Al Roker and Hoda Kotb left the ‘Today’ studio mid-show. Here’s why
In honor of National Nurses Week, “Today” anchors Hoda Kotb and Al Roker paid a special visit to some of New York’s most hardworking caregivers.
Mid-broadcast, Kotb and Roker ditched the “Today” studio on Monday to drive to their respective destinations: New York-Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. There, the broadcast journalists surprised the healthcare workers with bagels and flowers while spotlighting their lifesaving accomplishments.
“We are kicking off Nurse Appreciation Week by celebrating the incredible work they do every single day,” Kotb told viewers while walking among a crowd of nurses.
“I’m walking slowly so every nurse gets on [camera]. Al and I have traveled to two hospitals here in New York so we can say thank you in person.”
Hoda Kotb provided an update to her 3-year-old daughter Hope’s health after she was hospitalized in March. She said the hospitalization was ‘really tough.’
At NewYork-Presbyterian, Kotb interviewed the nurses who cared for a baby named Artemis, who was born more than two months early and spent 136 days in the hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit. The veteran newscaster later delighted NICU nurses Jasmin Dendariarena and Lilly Fox by reuniting them with little Artemis — now 9 months old — and her grateful parents.
“Small acts of kindness are truly what nursing is all about,” Dendariarena said on the show. “I’m so happy that I was able to to make such an impact.”
Meanwhile at Memorial Sloan Kettering Roker caught up with O’Dea Parson, a nurse who serves both in the hospital and as a major in the Army Nurse Corps. He also spoke with Jaclyn Stout, a nurse who cares for cancer patients and was herself diagnosed with breast cancer at 26 years old. She is now three years cancer free.
“We are transferring this perpetual love, support, compassion, empathy and kindness from ourselves constantly,” Parson said.
“It truly means the world to me to be able to be taken care of by the best nurses in the entire world and get to ... work amongst them,” Stout said.
Al Roker was away from ‘Today’ for two months after receiving treatments for a serious blood clot issue. ‘I lost half my blood,’ Roker shared during his return.
Kotb and Roker have each spent a lot of time with nurses recently for personal reasons. Earlier this year, Kotb went on a long hiatus from “Today” after her 3-year-old daughter was hospitalized with an illness. And in January, Roker underwent surgeries for blood clots and internal bleeding.
The “Today” show’s nurse appreciation segment aired about a week after Roker made a sweet cameo on rival news program “Good Morning America” to congratulate his wife — ABC News correspondent Deborah Roberts — on her new book. Published this month, Roberts’ book is a collection of essays by Oprah Winfrey, Brooke Shields, Octavia Spencer and others honoring the work of their favorite teachers.
“We’re so proud of you, and we’re so excited for this project,” Roker said in a pretaped message as Roberts’ jaw dropped with joy. “It is a labor of love, and everybody who’s been part of it loves the idea.”
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