding that it was “essentially the most tumultuous, horrifying journey we’ve ever been on.”
She also shared that her husband underwent a ” main, main surgical procedure,” during his hospitalization.
His doctor described the situation as a “life-threatening expertise” for Roker.
Roker detailed all of the health complications and all the doctors had to do to help save his life.
“I had two complicating issues. I had blood clots that they suppose got here up after I had COVID in September after which I had this inside bleeding happening,” he shared. “I misplaced half my blood. They had been making an attempt to determine the place it was. And eventually they went in, did this surgical procedure. I had two bleeding ulcers. They needed to resection the colon, take out my gal bladder. I went in for one operation, I acquired 4 free, so I acquired that going for me.”
Musical Medicine One Year Later
In November 2023, Roker reflected on his hospitalization a year later, revealing to fans that songs by a particular artist helped him during his challenging chapter. “It’s been a yr since I used to be within the hospital and due to @debrobertsabc and household, your ideas and prayers and the music of @eltonjohn and this track particularly, I’m right here as we speak. #thankyou,” he captioned a video of himself walking while lip-syncing to Elton John’s “Philadelphia Freedom.”
Ahead of the one-year anniversary of his hospitalization, Roker told ET on Halloween, “I am doing nice, doing nice. I inform you, the factor that is stored me going is I’ve had a brand new granddaughter.”
As for the benefits of being a grandfather, “You might love up on ’em and you then give them again,” Roker said. “If I had recognized they had been this a lot enjoyable, I’d’ve had them first. It is one of the best.”
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