Al Roker’s wife Deborah reveals touching nickname for now-Hoda Kotb after sharing the true extent of her husband’s illness

DEBORAH Roberts has revealed a touching nickname she has for Today’s Hoda Kotb after her husband Al Roker recently suffered a health boost.

Suffering from blood clots and internal bleeding in November 2022, Al was quickly rushed to the hospital.

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The clots in Al’s lungs and legs are believed to have been triggered by the tonight host’s previous battle with COVID-19, The US Sun previously reported.

After being hospitalized for a second time after Thanksgiving, Al underwent multiple surgeries — including a blood transfusion, a gallbladder removal, a colon resection, and repairing a tear in his duodenum.

According to Deborah, the future of her husband’s health in hospital looked bleak for some time, and at one point she said the family was “losing hope”.

Despite the challenges, Al pulled through after four weeks in medical care — and returned home in December with a surprise from most of his Today show cast and crew, per the Daily Mail.

However, it was co-host Hoda Kotb who specifically continued her support after Al got home.

While the couple reflected on the harrowing ordeal during an episode of Maria Shriver’s digital YouTube series Conversations Above the Noise with Maria, Deborah said Hoda still showed up at the Roker residence around 8:30 p.m. several nights later.

“I called her the big Houdini,” Deborah remarked.

Al has notably returned to Today after his lengthy absence, and he explained to Shriver that the couple are more conscious about their lifestyle choices.

“We don’t say anything more about things,” said the 68-year-old.

“There will always be things that are important to us that we want to get done and get done … but, you know, maybe going out isn’t that important.”

Deborah said Al remained positive throughout the process, even as she said she felt insecure.

“We really thought we were going to lose him,” she explained.

“He says, ‘Positive attitude, positive attitude.'”

“And we kind of giggled because even in that moment when he was in great distress, he was trying to hold onto the positivity,” she continued.

Al said his family is a “gift” for taking control of his medical care during the stressful time.

On January 6, Al and Deborah officially returned to Today, where they gave an interview about their experiences.

He even received applause from his co-stars for his first weather report of the year.

Al also told fans about his upcoming animated series, Weather Hunters, on the PBS network.

He recently published a post about the cartoon on Instagram, explaining the details of his new project.

“Excited about today’s announcement of Weather Hunters, a new animated STEM series from Al Roker Entertainment and PBS,” Al wrote.

“I predict increasing animation with downpours of family-friendly storytelling and a rising understanding of #weather and #climate.”

For more Today content, check out The US Sun’s coverage of Carson Daly’s recent absence from the Today show.

The US Sun also has the story of how host Savannah Guthrie admitted her recent interview blunder with an A-list celebrity.