The 2022 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City was missing a familiar face, as long-time contributor and Today weatherman Al Roker was sidelined due to ongoing recovery from blood clots.
Thursday marked the first time in 27 years that Roker had missed the parade.
On November 18, Roker announced via Twitter that he had been admitted to hospital the week before to get treated for blood clots in his legs and lungs.
"After some medical whack-a-mole," he added, "I am so fortunate to be getting terrific medical care and on the way to recovery."
On Thursday, Roker posted a video to Instagram showing him leaving the hospital.
"This," he stated enthusiastically, "is my version of the Thanksgiving Day Parade — getting ready to leave the hospital! Time to blow this taco stand. Woohoo!"
While he was not able to make it to the parade in time, he still caught the action on TV, giving a big thumbs up to his fellow Today hosts Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb.
"For the past 27 parades," Kotb said to Guthrie during the live broadcast, "we would turn to Al Roker, who is our Today show colleague and our best pal. But as a lot of you have heard, Al's recovering — he's recovering very well from a recent medical issue. And we just want to say, we love you Al. Wondering if you're watching, but we wish you a full recovery."
"We love you, Al," Guthrie added. "We'll see you next year."
The pair's sentiments were also shared by Roker's replacement, Dylan Dreyer, as well as President Biden and the First Lady, who she rang up during the broadcast.
In the evening, Roker posted a family photo to Instagram, saying he was "so very thankful to be able to be home."
Roker, 68, was last out of commission in September after testing positive for Covid. He did not reveal the cause of his blood clots.
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