Photo: Al Roker
Al Rokeris feeling strong.
TheTodayshow weatherman, 68, posted a video of him in the hospital walking one day after his knee replacement surgery, which he had on May 9.
Also in the video he heads to the physical therapy room, where he walks down a block of wooden stairs using a cane.
This is Roker’s second knee replacement surgery — the first was in April 2022 — and he has been keeping fans in the loop about his recovery.
His prior post was a video from his hotel room of the sun shining high in the sky on the first day with his new knee. “Feeling grateful and#hopefulon this#firstdaywith my#newkneeWho knew?” he captioned the video, set to Bill Withers' “Lovely Day.”
Roker had first shared the news of his surgery in an Instagram video on May 7. On a stroll through Central Park he opened up to followers about how difficult walking has been for him lately.
“I’m a little less than three days away from getting this left knee replaced,” he said in the clip.
“It’s a replacement of a replacement so I am kind of limping through. This is probably my last walk of any significance before the knee, but it was just such a gorgeous day I had to get out and enjoy it.”
Roker will be taking a hiatus fromTodaywhile he recovers. His last absence was also due to his health: He was out of work for two months following a hospitalization due toblood clots in his leg and lungsand returned on Jan. 6.
“Look, I had two complicating things,” Roker said onToday. “I had blood clots, which they think came up after I had COVID in September. And then I had this internal bleeding going on, I lost half my blood. They were trying to figure out where it was.”
“I went into for one operation, I got four free,” joked Roker. “So I got that going for me.”
Deborah Roberts and Al Roker.Al Roker/instagram
Fortunately, his wifeDeborah Roberts— a correspondent for ABC News — took the reins as the lead in Roker’s care, working directly with doctors.
“Thank god for Deborah,” he said at the time.“She basically shielded me from all of this. I’m a living example of ignorance is bliss. I was able to put all my energy into recuperating because I didn’t know how bad this was. … I thought I was doing good!”
“It’s not lost on us that this is a major, major thing for Al to be here,” Roberts added. “He is a living breathing miracle. And I’m not overstating it, I think.”
Roker has been a staple onTodayas the program’s premier weather anchor since 1996, and previously made appearances as a substitute weathercaster from 1990 to 1995, filling in for the lateWillard Scottbefore his semiretirement.
source: people.com
