Hoda Kotb is back in her Today chair with a family update.
The beloved co-anchor returned to the morning show on March 6 after a weeks-long absence and shared that her daughter Hope Catherine, 3, is recovering from a health matter.
"My youngest, Hope, was in the ICU for a few days and in the hospital for a little more than a week," Hoda told co-host Savannah Guthrie—who was also returning to Today after a positive COVID test last week—during the opening of the show. "I'm so grateful she's home."
"I was waiting for that day to come," Hoda, who is also mom to 6-year-old daughter Haley Joy, added. "And we are watching her closely. I'm just so happy."
The 58-year-old also noted that she so appreciates the outpouring of love and support she's received over the past few weeks.
"You know what I realized too, Savannah?" she said. "When your child is ill, the amount of gratitude you can have for people who helped you out. So, I'm grateful for the doctors at Weill Cornell, who were amazing and the nurses."
"And I'm grateful to my family and I'm grateful to friends like you, who were there every single day," she told Savannah. "So, I want to say thank you for that. I love you."
Later, during the fourth hour of the show, Hoda detailed the "really scary" experience to co-anchor Jenna Bush Hager.
"I always talk about gratitude, but I found myself not living in that lane because I was scared," Hoda, wearing a "God's Got This" necklace, explained. "And then I thought to myself, ‘Let me think about this for a minute. I have a family who loves me. I have a little girl who is home. I have a wonderful support system.' Sometimes you talk about gratitude and then when you're pushed to the limit, do I feel it?"
"I feel blessed and really, really grateful," she continued. "Anyone who has gone through an illness with a child, I thought I understood you but I didn't until you're sitting in that position. For every single person who's going through some stuff, I get it."
Hoda's Today family had been sharing updates with concerned viewers over the last week. "We know some of you are wondering how she's doing," Craig Melvin said during the March 1 broadcast. "We can tell you, Hoda's OK. She's got a family health matter she's been dealing with."
Shortly before the start of Today, Hoda shared a quote on her Instagram by Christopher Reeve that read, "Once you choose hope, anything's possible." She captioned the post, "Happy monday xo."
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